Fishing Report LSC Musky

Blastr is correct! If you read musky hunter magazine or do research you will learn musky don't prefer any spiney fish like perch or walleye, their main prey is sheephead, shad(they will go into the Thames river when the temp drops and the shad move in, if you can find big shad schools on st Clair.....stay on them as the musky WILL be with them schools chasing them), and whitefish. If they feasted on perch as their prefers prey they'd never get big, they need oily fatty fish to get big. I'd hope most ppl who think they eat all the good table fair fish do their proper research. Ppl like that remind me of that idiot caught on video killing the musky in Detroit river last sept cuz he thinks they eat all the perch.
 
Blastr is correct! If you read musky hunter magazine or do research you will learn musky don't prefer any spiney fish like perch or walleye, their main prey is sheephead, shad(they will go into the Thames river when the temp drops and the shad move in, if you can find big shad schools on st Clair.....stay on them as the musky WILL be with them schools chasing them), and whitefish. If they feasted on perch as their prefers prey they'd never get big, they need oily fatty fish to get big. I'd hope most ppl who think they eat all the good table fair fish do their proper research. Ppl like that remind me of that idiot caught on video killing the musky in Detroit river last sept cuz he thinks they eat all the perch.
Makes sense live2fish...cause muskie sure do stink and taste horrible ...you are what you eat they say. Imagine they ate perch and walleye all the time hmm..
 
I'll offer another opinion here, and its based on real world experience with the people that know the lake better than anyone.
I just spent 2 weeks moose hunting with the owners of Bass Haven, the sons, their friends... a bunch of guys that fish LSC every day because they live there. They've guided, tourney fished, have been part of the fishery programs for 40 years. They've seen it all unfold. They are not very happy with the musky explosion.
Mushy DO eat bass, walleye, perch, gills..etc along with soft ray fish. Whats the favorite spring meal for a ski?? Rock bass. Every experienced fisherman for the last 25 years on LSC will tell you that. Ski's get in the shallows when the rocks are spawning and eat them like popcorn. Same with perch. Talk to the smallmouth guys. As soon as they get on a pod of smallies and put a couple in the boat, it brings in the skis and the smallies scatter. The decrease in smallies is marked, and the bass experts will confirm its the skis.
I have no doubt the skis like the shad and sheepshead...but they're eating machines and there arnt enough of the coarse fish to feed the massive population on LSC. Spend a few nights sitting across the table from the real deal guys and you get the real deal story.
 
I use weed catchers on days with westerly winds . you still have to clean them off but it does give you 10 minutes of trolling with weed free lures and the fish dont bother them as a matter of fact I have had muskie hit the weed cathers , you can make them yourself out of spring wire .
Great lake !
 
I'm no expert..
But if this were a bet
I would bet that the musky eat whatever the hell crosses their paths.
I caught 1 musky in my life and it was with a little 3" white grub. The fish was approx 40-45" Ridiculous I had cast from shore at about 1am must have cast it directly into his mouth.
Within a split second of it hitting the water the dam thing was hooked jumped and took off.
Must have been pissed. Lucky I got him to shore and released shortly after. Was an awesome experience tho.
 
Musky fables have always been viable part of the mystique of lakes anywhere they are found. However, many of these falsehoods serve as a detriment to not only the anglers who love to fish for them but to the fish themselves. Inaccurate or unproven information often leads to cases such as the guy who clubbed the musky to death because he believed they eat all the perch and walleye.

I have read factual studies on the diet of musky and spiny game fish like walleye, perch and smallmouth bass etc. are at the bottom of the musky menu. Do they occasionally eat a perch etc., sure they do, but study after study shows that a musky's diet consists mainly of high calorie soft fined fish, like baby carp, whitefish, suckers, shad, herring, juvenile catfish etc. and especially sheephead. When they eat a perch, bass or walleye it’s mainly just a meal of opportunity not their preferred diet.

@DaveJ says the locals on LSC believe musky are doing major damage to perch and bass populations because they don't have enough of these main forage fish to feed on and is the reason why they are gobbling up the good fish like popcorn. If that is true then I'm sure musky are not shy about eating virtually anything that is alive and will fit down their throat including perch and bass. However we need actual facts, not fisherman's folklore. Not saying they are wrong but I can find no documented evidence that these forage fish populations are down in LSC. Do they have any scientific studies to prove what they say because the last thing we need is misinformation?
 
Last edited:
@DaveJ have you been on any musky charters on st Clair? I have... they showed me all our musky we hooked into we're being caught when we went through THICK schools of shad, how do I know they were shad? Cuz when the capt brought in any lure IT WOULD SNAG A SHAD, they were thick on the fish finder and the musky followed the shad, that's factual data been there in person SEEING IT WITH MY OWN EYES, backs up all the data studies I've read claiming the muskies prefer and follow the soft ray finned fish, the charter also informed me the muskies of st Clair also have a HUGE preference for the sheepshead. Yes they will eat spiny rays too but after being shown by charters first hand what you're saying isn't even close to what they told me, I hope you aren't clubbing muskies too!!
 
Oh and one more thing, the musky population IS DOWN! The VHS outbreak took care of that, thus the fish now immune to it have less competition for food and are thicker and healthier....again THIS IS A PROVEN FACTUAL STUDY! I m kinda worried you may be batting muskies.
 
Oh and one more thing, the musky population IS DOWN! The VHS outbreak took care of that, thus the fish now immune to it have less competition for food and are thicker and healthier....again THIS IS A PROVEN FACTUAL STUDY! I m kinda worried you may be batting muskies.


I actually don't have anything to do with muskies. I don't target them. The opinions about LSC and the fish populations I stated are from fishing experts on the lake...but there are other experts who have their opinions. I have no doubt they target shad and sheepshead..and suckers and small carp and whatever else they can get down their throats. They also eat bass and walleye and panfish, but you can believe or disbelieve that at your leisure.

As far as clubbing fish, I hope you're joking. Just because I don't chase them or have a slightly different opinion on their diets has nothing to do with how I treat them. Any ski's I've caught incidentally have been released at the boat without handling.
 
I'll offer another opinion here, and its based on real world experience with the people that know the lake better than anyone.
I just spent 2 weeks moose hunting with the owners of Bass Haven, the sons, their friends... a bunch of guys that fish LSC every day because they live there. They've guided, tourney fished, have been part of the fishery programs for 40 years. They've seen it all unfold. They are not very happy with the musky explosion.
Mushy DO eat bass, walleye, perch, gills..etc along with soft ray fish. Whats the favorite spring meal for a ski?? Rock bass. Every experienced fisherman for the last 25 years on LSC will tell you that. Ski's get in the shallows when the rocks are spawning and eat them like popcorn. Same with perch. Talk to the smallmouth guys. As soon as they get on a pod of smallies and put a couple in the boat, it brings in the skis and the smallies scatter. The decrease in smallies is marked, and the bass experts will confirm its the skis.
I have no doubt the skis like the shad and sheepshead...but they're eating machines and there arnt enough of the coarse fish to feed the massive population on LSC. Spend a few nights sitting across the table from the real deal guys and you get the real deal story.

Sorry but the science says otherwise, small mouth decline is relative to catch and keep rates as well as available forage according to data and studies. All the chatter around the table is just talk, without hard data you cant possibly come to any conclusion that its the musky. No one is doubting that Musky eat Bass but not to the extent that it is impacting the fishery. I don't have any hard data but I have not seen the decline in small mouth on St. Clair, I do have to search new water for them relative to the longer warmer summers. My experience is that folks are fishing the same rock pile and weed line "spots" and come up with nothing then have to justify it to themselves.
 
Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Advertising is what keeps Channel 6-8 on the air. To this end, please take a moment to disable your AdBlocker. If you would prefer an ad-free experience, but would still like to help support site operations, please consider making a donation.

I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks