Lake St Clair help

[HotPickle]

Hey guys, I posted about this on the swamp forum, but I wanted to see what you guys thought.

It was a tough bite out there again today (the morninf was hot yesterday though), and I'm not comfortable making my way out to the elbow in my little pickle. So I'm gonna watch the weather and wind and pick my spots, head out to Lake St Clair and troll for musky. I've only caught one, and it was buzzing a black toad up north. I've been to St Clair twice, one follow up. Launched out of the free launch at the mouth if the thames both times, drifted/casted and trolled as well. I'm not looking for honey holes or secrets, but just direction so I don't waste too much money in the beginning (I buy jigs like a lot of you dudes buy spoons lol)

My idea is to get a couple planer boards and troll 4 lines with a variety of lures, i was going to launch at the mouth of the thames and run a zigzag parallel to shore covering like 5-10'. Am I on the right track? I was going to use firetigers and blacks, how's that? Or are they on to brighter lures than blacks, like white/silver? I was going to do 3-4mph, is that too aggressive?

Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[Josh Roelofsen]

3.5 - 4.5mph is good trolling speed. Your gonna want to fish a little deeper tho. I'd say 12' on out along the south shore. Colour depends on water clarity and sun. More natural colours in clearer water and experiment with dark baits and brighter colours in stained water. Cloudy water is better for getting bit, clear water is tough. And huge baits are not necessary this time of year, Super shad rap sized body baits and medium sized buck tails are standard. I run long 3-6' 80-100lb flouro leaders and tie direct to my baits with a simple 3 turn clinch knot.

Planer boards are ideal, run a couple baits up higher and a couple deeper with some lead in front of them. I just run 2-4oz pencil leads and loop them onto my mainline. Short leads back to the baits, 30-50' max. Check your baits often for weeds they can be a real nuisance out there.

Most importantly, be prepared handle the fish safely and efficiently. A proper sized net or cradle is required. Gloves for a good grip and sufficiently sized needle nose plus a standard set of pliers along with bolt cutters to cut hooks that are to deep to safely remove. Musky are a relatively fragile fish and proper handling is imperative for survival

Good luck!

Josh

 

[jakerboy]

Try using this map. Just click on the fishing icon. http://www.marinecruiser.com/chart.html