I haven't been to LSC since opening weekend and am going back down next weekend. We're going to take my brother in law out for what his wife says is his last fishing trip of the year. They are due in September for the first child. I'm trying to figure out where we should start out? Are the fish still out deep? What are the water temps right now? My instincts are telling me to troll the dumping grounds or do some casting by the spillway. When will the fish start to transition to classic "fall locations"? Any advise on what has been going on out there lately would help.
This is a transition time and the fish are normally pretty scattered, the only concentrations of fish are on the Canadian side. These fish are constantly moving and will be anywhere from the SE corner of the lake to mid-lake. The others are usually wandering and can be in the channels, mile roads, central anchor bay, etc.
"kevin ferwerda" said:
About what time or water temp do fish settle into there fall locations.
There are really two fall movements. The first is from mid-lake locations to the shallower areas which generally takes place from early September to mid-October water temps from low 70's through low 60's. The second movement is to the areas where they'll stay through the end of the season this normally takes place mid to end of October and usually happens once the water is into the 50's. Seasonal weather and water conditions can make a dramatic difference in when these movements happen, particularly water clarity.
What is with the change in clarity? It seemed like we would just stumble on huge patches of stained water surrounded on all sides by clear?
Also considering an overnighter down there. I have a 17 foot starweld with a 50etec on it. I pay close attention to the weather when I'm out there but still am a little leery heading way out. A few questions…would we be closer if we drove into Canada and launched from there? I haven't been to Canada diwn there in a long time. Is it a huge hassle to cross? Is it relatively safe for gear n such overnighting. I know I am nervous leaving boat out in parking lot anywhere near the D….
Clarity varies from wind and current, lots of both out there. Going into Canada isn't a big deal, getting back to the US you need an enhanced drivers license or a passport. Last time I was out there we fished about 16 miles from the MI shoreline and about 12 from the CAN shoreline, not worth the longer drive and border crossing IMO. If you stay north of Detroit the area is fine, lots of good hotels in the area. Your other option is to fish the channels and get to know them, 100 miles of water with plenty of fish and sometimes better than the lake.
Spent the last 2.5 days out on LSC…well I should say the Channels…2 days straight it was blowing sustained 22mph and gusting to 30 mph. The channels itself had average 4 footers with many waves exceeding 5's. My 620 got pounded and wet in the channel and even in some protected areas. It was coming from the West and straight down the Pipe. Even the 31' trolling boats got knocked around out in the mid lake area. The fish were on fire! Probably some of my best days fishing in a long time. So many fish (big and small) in just 2.5 days. Fish were out in open water, mid lake areas on Mon and Tues but moved a bit shallower and are now most likely in that 14-16 foot range. Will is right…late summer depending on weather can still produce fish out in open water, mid lake but once we start to see consistent cooler temps the fish will start to push shallower and you won't have to travel so far. The Thames is naturally stained and always good to fish when the lake is a mess but you certainly don't need to venture that far. Sept and early October is a total transition time and can either be amazing or really tough because the fish are really on the move. If you find them then it'll be great…or brutal if you can't. As Will said the channels seem to always be consistent this time of year and improve as the temps start to drop in the 50's. September is probably my least favorite time to fish out there unless I have 2-3 days in a row to find fish. There's plenty of US water to fish in Sept and you won't have to go far. Anything blowing 12-15 mph or more from the West, East or North can really kick up the lake. It's manageable if you have experience operating in big water and waves but you've got to know you boat, trust it and play the waves with the throttle. Personally it wouldn't be fun in 3' and 4' waves in a small boat. You'll get beat up fighting the water and best to stick channels or lee side water. The hardest part fishing LSC this time of year is not having consecutive days. You could go out there for one day and never see a fish and convinced there's no fish around when in fact you were just 100 yards off from where they were located. Pay attention to the Modis Satalite and try and seek out some of the off color slightly stained water in the 14-16 foot depths, maybe even shallower. Water levels are up this season and most fish I've found have been slightly shallower than normal. Spots I know really well have the fish a bit shallower than where I normally find them and it took a few trips for it to click in my head…temps were 70 and dropped to 66-68 in the last 3 days but could go back up with next week warming up again. Most people want to find huge weed beds that go on and on and sure you can find fish there but try and find isolated smaller clumps of weeds whether it's in the channels or in lake. Seem to always find a big fish on a isolated weed clump, much smaller than you would expect. Caught a giant, and lost 2 giants yesterday on a small weed clump away from all other weeds. Some areas near the N. Channel, Grass Island can be really good in Sept as well. Don't rule out the N. part of lake if it becomes really windy to fish some open water. I've caught a lot of fish around this area in Sept as well. Or stick to SS areas or Mile Rds…add in some Channel fishing if you got time and I'm sure you can find some active fish.
Thanks for the compliments…nothing beats time on water and I wish I had more time!!
When saying channels we mean the North, Middle, South, Sni, Baltimore Channel, Baltimore Hwy, St Clair River way upstream, etc etc. There's miles and miles of water to fish in the St. Clair River (channels). So many cuts, flats, edges, cabbage, bait, etc etc. just gotta explore more…The Channels have residential fish year round and certain times of year the lake fish will migrate into the channels. When we say Mid-Lake we mean the actual middle of lake. A long haul from any area on shore. I wish I could tell you where to go mid lake but it wouldn't help cause the fish are constantly moving, roaming with the bait. You might find them and bait in one area and then they could move miles overnight. You just gotta put in the time and find them. Once you find them you gotta wait it out till they eat. Last 3 days were on FIRE and today was brutal according to several reports. Absolutely brutal tough. LSC can be hit or miss just like any other lake. If your gonna get serious on fishing LSC often then Will said it best years ago… You gotta break the lake down in sections and really learn those sections. It took me nearly 5+ years to feel comfortable on understanding how the lake works and certain areas of lake. First year 10+ years ago I focused only on the N end of lake for a season. Learned it in and out, next year was all channel fishing. I strictly fished channels from Algonac down to lake. I pounded all the channels and learned them really really well. Next onto the middle of lake. A complete grind out there fishing open water following fish and bait. Last was focusing on the Southshore which is what I still need to learn better but I spent most of 1 season fishing only along the SS. Even after 10 years and dedicating each season to a section of water I've only learned probably a fraction of the water available. I've got a list of so many other areas NOBODY is fishing that looks promising at certain times of year. You just gotta find the time and cover water, learn why they are there and try to predict locations and understand really well the bait they prefer and how they relate on the lake. Some areas I know like the back of my hand and a ton are still a mystery….plus it's always good to have a back up plan…my 2.5 days this week were going to be all open water lake fishing but the weather and wind were way too nasty to fish so thank goodness I had a back up plan to fish channel areas that I knew have produced over the years…..it surely paid off. Soon we'll be into fall fishing and the bait crowds will die down but the Muskie crowds will pick up in 2 main areas…but if you branch out and explore you can find amazing fall fishing without another Muskie angler in sight and fish, lots of fish to yourself…..
We fished yesterday from 7:00 till about 4:00. Put in at Crocker fished the spillway and ran up to Anchor bay for a bit. Water was about 69 everywhere we went. Had a couple small follows in anchor bay. We caught some big smallmouth and a nice northern. The highlight of the day was landing my first Tiger. It wasn't very big only 31" but I have never caught one before so I was pumped.
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