Scientific Stuff

Water Temp:                          Detroit River  76, Lake St. Clair 82, St. Clair River 73
Air Temp:                               am – 70s, pm – mid 80s to low 90s

Water Clarity:                        Detroit River – a funky tint that musky seem to like

                                                Lake St. Clair – good over most of the lake, a lot of the South Shore has a green tint

                                                St. Clair River – good

Weather:                                Smokin’ temperatures!  The heat has built up afternoon thunderstorms on a fairly consistent basis, and the old i-phone weather radar has kept us out of harm’s way on more than one occasion.  Amazing what technology can do for you nowadays…

Lake St. Clair Fishing Report

The summer months are my favorite time of year to fish Lake St. Clair!  This is also the time of year that it really helps to hire a knowledgeable guide.  The big smallies are in tight schools this time of year, and a lot of the lake is unproductive.  It takes a lot of time to find these areas and to key in to what the fish are doing, but that is what fishing is really all about!

The schools of big fish are in deeper water now, and a tube or drop shot are mainstays in the arsenal.  When conditions are right, moving baits can still be a strong option as well.    

I have been messing around with a swimbait some in deeper water lately, and it ranks up there with one of the worst ideas I have ever had.  I have also decided that I pretty much have no idea what I am doing with a swimbait, and I’m about to throw them all in the garbage.  That is my thought on that.

For statistician and Gander Mountain store manager Derek Holmes, here are some numbers.  When the wind has allowed us to fish in Canada lately, we have been catching 40-50 smallies per day and when confined to Michigan waters or the St. Clair River, our catch has been about 20-25 smallies per day.  Not too shabby…

Detroit River Musky Fishing Report

Through mid-July the Detroit River produced 4-9 bites per day.  With the exception of a topwater fish or two, the hot bite has been jigging.  This is the third year in a row (including a fast warm up) when mid July seems to be the peak on the Detroit River, even over June.  That is pretty cool, because the weather is good, the fishing is good and when you have consistent multiple fish days, things are just good.  We seem to be catching a good number of smaller fish than in years past, fish in the low to high 30 inch range.  This is a great indication that we have some really strong musky fishing to look forward to over the next couple of seasons. 

I was fortunate to find a couple new places over the past couple weeks that have produced several fish in the mid 40 inch range.  This is pretty exciting, because these are small, hard to find places in a stretch of river that no musky fishermen target! 

St. Clair River Fishing Report

The musky fishing is already happening in the St. Clair River!  This is earlier than normal, probably due to our prolonged hot weather lately.  Although I just started fishing the St. Clair River for the season, the average fish seems to be a lot bigger than on the Detroit River.  On an afternoon trip yesterday for example, we had a 42” and 48”.  I am really excited about the musky fishing on the St. Clair River this summer and fall.  The water looks perfect, and there are a lot of great places.

The smallmouth bass fishing on the St. Clair River is pretty good, but the numbers are not there yet.  The fish are extremely healthy though, with full bellies often spitting gobies up on the fight toward the net.  The smallmouth fishing on the St. Clair River should continue to improve through August.

Tip of the Month

A mean musky hookset

A musky is one mean critter.  They won’t think twice about hurting your feelings.  The loss of a big fish will keep you up at night with an upset stomach often causing diarrhea and a foul mood.  The worst part is that when a musky gets off I promise you she is laughing on the way to the bottom.    

So at the moment of truth, minding only so many shots per day, this is no time to be nice.  Set up as hard as you can, over your right shoulder with everything you have, trying to break the rod, and crank.  Don’t set up and pause, or freeze or tell your buddy how heavy this thing is, just crank.  Crank until your rod tip has a good bow and you feel tension and control of your rod position.  Then keep steady pressure on the fish, if it pulls, let it pull, if it comes at you keep up, if she comes up to jump stick your rod in the water-crank-and pray.  But at the moment of truth, don’t be nice.  If you don’t set up properly and a musky gets off, you already missed your chance to not be nice.   

What’s a-happenin’

If you are in town this week looking for something to do off the water check out:

The Blue Goose Inn

28911 Jefferson

St. Clair Shores, MI  48081

Voted best blues bar in Metro Detroit - twice!!

Live music every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday

(4 miles from most motels, and 1.5 miles from our main boat ramp)

Check out bluegooseinn.net for band schedules!

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A special thanks is in order to all of my fine clients who have kept me extremely

busy over the past couple of weeks!  It was great seeing some old friends and

meeting some new ones.  I sincerely appreciate your business!

Captain Kevin Long