Lake St. Clair Bass Fishing Videos, Spring 2016

It has been a terrific bass catching season so far and we have it all documented on video for you. The best thing about St. Clair Report videos is that they contain relevant and timely information for the serious bass angler. Sure, we catch bass on the video but we also put you on spots, areas, techniques and baits that can work for you.

Here is the current lineup of videos:

Lake St Clair Bass Opening Day Prep 2016 Wayne Carpenter Jeff Ferraiuolo

Lake St Clair Bass Post Spawn 2016 Wayne Carpenter Pete VanVianen

Lake St Clair Bass Report Memorial Day 2016 Bob Mann

Lake St Clair Bass May 2016 Bob Mann Chris Hockley

Lake St Clair Bass Report 05 20 2016 Capt Wayne

Bass Report Lake St Clair 05 03 2016 Capt Wayne

Bass Report Lake St Clair 04 17 2016 Wayne Carpenter

Bob Mann 04 07 2016 Detroit River Walleye Report

Bob Mann 04 02 2016 Walleye Report

Bob Mann 03 27 2016 Walleye Bass Report

Walleye Report From City Launch Windsor Canada Bob Mann 03 12 2016

Bob Mann Early Season Walleye Report 03 06 2016

Bob Mann 2 22 2016 Ice Report

Bob Jigger Mann on the Mile Roads

 

 

 

Seminar: Spring Smallmouth, Lake St Clair Friday, April 22 at 6:00pm Capt. Wayne

Head to Sportsmen’s Direct this Friday at 6:00pm for an exclusive seminar on spring smallmouth fishing given by top Lake St. Clair bass fishing author, Wayne Carpenter.

Sportsmen’s Direct 38989 Jefferson Ave, Harrison Charter Township, MI 48045 (586) 741-6052

What will be covered…

• Spring bass location
• Is clean water or stained water best for bass?
• Best bait selection for early season smallmouth
• Online resources to connect you with bass fishing information

CLICK HERE TO PRE-REGISTER FOR THE EVENT

Baits That You Can Have Confidence In

Another one of Jeff Ferraiuolo’s monster smallmouth caught on a Sweet Green tube

There is a difference between having a “confidence bait” and a bait that you can have confidence in. A confidence bait is one that you throw all year long, the bait that you “go to” in tough fishing conditions, the bait that you wouldn’t go out on the water without. A bait that you can have confidence in is one that has proven itself to be effective in the field.

Here is a short list of baits that you can have confidence in:

• Spinnerbaits
• Topwater
• Crankbaits
• Spinbaits
• Tubes
• Worms
• Soft plastics

There is absolutely no doubt that each of these baits work out on the water. It is also a pretty good bet that not all of these are confidence baits for you. You probably have confidence that these baits are a better choice under certain conditions. Take topwater for instance. A tube might be your confidence bait but if you are launching at “first light,” a topwater bait might be your first selection.

So how about an entire product line that you can have confidence in?

How many times have you gone to a lake to fish and have found a product line that was specifically designed for that exact lake? Xtreme Bass Tackle tubes have been developed for over 15 years in the testing laboratory that we call Lake St. Clair. Through field testing, the winners have risen to the top of the list of available tube colors, and the losers have gone by the wayside. What you have left are baits that you can have confidence in when you fish Lake St. Clair.

Here is how they break down:

CRAYFISH IMITATORS

St. Clair Crayfish™ – Top seller since 2008, strong for smallies and largemouth. Can be used in conjunction with Canadian Mist as a companion bait. Active bite all year long. Good in shallow and deep water.

Sand Craw™ – A sleeper bait that has been known to light up the smallmouth on the South Shore and at Strawberry Ridge. Works best around sand or sand/rock structure combinations. A solid second string alternative when your confidence baits aren’t being bit.

Brown Craw™ – It is rising in popularity and tough to keep in stock. If you are targeting bass that are feeding on crayfish, this gives you another color to present to a school of smallmouth. The natural muted tone of the plastic is highlighted by small copper flake.

Great Lakes Craw™ – A proven tournament money maker and a favorite of Bob “Jigger” Mann Sr, a Canadian fishing professional. The drop-shot version of this bait is strong for big fish.

GOBY IMITATORS

St. Clair Goby Classic™ – The tube that revolutionized the laminated bait industry by introducing color flake in the laminate. It still performs to this day and is known as a big fish bait.

St. Clair Goby NFT™ – The gobies have changed in color and this redesign “matches the hatch.” This bait is almost impossible to beat in either a drop-shot tube or a 4” tube. The highlight flake in the laminate is small purple.

Erie Goby – This design that is based on gobies from Lake Erie is strong for schooling smallmouth on Lake St. Clair. The two top flake colors to have in a plastic bait for bass are purple and copper and this bait has both.

Muskegon Goby™ – Although designed off of the gobies in Muskegon Lake this sister to St. Clair Goby NFT™ is very effective on Lake St. Clair in the morning. It has copper flake in the top whereas St. Clair Goby NFT™ has purple in the top. There are times when the bass will like one better than the other.

BAIT FISH IMITATORS

Alewife™ – There has been a real shift in the way smallmouth eat on Lake St. Clair, and they have been driving schools of alewife to the surface. This bait was made to take advantage of that.

Emerald Shiner (by Reaper Products) – This is the grandfather of the laminate bait explosion. It’s longevity speak to how effective that is has been.

Great Lakes Perch™ – This bait design was two years in the making but it was worth it. Attention to detail in both the dominant and highlight colors in perch forage has made this a performer for catching big fish. It is one of the baits that you want to throw to hook up with big fish. Largemouth bass have an unusually strong appetite for it as well.

INSECT IMITATOR

Mayfly™ – This bait plays an important part in the story of the Lake St. Clair experience. The mayflies will come and change the bite for around a month and a half of a very short season. This bait was designed around the best elements the bass were looking for in emerging mayflies. As it turns out, it is a bait that is effective year round.

PROVEN THROUGH FIELD TESTING

Sweet Green™ – The blockbuster bait of 2015 out-fished everything else and continues to sell out due to demand. It has what smallmouth crave, and that is purple flake combined with a Formula G3 laminate and see-through green belly.

Canadian Mist – This legendary bait has been the best seller of all time not because it is popular, but because it catches bass everywhere and anglers keep coming back for more. Use it on Lake St. Clair when conditions are at their worst or at their best. This color is known for drop-dead consistency!

Formula G3™ (by Reaper Products) – This is the second best color of all time and besides being highly sought after by anglers in the drop-shot tube and 4” tube, has a real “big fish” bite on the 5” tube.

Slither™ – In early spring and up until mid-June this bait fishes even stronger than Canadian Mist. The gold sliver flake embedded in the dark melon plastic makes it one of the most natural tubes in the melon family. It works everywhere.

So by all means, take your confidence bait out on Lake St. Clair and have fun with the smallmouth in this world class fishery. If you stock up with Xtreme Bass Tackle baits that you can have confidence in, you can also load up the boat with an entirely new batch of smallmouth. Baits that smallmouth have told us prefer on this body of water.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER XTREM BASS TACKLE BAITS NOW

or call (800) 485-2223

or CLICK HERE TO FIND A LOCAL TACKLE SHOP

St. Clair River Channel Smallmouth Range September 2014

The biggest pattern for bass in the St. Clair River is depth. Once you dial that in you can run up and down the system and be on or around smallmouth everywhere you stop. In hot summers it is not unusual to hook bass in as deep as 55 feet of water but cool summers you need to make an adjustment.

In the big picture we can make that adjustment as deep or less deep and be pretty close. If you are fishing in competition, a tighter read on the quality of smallmouth at a specific depth can mean everything. What we have here are video cuts of smallmouth seen on a single drift (about 100 yards) in 26 to 33 feet of water. We made a drift before this in 18 to 25 feet where we didn’t see nearly as many. If you look closely at the video you will see one bass that is the biggest.

Another factor in river fishing is the presence of other species. Catching a walleye or a drum is a solid indicator that the smallmouth are nearby.

For more video about fishing on Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River get the No Secrets on Lake St. Clair DVD™ on the Xtreme Bass Tackle™ website.

Lake St. Clair – Those Other Fish (multi-species #3)

This pike was caught in the South Channel

Another South Channel monster

We were getting a good supply of three pound smallies today but then ran in to a couple of fish that didn’t know that we were bass fishing. The first was a 38″ pikc caught on a 4″ St Clair Crayfish tube. It was a good fight that lasted long enough that we thought it might be a musky. The next cast I switched over to a 4″ Xtreme Bass Tackle Alewife tube and hooked up with this channel cat that went clearly over 20 pounds. This fight lasted for at least 15 minutes and we couldn’t quite tell what kind of fish it was. In this case I was using a spincast rod that was freshly spooled up with a monofilament that I was trying; Berkley Solutions 10 pound test. I have to say that the line held up perfectly. It was the first channel cat that I have caught on Lake St. Clair. It was a very good day!

Lake St. Clair Fishing Show Fall Special 2013

Don’t miss the upcoming episode of the Lake St. Clair Fishing Show as we talk about the fall conditions and how to make the big adjustment from summer.  “Mr. Big Fish,” Frank Keller and I take you through our day where we fished against some of the toughest conditions imaginable.  You can see how we switched up spots, presentations and species to put together a decent catch.

It also comes with a  bonus segment!  Frank and I went out on Tuesday and did better yet…tune in this week Friday and see at:

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE LAKE ST. CLAIR FISHING SHOW.

Get a preview of the show that will be posted sometime during the day on Friday…

Lake St. Clair Smallmouth, Post-Spawn Self Defense

We are seeing a strong post-spawn pattern right now.  The bite ranges from a neutral bite on big fish to an active bite with smaller fish.  In the mix you can find some gems like a mayfly bite that can appear at any moment.  One thing though is for sure…the post-spawn feeders are inhaling the plastic baits down into their gullet.

During this period, the smallies take the bait down in their throat way too far.  No matter how fast one sets the hook.  It is a characteristic of this “bite” period but fortunately, there is usually something that can be done about it.

Traditionally, the most likely plastic color to be taken in too deeply is any plastic color that has copper flake in it.  There will be others, but copper has been the one most likely to cause problems.  The good news is that the post-spawn feeders are so aggressive, they will eat baits in a wide color range.  The most effective thing to do is to keep with the bait style that you are using, then switch to a different color.  In the next fish or two you will see:

(1) That you are, or are not catching smallmouth with the same frequency and…

(2) How deep that they are taking the bait in.  That alone should be enough to solve the problem but for more about post-spawn self defense, see this week’s edition (on Friday) of the Lake St. Clair Fishing show.

See you on-the-water,

Capt. Wayne

Lake St. Clair Serves up Big Smallmouth to “Jigger” on Canadian Mist

Early season fishing can be fun with numbers and it’s also the time to pick up some of the biggest smallmouth bass that you’ll see all season.  On a trip this week (May 7th, 2013) Bob “Jigger” Mann Sr. (Canada) was throwing an Xtreme Bass Tackle 4″ Canadian Mist tube on the U.S. side and picked up this beauty on his second cast.

Bob was fishing at the bottom end of Lake St. Clair (Michigan) around the area near Windmill Point.  Marked Map HD owners can find out where this smallmouth was caught by looking up spot #9 on the Windmill Point Marked Map.  Marked Maps Live! subscribers can see Jigger’s “Live!” report posted for 5/7/2013.

While he was fishing, a freighter ran aground nearby.  Bob took some time out of his busy fishing day to snap off this picture.

After the picture was taken he was busy for the next couple of days with CBC radio and CBC TV talking about the event.  His pictures were used on TV and on the radio station website (www.cbc.ca/radio/‎) for May 8^th.

Thanks for the report Bob!  Keep ’em coming!

Xtreme Bass Tackle

http://www.xtremebasstackle.com

TOLL FREE: 877.485.2223

Lake St. Clair Bass Opener 2013 (Catch and Release)

It’s been a long wait but tomorrow morning we can all load up our boats, our tackle and go chase smallies once again!  Of course this spring is a wide departure from the one that we had last year.  We’ll have to fish a little slower and because of the marginal water conditions, a little closer to structure when possible.

Keep in mind that the bass tend to feed in the mid ranges of the water column during this period so although you may do fine catching them off of the bottom, pulling a very slow moving crankbait at about 1/2 the depth can be deadly.

Color can make a difference on the margins but for the most part, the bass will eat just about anything right now.  I am reminded of one trip though with my good friend Chuck, where he smacked me around pretty good by putting a black worm on a jig head this time of year.  If you are a float ‘n fly fan or fish my drop-shot tubes under a bobber, I would recommend that too.

NEW FOR 2013! – Marked Maps Live!™ now has a Pre-fish category that is being used to point out spots in the system where the bass have been seasonally strong, based on Combat Bass Fishing™ data.  If you are a Marked Maps™ owner you can subscribe to this live information service which now has the Pre-fish category and have the best information available for bass anglers on Lake St. Clair.

Nautical Mile BP is freshly stocked with Xtreme Bass Tackle™ baits!  Look for the best selection of XBT baits around at 9 Mile and Jefferson!

More baits than ever on the Xtreme Bass Tackle™ website!

NEW FOR 2013:

Tri-Laminate Tube – Bluegill

Reaper Products tube – Violet Shiner

Rattle Jigs

Red Dirt Spinnerbaits

Clearance Section

 

and more…

See you on the water tomorrow…

Capt. Wayne Carpenter

(877) 485-2223

Email: combatfishingguy@gmail.com

The “Summer Bite” Is On!

What a relief to pull up to a spot and catch bass on the same spot on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, etc…  That’s an indicator that the “Summer Bite” is on!  It’s my favorite time of year because now, strategy is everything.  What spot to fish at what time of day, what direction to present the bait, is the bait presented on the bottom or up off of the bottom, what color will work best today; All these things and more are now in play.

Here is the way I see the seasonal trends on Lake St. Clair:

Pre-spawn, spawn, post-spawn, post-spawn feed, summer bite, fall transition, fall

Each seasonal change presents it’s unique opportunities and challenges but the “Summer Bite” seems to present the widest bite range that gives us a chance to use all of our skills sets to catch the most or biggest fish.

No Secrets on Lake St. Clair Vol. 1

Find out more about the seasonal bite on page 45 of the book, “No Secrets on Lake St. Clair™ Vol. 1.”  You can purchase through the Xtreme Bass Tackle website or find it in the following local store:

Natutical Mile BP – 9 Mile and Jefferson in St. Clair Shores

Find out more about hot spots, hot baits and eliminate water with the Marked Maps Series™ and Marked Maps Live!™