Lake St. Clair Bass Fishing Report, May 16, 2018

| May 18, 2018

This 3lb 11oz female full of eggs was caught on an Xtreme Bass Tackle swimbait

We spent a considerable amount of time in the north part of the Lake looking for bedding bass. The water temperatures that we found didn’t go over 55 degrees, and we didn’t come across any bedding activity. This was mostly due to us fishing channel related water, and the St. Clair River temperature was still 48 degrees.

At the beginning and the end of our day, we made stops in Anchor Bay to catch a few. Two of the smallies that I found were interesting. One was 3lbs 11oz and full of eggs. The second turned out to be 20 inches long and completely spawned out. They were caught within 2 1/2 miles of each other. The more aggressive pre-spawn female was caught on a swimbait, while the spawned out female was caught on an Xtreme Bass Tackle Sweet Green tube.

This does make sense as there was a solid warm up at the end of April, and beginning of May. There is no “one” spawn, but a series of periods where smallmouth find the conditions right for spawning. A lot of the early, and late spawning bass are in unorthodox locations and are never seen by anglers. What most anglers relate to as the “spawn” is the period when the main body of smallmouth come close to shore in traditional spawning locations.

A relationship between catching rock bass and finding smallmouth bass nearby, is beginning to emerge.

This smallmouth was clearly spawned out and measured up at 20 inches long. Caught on Xtreme Bass Tackle Sweet Green tube

We have been catching smallies since ice out when water temperatures were around 40 degrees, but now is the time to seek out a temperature in the 60’s. That is where the bulk of the smallmouth will be.

Here are the water temps that we found on our trip:

  • St. Clair River 48°
  • Anchor Bay 55°
  • Mud Lake 54°
  • Scotten Bay 54°
  • Pollet Bay 52°
  • Selfridge 61°

Marked Map customers – We have information from the following spots:

  • SLF #7 & #20 TQ
  • FH #8 & #9 Zero

Here is the NWS weather forecast going forward:

Marine forecast from NWS

Detailed Forecast

Today
E wind 10 to 14 kt. Partly sunny. Waves 1 to 2 ft.
Tonight
E wind 10 to 12 kt. Showers likely, mainly after 9pm. Waves around 1 ft.
Saturday
SE wind 7 to 11 kt. A chance of showers, then showers and thunderstorms likely after 1pm. Waves around 1 ft.
Saturday Night
Variable winds less than 5 kt becoming NW 5 to 7 kt in the evening. Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 8pm. Waves around 1 ft.
Sunday
N wind 5 to 8 kt. Mostly cloudy. Waves around 1 ft.
Sunday Night
NE wind around 6 kt becoming variable and less than 5 kt after midnight. Mostly cloudy. Waves 1 ft or less.
Monday
ENE wind around 6 kt. A chance of showers before 8am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 8am and 2pm. Waves 1 ft or less.
Monday Night
E wind 5 to 7 kt becoming variable and less than 5 kt after midnight. A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Waves around 1 ft.
Tuesday
NE wind 5 to 8 kt becoming SSE in the afternoon. A chance of showers. Waves 1 ft or less.

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Category: Bass Lake/River Reports, Feature

About the Author ()

Wayne Carpenter is the owner of Xtreme Bass Tackle and Combat Fishing, and author of No Secrets on Lake St. Clair.

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