Advice for locating musky in Lake St. Clair

[Wagoneer]

I'm planning a couple days of camping/fishing out of Mitchell's bay on Lake St. Clair. I've been doing a lot of research on the lake recently, but as with most chartered lakes, everyone seems to be very secretive about good spots. I did a charter with my dad a couple years ago but we got skunked as we went on the hottest day of the year and it was completely calm - worst conditions.

 

I'm looking for some good spots out of mitchell's bay. I'll be trolling with 3 rods, two out to the side, one shallow in the middle close to the wash of the engine. Reels are freshly spooled with 40lb line and titanium leaders. That setup seems to have worked well for me before, but again, I've never trolled lake st. clair. So far I'm planning on finding some good structure and weeds and trolling the edge of it in 12' of water around 6-8km/h. One hard-bodied shad close the bottom, a bucktail around 6' and a split-body close the top in the wash of the engine. Once I find out what they're hitting I usually switch it up a bit as I go along. Is my action-plan along the the right lines so far?

 

I'm just looking for specific spots I should head to that are known musky grounds. Takes the first few hours of guess work out of exploring the water. Keep in mind I just have a 12' solid floor inflatable with a 6hp that tops out just under 30km/h so I'm not looking to cross the lake or anything but I have lots of experience running in rough waters. I keep 20L of gas on board so I'm okay with travelling a good distance for some fish. I do have a fish finder and I do have GPS so I can do coordinates.

 

Appreciate any help or tips you're willing to give! TIA

[Tom McCutcheon]

Not too sure I wish to reply to this for obvious reasons.

 

I think your lure and structure strategy are probably sound, however I am concerned about the picture of a large net, big lures, three rods spooled with only 40lb line, and a fish with teeth and length which potentially could be almost half the size of your boat.

[outllaw]

you need to get out to water 14-18ft deep. run lures hi. depending on month your fishing restricts many tips. run 5ft leaders trolling no steel.. you can get better results west near belle river. the waters deeper closer to shore . the bays a great multi specie area but in warm months its really not the best place for skies

[Wagoneer]

Not too sure I wish to reply to this for obvious reasons.

 

I think your lure and structure strategy are probably sound, however I am concerned about the picture of a large net, big lures, three rods spooled with only 40lb line, and a fish with teeth and length which potentially could be almost half the size of your boat.

Haha, I get this a lot. And it's understandable. When people hear "inflatable boat" their mind immediately pictures a pool toy. But in all honesty, I'd rather be out in the middle of the lake in my inflatable than a comparable size 12-16ft aluminium boat. The stability is unmatched because they're so buoyant. Mine is super heavy duty made from 1.2mm PVC (same spec PVC as the military RIBs) with double layering on the bottom and 5 rub strips that run the length of the boat. If I ever meet a musky that can rip through that I don't want to catch him I also have emergency training, run all the best safety gear and all my passengers and dogs wear their life jackets at all times. I appreciate your concern but like I said, I've spent a lot of time on lake erie with it and the weather can turn in less than 30min if the wind shifts and she did just fine getting me home safely every time. I'm okay with getting wet! And I've pulled in +40" pike many times. And I'm only running 40lb line because I like to use small-ish reels and rods. I don't like to just pile-drive them into the boat, the fight is half the fun! I've never broken 40lb line though. Only when I'm fishing for bass and accidenty hook a pike and I don't have a leader on.

 

I'm not sure why a big net and big lures are a concern though? Are you talking about the hooks puncturing the boat? If that ever happens, I'll buy a lottery ticket right away. And I was thinking of trying out some 100lb flouro for leaders but I didn't think they were too leader-shy?

 

Outlaw, from looking at maps of the lake, there doesn't seem to be too many spots that are 18' deep accept for the shipping channels?

Edited July 14, 2014 by Wagoneer

[lew]

And I'm only running 40lb line because I like to use small-ish reels and rods. I don't like to just pile-drive them into the boat, the fight is half the fun!

 

Prolonging the fight with a musky can kill him so it's recommended you use heavier gear to bring them in fast. Relatively lighter gear can work in the Kawarthas where the fish are smaller but if your fishing big fish waters like St. Clair or many other Ontario lakes, it's much better for the fish if you use heavier gear and land them as fast as possible.

 

Not preaching, just offering a suggestion.

[Wagoneer]

 

Prolonging the fight with a musky can kill him so it's recommended you use heavier gear to bring them in fast. Relatively lighter gear can work in the Kawarthas where the fish are smaller but if your fishing big fish waters like St. Clair or many other Ontario lakes, it's much better for the fish if you use heavier gear and land them as fast as possible.

 

Not preaching, just offering a suggestion.

Totally know what you mean. But I meant more like I like to feel the fish fight and work the rod rather than a heavy and stiff trolling rod and just simply reeling it in. I have heavier equipment as my dad and I down rig on lake erie, but in 12-14' of water I never saw the need to use it. I never troll very far behind the boat (nice thing about a small boat) and I can't say I've never had a fish not swim right off when I release it. I net it, take the hook out, snap a quick pic, then straight back in the water. Hopefully the whole process takes less than a minute for the sake of the fish. Hopefully alive and well for the next guy to catch it again

[lew]

As I said, only a suggestion.

[Wagoneer]

As I said, only a suggestion.

And I appreciate all the suggestions/advice I can get. I'll have the trolling rods/reels with me if I have issues with getting the fish in.

 

But that's pretty high hopes, if I even net one musky I'll be happy for my first time out.

[Whopper]

As I said, only a suggestion.

He's got it figured out Lew, now give him your GPS numbers

[lew]

He's got it figured out Lew, now give him your GPS numbers

 

maybe when I die Phil

[outllaw]

running from mitchells bay head out to the 240 hole that's a fair run out. like I said summer months waters warm fish move out,plus theres less floating weeds trsust me im not jerkin your chain. just saving you time,effort...GAS

[Gregoire]

You need to plan on catching the biggest fish on the lake. For St. Clair that can mean 55"+ and more that 40 pounds. If you hook in to a fish of that size with the equipment that you are using it will take you a while to get it in, or your will break off. Either way, you are looking at a high probability of mortality for the fish.

The boat that you are fishing from isn't the main concern. 80#+ line, leaders that are 130#+, a large net, and release tools including extra long pliers and hook cutters are things that you could post pictures of. If you do so people would be more likely to share info.

[Steve]

maybe fish for bass on your own and take a guide out for the muskie?

[Wagoneer]

Alright, I'll play game, you can be the judge if I'm worthy of further advide Wasn't really planning on this being a thread to show off my equipment though.

 

Here is my musky-specific tackle. Not pictured are my leaders, and my large net. Line is suffix braided 40lb. Rods are Zebco Rhino medium action 6ft and an ugly stik medium action 6.5', both reels are quantum (sorry can't remember the model numbers). Both have good drag systems and I've never had an issue with efficiently pulling in large pike with them. Rod holders are Eagle Claw that are clamped to my transom. Fish finder is a Hummingbird fishin buddy 120. I also keep a 10lb anchor with 50ft of rope on board if I plan on casting.

 

 

Boat is a Salter Mountaineer 360. Engine is a Suzuki DF6 four stroke with a stringray junior hydrofoil. I know hydrofoils are a well discussed topic but my views on them are that if you have an underpowered, light, small boat they are an absolutely asset. There's a certain point with boats where they hinder top-end performance and prop size and weight distribution become a better method of dealing with problems. I also have a 55lb trolling motor for lakes where gas engines aren't allowed.

 

 

As you can see my entire setup is designed to be as portable and as versatile as possible. I like to head north and explore as many remote lakes as possible. I have a roof-top tent on my vehicle and a small camping orientated trailer with solar panels and a house battery which allows my base camp to be self-sustained for a week comfortably, two weeks if I stretch it. If anyones interested I can go further into this stuff but I know this is a fishing forum so I'll stick to that stuff.

 

So that's basically it in a nutshell! I almost always practise catch and release but there's the odd time when I'm out on a trip that I'll clean a bass and fry it up.

[misfish]

He's got it figured out Lew, now give him your GPS numbers

 

I have them. Theres only big large mouths on those spots.

[lew]

 

I have them. Theres only big large mouths on those spots.

 

Those big large mouths are the bait Brian

Edited July 14, 2014 by lew

[Wagoneer]

maybe fish for bass on your own and take a guide out for the muskie?

I'm sure my dad and I will take another charter someday, I just want to take a stab at it on my own and see how it goes. I have no issues with supporting the local charters though!

[misfish]

Why do you have a fin on a 6hp motor?

 

Just curious.

 

[misfish]

 

Those big large mouths are the bait Brian

 

Not if thats the only bait,biting.

[davey buoy]

Wagoneer,seems like you know what your doing!!Good luck with your Musky fishing. Pretty descent setup.

[DRIFTER_016]

Why do you have a fin on a 6hp motor?

 

Just curious.

 

 

Mainly because he's running it on a small inflatable which are a pain to get up on plane.

I run one on my 4hp when using it on my inflatable.

Without it the nose is straight up in the air.

Edited July 14, 2014 by DRIFTER_016

[Fisherpete]

Wagoneer, when I first started muskie fishing 10+ years ago I had similar equipment (40 or 50lb braid, Ugly Stik, even some of the same lures you have pictured). I fished the Kawarthas, where the average fish size is not that big either. I thought it was heavy duty gear, which it was compared to the bass/walleye gear that I grew up using, but quickly realized that it was not adequate for muskie fishing. You need much heavier gear to fish muskies in a way that will not harm them.

 

Lake St. Clair is a trophy muskie fishery, and the gear you have pictured is NOT up to par for what is needed there. On any given day you can hook into big fish that are 45"+ and as Greg mentioned even over 55" and 40lbs. As others have mentioned, muskies are very sensitive to long drawn out fights in hot summer water temperatures, which is exactly what will happen with that gear. You just can not horse a big muskie into the net with that gear, even if you tried. Muskies are not a species to enjoy long drawn out fights with..

 

Can you catch LSC muskies on that gear? Absolutely. Will they survive? Possibly. Not something I would do.

 

Heavy or extra heavy rods

80+lb braid

100/130/150lb leaders - floro causes less harm to fish especially in the net

Hook cutters (and I'm not talking about a pair of regular side cutters), 12" long pliers

All sort of minimum equipment for fishing a trophy fishery

 

I don't mean any of this as a lecture, just trying to help you out and protect the fishery.

 

Pete

Edited July 14, 2014 by Fisherpete

[Wagoneer]

Why do you have a fin on a 6hp motor?

 

Just curious.

Why not? It's the exact setup that warrants a hydrofoil. Underpowered engine that has trouble getting the boat on plane with two people on board. If I had the trim on the lowest setting it would plane easily with two people but it wouldn't rev out and get anywhere near the top speed it should. If I put the trim up it would take a long time to plane but once it was on plane it would sit at the proper revs at WOT but it tended to porpoise in rough waters. The hydrofoil allows it to plane out in half the time (maybe even less, I'm not kidding) and allow me to run a higher trim without sacrificing plane time and I gained 3km/h in top speed. Plus the engine doesn't chug at WOT which makes it a heck of a lot more efficient. At 3/4 throttle running just over 20km/h I can squeeze out about 1.5L/hr out of this little thing. At full throttle it runs about 2.0L/hr.

 

I'm not sure why there's such a weird array of negative/positive views on hydrofoils out there. There's a time and a place to use one, and for small underpowered stern-heavy boats, they're a life-safer. Almost every time you'll have faster planes with a higher top speed. If your boat already runs the proper revs at WOT, chances are good adding one will lessen your top speed. I guess their marketing for these things is a little misleading and people get angry when they think adding one on any setup with give you a higher top speed. That simply isn't true.

 

My dad runs the full-size stingray on his 21' boat with 150hp evinrude. His stop speed went down by almost 5km/h, but he can basically plane at 1/3 throttle and stability and fuel efficiency went way up. So you basically have to decide what trade-offs you want.

Edited July 14, 2014 by Wagoneer

[Wagoneer]

 

Mainly because he's running it on a small inflatable which are a pain to get up on plane.

I run one on my 4hp when using it on my inflatable.

Without it the nose is straight up in the air.

Yep, exactly my thoughts just in less words

[Wagoneer]

I don't mean any of this as a lecture, just trying to help you out and protect the fishery.

I'm always open to learn. Smart people learn from their mistakes, but a genius learns from the mistakes of others.

 

Maybe I'll just start off with the downrigging equipment then.