Lake St. Clair Muskies

[Sportdog]

This coming middle of August my 8 year old grandson and I will be in the area with my boat and he wants to try his luck with Muskies. He caught a nice Steelhead last fall and has the "Big Fish Fever".
Any tips on where to launch from/areas to fish/suggested lures would be appreciated. I have caught some Tiger Muskies years ago when they stocked them in a lake here in Southwestern Michigan, mainly trolling with Flatfish & Lazy Ikes but I'm sure that there are better lures today and for that body of water. From what I have been able to find out, the preferred method of fishing them is to troll at about 4-5mph and cover lots of water. I fish salmon on Lake Michigan and have planner board rods set up with SG27LC reels on 8 1/2 foot planner board rods with 65# Stealth, so I think that my equipment is OK. We will only have three days to fish so I just need some help getting pointed in the right direction. If we could find a local bait shop that could steer us that would be great also. I'd like to hire a guide but I'm afraid the budget is just not there. Any information anyone would be willing to share would be very much appreciated. Thank you!

[jerkin wood]

The most important thing you need are proper release tools. Since you are a salmon angler I assume you already have a large net. The other things you will need are a long (11") pair of needle nose pliers for hook removal and a good set of hook cutters. Klien sidecutters will work. You will also need some leaders, I prefer florocarbon in the clear water but wire works also. 4' is a good length. While you're buying pick up a couple heavy 3-way swivels and some weights from 2-8 oz. Tie the swivel on the end of your line, the leader to one of the other ties and you have a drop to rig a weight to.

Lure selection is pretty important up there as color is a big part of the game and you can sink a fortune into lures. Small jointed crankbaits are the norm in the summer. I would suggest Wiley lures because they are probably the most readily available and one of the most popular along with terminators and Lokes. The Leo lure Shayla shads have done well the last few years also.

For colors I wouldn't go up without frog, perch, walleye or carp, and something bright like firetiger. Blue frog is popular also as are a few other off colors. General rule is white bellys for bright days and yellow bellies for overcast days. Start off matching the lure color to the water color, if the water has a green tint run the frog and perch colors, if the water is muddy run walleye or carp. Blue frog does well in the clear blue water. If that doesn't work don't be afraid to try anything.

We usually go out of Deerbrook marina on the Canadian side. In August I would probably run out to 17' or so and start there trolling East/West. Run planer boards and propwash both, there is usually a better bite on one or the other but you never know which until you start catching them. If you get one mark a waypoint and keep going, if you don't get another within 10 minutes or so swing around and go back through the same area. Talk to the lady that runs the marina before you go out, if she tells you something different than what I said go with her. We've been going up there for around 5 years now and she has never steered us wrong. I don't know if she even fishes, but she sure knows where they are.

[STCLAIRSLIMER]

Hi. try the le petite dragon motel in belle river. the belle river marina has an excellent ramp and marina. a stones throw from the motel. the hotter baits on the canuck side are woodies and believers. try in front of the red barn and the hump in front of belle river.

[Sportdog]

ttt