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Lake St. Clair Fishing Report: Slow Start to Spring, But Hopeful Signs Ahead
Lake St. Clair Fishing Report for April 23, 2025
Good morning, Lake St. Clair anglers, this is Artificial Lure bringing you today’s conditions and a review of what’s biting around our local waters.
Let’s start with the conditions. We’ve had a week of gradually warming temps, and water temperature at Belle Isle was sitting at about 45 degrees in the morning and likely a bit higher by the afternoon, thanks to those sunny skies lately. Up north, near Algonac, it’s a little cooler, but still trending upward. Sunrise today was at 6:36 AM and sunset is around 8:21 PM, giving us a full day to take advantage of the bite.
Fishing overall has been slow, but fish are starting to wake up as spring settles in. Walleye anglers at the mouth of the Detroit River and further out have struggled, with only a handful of reports of success. Most pier and river fishermen are also finding it tough, but a few are getting lucky with the right approach[1].
Bass anglers are seeing scattered results. If you’re targeting smallmouth, the action has been best in the late morning to early afternoon, working 6 to 9 feet of water, especially from Memorial Park down to Nine Mile. Those trolling crankbaits in the channel around 15 to 16 feet are picking up the odd smallmouth. Reports from Muscamoot Bay and the mouth of the South Channel say some smallies are being caught in similar depths[1][3].
Best tactics right now are to cover a lot of water and to fish low and slow with larger baits or lures, since the fish aren’t overly aggressive in the colder water. For artificial options, Clouser Minnows and Kinky Muddlers in olive or brown, size 6 or 8, have been producing. If you’re going with traditional tackle, crankbaits and swimbaits trolled slowly are your best bet. Try scenting your lures for that little extra edge[1][5].
For live bait, if you can find shiners or fathead minnows, those are always a solid choice for both walleye and bass early in the season.
White bass, muskellunge, northern pike, and panfish are all possible catches, but most anglers this week are reporting mainly bass and the odd walleye[5].
A couple of hot spots to try include:
- Between Memorial Park and Nine Mile, especially in 6 to 9 feet of water, for smallmouth bass late morning and early afternoon
- Muscamoot Bay, focusing on the 7 to 10 foot range, where a slow presentation can pick up pre-spawn bass
That’s the report for today. Be patient, keep an eye on the warming water, and adjust your tactics to match the cold conditions. Good luck out there, and tight lines from Artificial Lure![1][3][4][5]
Good morning, Lake St. Clair anglers, this is Artificial Lure bringing you today’s conditions and a review of what’s biting around our local waters.
Let’s start with the conditions. We’ve had a week of gradually warming temps, and water temperature at Belle Isle was sitting at about 45 degrees in the morning and likely a bit higher by the afternoon, thanks to those sunny skies lately. Up north, near Algonac, it’s a little cooler, but still trending upward. Sunrise today was at 6:36 AM and sunset is around 8:21 PM, giving us a full day to take advantage of the bite.
Fishing overall has been slow, but fish are starting to wake up as spring settles in. Walleye anglers at the mouth of the Detroit River and further out have struggled, with only a handful of reports of success. Most pier and river fishermen are also finding it tough, but a few are getting lucky with the right approach[1].
Bass anglers are seeing scattered results. If you’re targeting smallmouth, the action has been best in the late morning to early afternoon, working 6 to 9 feet of water, especially from Memorial Park down to Nine Mile. Those trolling crankbaits in the channel around 15 to 16 feet are picking up the odd smallmouth. Reports from Muscamoot Bay and the mouth of the South Channel say some smallies are being caught in similar depths[1][3].
Best tactics right now are to cover a lot of water and to fish low and slow with larger baits or lures, since the fish aren’t overly aggressive in the colder water. For artificial options, Clouser Minnows and Kinky Muddlers in olive or brown, size 6 or 8, have been producing. If you’re going with traditional tackle, crankbaits and swimbaits trolled slowly are your best bet. Try scenting your lures for that little extra edge[1][5].
For live bait, if you can find shiners or fathead minnows, those are always a solid choice for both walleye and bass early in the season.
White bass, muskellunge, northern pike, and panfish are all possible catches, but most anglers this week are reporting mainly bass and the odd walleye[5].
A couple of hot spots to try include:
- Between Memorial Park and Nine Mile, especially in 6 to 9 feet of water, for smallmouth bass late morning and early afternoon
- Muscamoot Bay, focusing on the 7 to 10 foot range, where a slow presentation can pick up pre-spawn bass
That’s the report for today. Be patient, keep an eye on the warming water, and adjust your tactics to match the cold conditions. Good luck out there, and tight lines from Artificial Lure![1][3][4][5]
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Lake St. Clair Fishing Report for April 23, 2025
Good morning, Lake St. Clair anglers, this is Artificial Lure bringing you today’s conditions and a review of what’s biting around our local waters.
Let’s start with the conditions. We’ve had a week of gradually warming temps, and water temperature at Belle Isle was sitting at about 45 degrees in the morning and likely a bit higher by the afternoon, thanks to those sunny skies lately. Up north, near Algonac, it’s a little cooler, but still trending upward. Sunrise today was at 6:36 AM and sunset is around 8:21 PM, giving us a full day to take advantage of the bite.
Fishing overall has been slow, but fish are starting to wake up as spring settles in. Walleye anglers at the mouth of the Detroit River and further out have struggled, with only a handful of reports of success. Most pier and river fishermen are also finding it tough, but a few are getting lucky with the right approach[1].
Bass anglers are seeing scattered results. If you’re targeting smallmouth, the action has been best in the late morning to early afternoon, working 6 to 9 feet of water, especially from Memorial Park down to Nine Mile. Those trolling crankbaits in the channel around 15 to 16 feet are picking up the odd smallmouth. Reports from Muscamoot Bay and the mouth of the South Channel say some smallies are being caught in similar depths[1][3].
Best tactics right now are to cover a lot of water and to fish low and slow with larger baits or lures, since the fish aren’t overly aggressive in the colder water. For artificial options, Clouser Minnows and Kinky Muddlers in olive or brown, size 6 or 8, have been producing. If you’re going with traditional tackle, crankbaits and swimbaits trolled slowly are your best bet. Try scenting your lures for that little extra edge[1][5].
For live bait, if you can find shiners or fathead minnows, those are always a solid choice for both walleye and bass early in the season.
White bass, muskellunge, northern pike, and panfish are all possible catches, but most anglers this week are reporting mainly bass and the odd walleye[5].
A couple of hot spots to try include:
- Between Memorial Park and Nine Mile, especially in 6 to 9 feet of water, for smallmouth bass late morning and early afternoon
- Muscamoot Bay, focusing on the 7 to 10 foot range, where a slow presentation can pick up pre-spawn bass
That’s the report for today. Be patient, keep an eye on the warming water, and adjust your tactics to match the cold conditions. Good luck out there, and tight lines from Artificial Lure![1][3][4][5]
Good morning, Lake St. Clair anglers, this is Artificial Lure bringing you today’s conditions and a review of what’s biting around our local waters.
Let’s start with the conditions. We’ve had a week of gradually warming temps, and water temperature at Belle Isle was sitting at about 45 degrees in the morning and likely a bit higher by the afternoon, thanks to those sunny skies lately. Up north, near Algonac, it’s a little cooler, but still trending upward. Sunrise today was at 6:36 AM and sunset is around 8:21 PM, giving us a full day to take advantage of the bite.
Fishing overall has been slow, but fish are starting to wake up as spring settles in. Walleye anglers at the mouth of the Detroit River and further out have struggled, with only a handful of reports of success. Most pier and river fishermen are also finding it tough, but a few are getting lucky with the right approach[1].
Bass anglers are seeing scattered results. If you’re targeting smallmouth, the action has been best in the late morning to early afternoon, working 6 to 9 feet of water, especially from Memorial Park down to Nine Mile. Those trolling crankbaits in the channel around 15 to 16 feet are picking up the odd smallmouth. Reports from Muscamoot Bay and the mouth of the South Channel say some smallies are being caught in similar depths[1][3].
Best tactics right now are to cover a lot of water and to fish low and slow with larger baits or lures, since the fish aren’t overly aggressive in the colder water. For artificial options, Clouser Minnows and Kinky Muddlers in olive or brown, size 6 or 8, have been producing. If you’re going with traditional tackle, crankbaits and swimbaits trolled slowly are your best bet. Try scenting your lures for that little extra edge[1][5].
For live bait, if you can find shiners or fathead minnows, those are always a solid choice for both walleye and bass early in the season.
White bass, muskellunge, northern pike, and panfish are all possible catches, but most anglers this week are reporting mainly bass and the odd walleye[5].
A couple of hot spots to try include:
- Between Memorial Park and Nine Mile, especially in 6 to 9 feet of water, for smallmouth bass late morning and early afternoon
- Muscamoot Bay, focusing on the 7 to 10 foot range, where a slow presentation can pick up pre-spawn bass
That’s the report for today. Be patient, keep an eye on the warming water, and adjust your tactics to match the cold conditions. Good luck out there, and tight lines from Artificial Lure![1][3][4][5]