Lake St. Clair Smallmouth Heat Up: Drop Shot and Topwater Tactics for Today

This is Artificial Lure with your Lake St. Clair fishing report. Light south breeze on the lake this morning with air temps starting in the low 60s and pushing into the upper 70s by afternoon. Skies are mostly clear, with a slight chop building as the day goes on. Barometer is steady to slowly falling, which usually helps the bite. Sunrise was just after 5:50 a.m., with sunset around 9:10 p.m., giving you a long window to work those low‑light periods. Lake St. Clair is technically non‑tidal, but we do get seiche and wind-driven water level changes. With a light south wind, expect a little extra push on the U.S. side shorelines and slightly dirtier water in the shallows by midday. Bass action has been very good the last few days. Local anglers around the Mile Roads and out of Metro Beach have been reporting solid numbers of smallmouth, with plenty of 2–4 pound fish and an occasional 5‑plus mixed in. On the Canadian side, the open water gravel and rock patches are also giving up good fish, especially in 10–16 feet. Best producers for smallmouth right now are **tube jigs** in green pumpkin or goby patterns, 3–4 inch **swimbaits** on 1/4 oz heads, and **drop shot** rigs with shad‑style baits or 4–5 inch finesse worms. When the sun gets up and the wind lays down, the drop shot has been outfishing most other presentations. Early and late, a **walking topwater** or small **popper** over 6–8 feet of water can trigger some violent strikes. Walleye reports have been decent but not on fire. Most are coming as by‑catch to bass anglers dragging bottom near the channels and deeper breaks. If you want to target them, run a bottom bouncer with a crawler harness in bright chartreuse or firetiger, or jig a 1/2 oz hair jig tipped with a minnow where you mark bait. Perch are spotty, but the guys willing to move have been picking up enough for a meal. Smaller minnows on perch rigs in 12–18 feet near weed edges are your best bet. Don’t sit too long; if you don’t have a few in 15–20 minutes, bump a quarter mile and reset. A couple of hot spots to circle on the map today: • **Mile Roads / 9–12 Mile area**: Focus on 8–14 feet, looking for scattered rock and weed clumps. Start with tubes and swimbaits, then finesse with drop shot once you locate a pod of fish. • **St. Clair Flats edges**: Work the outside weed lines and current seams where the channels spill into the lake. Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, and swimbaits can all shine here, with a chance at bass, pike, and the odd muskie. Muskie action is just starting to wake up. Trollers running big crankbaits and bucktails along breaks in 12–18 feet have seen a handful of fish, with most in the mid‑30s to low 40‑inch range. It’s not peak yet, but if you put in your time, there are fish to be had. Live bait: emerald shiners and nightcrawlers remain the go‑to. For artificials, think natural goby and perch colors in the clearer eastern and mid‑lake water, and brighter chartreuse and white in any stained water closer to the river mouths. That’s your Lake St. Clair rundown from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn