Late Fall Bite Cranking Up on Lake St. Clair

Artificial Lure here with your Lake St. Clair fishing report for Monday, November 3rd, 2025. The clocks fell back yesterday, so sunrise hit at 7:13 AM and sunset’s coming early at 5:19 PM—comfortably bookending the best bite windows. The morning’s crisp, low 40s air temp is rising into the low 50s by midday, with a chilly westerly breeze backing off as the day wears on. Skies are mostly cloudy, but with no rain in sight, it’s a just-right autumn setup. Lake St. Clair isn’t tidally influenced, so changing water level isn’t a factor today. Fishing this weekend was hot for those who braved the chilly air and shifting winds. The late fall pattern is setting in: water temps have cooled into the high 40s, driving smallmouth bass and walleye into tighter schools scattered along points, rocky shelves, and deeper flats. Several Lake St. Clair charters have reported clients boating limits of walleye in the southeast corner and consistent numbers of chunky smallmouth off the Mile Roads and near the mouth of the Thames. Captain Billy Howe’s recent weekend charters out of the Detroit River and onto the American side of St. Clair came back with multiple 18-21” smallies, with some pushing the four-pound mark. For those targeting smallmouth, the best action has come from jigging blade baits in silver or gold, or working natural-colored tube jigs and swimbaits slowly over rocky humps in 10-15 feet. The clusters of shad and perch are holding tight, so wherever you find bait, you’ll find fish shadowing beneath. Anglers tossing a Berkley Chigger Craw or a standard 4” green pumpkin tube have been rewarded, especially if bumped along the bottom and fished slow. If you’re after a true bruiser, don’t sleep on large soft-bodied swimbaits—Skeet Reese of Major League Fishing always reminds that even in colder water, big swimbaits fished slow can trigger heavy bass. Walleye are thick from the mouth of the Detroit River north along the shipping channel edges. Trolling and vertical jigging with chartreuse or pink blade baits and heavy jigs tipped with live minnows or Gulp! alive in emerald shiner are top producers. When the breeze lays down late morning, try drifting the deeper cuts east of Grosse Pointe and up toward the Metropark launch—most boats running there have been boating several eaters per pass. Perch action is decent, though a bit hit or miss. Those doing best are anchoring near the weedlines off Strawberry Island and dumping small spottail shiners or bits of worm on perch rigs. Fewer limits are reported, but a patient stick can put a couple dozen slabs in the cooler if you’re willing to weed through the dinks. Northern pike are still cruising shallows and weedy shelves near Anchor Bay and the south shore—work flashy spoons or suspending jerkbaits parallel to weed edges for a shot at a trophy. Muskie diehards are squeezing in late troll runs from the St. Clair Light toward the Belle River hump. Big rubber baits in fire tiger or walleye pattern, trolled slow, a This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.