Late Season Lake St. Clair Smallmouth Bonanza

This is Artificial Lure with your Lake St. Clair, Michigan fishing report for Thursday, November 13, 2025. Light winds swept through last night, and by sunrise at 7:19 AM, the lake lay under a brisk 37°F sky, warming only slightly with cloudy conditions expected most of the day. They say we’ll keep flirting with mid-40s, and sunset comes early at 5:16 PM. No tide here—being a Great Lake—but water levels remain stable, with recent rains keeping shore edges slightly swollen according to USGS Water Data. Local fall runoff means clarity’s reduced in some feeder creeks, so target main lake areas for best visibility. Fish are shifting deep, but action’s still hot for late-season smallmouth and some bonus walleye, especially off Metro Beach and the mile roads. Sportsmen’s Direct, reporting yesterday, mentioned solid smallmouth catches on deep breaks and scattered walleye near the channels. Most boats this week are landing up to 15-20 smallmouth per outing; sizes range from solid “football” 2-pounders up to a few pushing 5-plus. Word is even a few muskie are still on the prowl, best early or late in the day, hanging close to river mouths. Best lures are clear water finesse styles—Strike King Baby Z-Too rigged drop-shot, as recommended by local legend Kevin VanDam, is gold right now. Use 1/8 to 3/8 ounce weights and 8-pound flouro leader for those deep fish. For fewer snags, try Duo Realis Spinbait spybaits—slow retrieve is key, just let ‘em wobble down and swim steady. Color-wise, natural shad, smelt, or perch patterns stand out as water cools. If you’re throwing blades or underspins, smaller is better; lakes finesse underspins drew strikes in the past few days, according to a detailed YouTube report on Lake St. Clair. On the bait side, nothing beats live minnows right now, especially golden shiners or small suckers. Rig them on simple single-pointed hooks, as the Michigan DNR regulations allow—no trebles or weighted jigs in the main river channels for whitefish protection, but on the rest of St. Clair, drop-shotting plastics gets the nod. Walleye trollers did alright near the river mouths, catching half a dozen per trip this week. Stickbaits in clown or firetiger colors worked best dusk to dawn. Perch remain scattered, with modest catches on small minnows fished right under the boat at 12-18 feet. Hot spots this morning: - **Metro Beach drop-offs:** Fish 14-22 feet with finesse rigs in the midmorning window, targeting transitions from weeds to sand. - **9 Mile ramp shoals:** Early hours give you a shot at those stubborn muskies and bonus smallmouth holding on subtle structure. - **Mile Road seawalls (particularly 10 and 12):** Cast parallel with spybaits or small crankbaits for roaming bass. As the weather cools and leaf debris increases, keep an eye on water clarity and oxygen—a reminder from Metroparks stormwater management: fall runoff can occasionally trigger low-oxygen “fish kill” events, but right now fish are biting and alive. Thanks for This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.