Ice Fishing Lake St. Clair

B

Bwilson

Joined
Aug 18, 2006
Messages
257
Thought you guys/gals might enjoy this.

Went Ice fishing on Lake St. Clair with my Dad and Uncle yesterday. The fishing wasn't very good (caught about 40 or 50 perch but only 6 keepers). Ended up keeping 6 perch over 8" with a 11" and a 12.5". For those not familiar with perch fishing - most people don't keep anything under 7 or 8" as they are a pain to clean - anything over 11" is a "jumbo" and not very many are caught over 13".

The weather was a beautiful 10 degrees at 7:30 am when we got on the ice. Fog had visibility down to about 100 yards for the first hour we were there and the temp rose to a balmy 25 degrees after the sun cooked the fog off the lake.

Unfortunately the cold killed my batteries and I was unable to take a pic of the 300 or so other guys/gals ice fishing from their 4 wheelers and snowmobiles. I was also unable to get pics of the fish that were caught (they were caught by my uncle so I was unable to get pics when I got home - he took them).

Here is a pic of my Dad drilling a hole about 30 mins or so after sunrise (he's 67 and still uses a hand auger - my hero)

IMG_3274.jpg
[/IMG]

Another pic of my dad walking into the abyss

IMG_3275.jpg


Pic of my Uncle getting ready to use his 18 volt dewalt drill with auger attachment. He's 72 and the best ice fisherman I've ever known

IMG_3276.jpg


Deluxe traveling accomodations for the ice

IMG_3280.jpg


And in this pic you can barely see the hand carved and hand wrapped rod made for me by my uncle (the one in the pic above)

IMG_3284.jpg


Sorry for the lack of fish pics and especially sorry for not having any pics of the "zoo" lake St. Clair can become during ice season. Those not familiar would be amazed. In another month or so there will be hundreds of cars/trucks on the ice as well as bonfires and cookouts, snowmobile and motorcycle races - it's a blast. I'll post some more after the next outing.
 
Last edited:
Rupestris said:
Looks like a good time.
Is that out of the North Channel near Algonac?
Click to expand...

That is what the locals refer to as the "yellow wall". It's between cotton rd. and where the salt river dumps into the lake. There is a yellow steel sea wall that has a nice weedbed in about 8 f.o.w about 1/4 mile out - usually pretty good in the early season for perch. We were hampered yesterday by a rising barometer - makes the fishing slow IMO.

Our normal fishing areas are in front of Gino's, around the Selfridge Air National Guard base, the "raft" at the tip of anchor bay, cotton rd. As the season progresses and the ice improves we move all over and sometimes venture into Canadian water - but not until we can get the 4 wheelers out. Too far of a walk for me, not to mention the older guys I usually fish with.

You sound pretty familiar with the area, you ever ice fish?
 
Bwilson said:
You sound pretty familiar with the area, you ever ice fish?
Click to expand...

Negative Ghost Rider!

I love fishing but there hasn't been one born that will get me out on the ice :D.

We run my unce's boat out of Sassy's Marina in Algonac and perch fish in Anchor Bay when the ice is much softer. Usually south of, and just within sight of the church with the big spire/steeple (can't remember what cross roads its near:o).

He's close to 70 and doesn't feel well enough most days to chase the toothy critters anymore. We go out with him because he still loves to go but won't go out alone. He's happy to jig for Perch so we spend a few days a year out there.
 
Thanks for sharing. I've always thought it would be fun to try ice fishing but never had the chance to try it.
 
Rupestris said:
Negative Ghost Rider!

I love fishing but there hasn't been one born that will get me out on the ice :D.

We run my unce's boat out of Sassy's Marina in Algonac and perch fish in Anchor Bay when the ice is much softer. Usually south of, and just within sight of the church with the big spire/steeple (can't remember what cross roads its near:o).

He's close to 70 and doesn't feel well enough most days to chase the toothy critters anymore. We go out with him because he still loves to go but won't go out alone. He's happy to jig for Perch so we spend a few days a year out there.
Click to expand...

We spend quite a bit of time in that section of the lake - I think I know the Church you're talking about (just west of the 2 canals by the Raft bar?).

Some people just aren't "hard water" fishermen. We spend some time in the lake in the summer (Dad has a 25 ft Crestliner) - but most of the summer fishing is done on Lake Erie for walleye.

Ice fishing is another chance to get outside - with the added bonus of catching the best eating fish there is - perch!
 
fishiker said:
Thanks for sharing. I've always thought it would be fun to try ice fishing but never had the chance to try it.
Click to expand...

If you're ever in the SE Mich area in Jan or Feb - I'll take ya. I see you're from Va - it may take a few days to thicken your blood for the cold weather. I didn't even have my "warm" clothes on for the cold weather yesterday. They don't get put on until the temp gets in the single digits (the next few days). You'll notice in the pics that we aren't wearing gloves - that usually blows most peoples mind's. I guess you just get used to it.

It's alot of fun, doesn't cost much money to get started and is one more thing to get you outside enjoying mother nature.
 
I've never gone ice fishing and never really understood the motivation but just seeing those pics I could get it. Great shots-particularly the one of your dad walking away from the camera. I'm a weather geek so I know how cold it was in MI the past couples of days-we'll be getting a milder version of it towards this weekend here in NY. No gloves? Wow, you must be right about getting used to it over time!
 
Very cool. I actually haven't ice fished on Lake St. Clair yet! Not much better tasting than yellow perch. Thanks for the pictures and description of your day out.

Here is a monster yellow perch that came out of W. Lake Erie. It was 626 g (1.4 lbs)!

DSC_0043b.jpg
 
Buckaroo661 said:
I've never gone ice fishing and never really understood the motivation but just seeing those pics I could get it. Great shots-particularly the one of your dad walking away from the camera. I'm a weather geek so I know how cold it was in MI the past couples of days-we'll be getting a milder version of it towards this weekend here in NY. No gloves? Wow, you must be right about getting used to it over time!
Click to expand...

The key to not wearing gloves while ice fishing (we aren't complete idiots - we put them on when it gets "real" cold - 4 or 5 degrees) is to make sure the rest of the body is warm. My Dad actually wears them quite a bit - he had open heart surgery 10 years ago and now has a artificial mitral valve - his extremities get pretty cold. We also don't fish with minnows or wigglers, both of which require your hands to get wet while baiting hooks. Believe it or not, on sunny days it actually gets pretty "warm", even if the temp is in the low
20's. The worst sunburn I've ever had was while ice fishing in late february - there was no snow on the ice and the reflection from the sun (coupled with a bit of windburn) left me looking like an idiot for awhile.

Here's Bwilson's tip of the day for cold weather dressing (especially icefishing). In order to keep your feet warm while ice fishing - buy your boots 1 to 1.5 sizes larger than normal to enable a 1/4" felt insole to be placed under the regular insole. The boot should also be just a "tad" loose while wearing a liner sock and then the thickest insulated sock you can find. If the boot is even a little tight - your feet will get cold while standing on the ice. If you can keep your feet and your head warm - your hands won't get cold either.
 
kgd said:
Very cool. I actually haven't ice fished on Lake St. Clair yet! Not much better tasting than yellow perch. Thanks for the pictures and description of your day out.

Here is a monster yellow perch that came out of W. Lake Erie. It was 626 g (1.4 lbs)!

DSC_0043b.jpg
Click to expand...

for those that aren't aware - the pic above is what we call a "jumbo" perch. Helluva nice fish KGD. Next time I'm over at my Dad's I'll take a pic of the one he had mounted. He caught on 12/31/99 - the last fish he caught of the millenium. 13 3/4", and approx 1.5 lbs - he never had it accurately weighed - his weight was on a digital fish scale that only measure in .5 lb increments - the scale said 1.5 lbs (so it was within a few oz's of 1.5).

We also fish lake erie alot in the summer. We usually put in at bolles harbor and then fish the dumping grounds, out around sputnik and west sister island(Ohio water) and early and late season in front of the Detroit Edison stacks in 15 f.o.w or so.
 
briangandrews said:
Where do I sign up for that gig? :D

Nice pics!

B
Click to expand...

My Uncle goes every single day. My Dad goes 3 or so times/week. They are retired and can do that. I work and have 2 kids under 3 - which means my trips are limited. My next "planned" trip is 01/26/09 (A Monday). If you're really interested I can tell you a day or so in advance of where we're leaving out of ( usually don't know until a day or two prior - my Uncle scouts everything out since he's out there every day. He lets us know where they've been catching them and then we all meet at a predetermined spot. I would offer you to just meet at my house and then ride with me but we usually have a truck full (our "planned" trips always involve my Dad - he doesn't hunt much anymore so fishing is the only way I get to spend outdoor time with him. He always takes one of his old work buddies and I have a guy that always goes with me).

The nice thing about the next trip - there will be enough ice for the 4 wheeler. We usually take one and then pull it's trailer behind the 4 wheeler so nobody has to walk.

Let me know if you want to go and we'll work out the details.
bwilson3929@comcast.net
 
Bwilson said:
If you're ever in the SE Mich area in Jan or Feb - I'll take ya. I see you're from Va - it may take a few days to thicken your blood for the cold weather. I didn't even have my "warm" clothes on for the cold weather yesterday. They don't get put on until the temp gets in the single digits (the next few days). You'll notice in the pics that we aren't wearing gloves - that usually blows most peoples mind's. I guess you just get used to it.

It's alot of fun, doesn't cost much money to get started and is one more thing to get you outside enjoying mother nature.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the offer. If we have another cut-back at work I may have some free time on my hands. When I fish in the winter I wear wool fingerless gloves but I don't know if my blood could thicken up enough for no gloves. They're calling for cold temps here for the next couple of days and my fishing partners are concerned that I still want to get out Sat.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top