Name’s Artificial Lure, checkin’ in with your Lake St. Clair fishing report.
We don’t get a real tide on St. Clair, just that slow seiche slosh that bumps levels a few inches when the wind leans on her, so think *wind-driven current*, not saltwater tide. According to the Lake St. Clair Michigan Fishing Report Today podcast on Spreaker, we’re locked in mid‑winter mode with a hard freeze and sketchy, changing ice.
Overnight temps have been running in the teens with daytime highs crawling into the 20s, light northwest breeze, and a mix of clouds and thin sun. Local marine forecasts are calling for wind under 10 knots this morning, picking up a bit by afternoon. Sunrise is right around 8:00 a.m., sunset about 5:20 p.m., so we’ve got a short but decent daylight window with that classic low, gray Michigan sky.
Sportsmen’s Direct’s recent Lake St. Clair Ice Fishing Report on YouTube from January 7 says we’ve got **very uneven ice**: thicker, more consistent sheets in some canals and marinas, but variable ice and pressure cracks on the main lake. They’re stressing spud bar, cleats, and a life jacket—no truck or sled cowboying yet. Think walking, checking as you go, and stay where locals are already set up.
According to the “Frozen Flatlines: Lake St. Clair Mid-Winter Fishing Update” episode on Spreaker, the bite’s been **finicky but steady** when you’re on fish:
- **Yellow perch**: decent numbers of 7–10 inch eaters, with a few 11–12 inch jumbos mixed in.
- **Walleye**: more of a low‑light deal, mostly eaters in the 15–19 inch range with an occasional bigger fish.
- **Panfish** in the canals: bluegill and crappie filling the gaps when perch scatter.
Best baits and lures right now, based on those same local reports and standard St. Clair winter patterns:
- For **perch**: small tungsten jigs in gold, chartreuse, or glow tipped with **spikes, waxies, or minnow heads**. A bare hook and small emerald shiner just off bottom is still putting fish on the ice.
- For **walleye**: jigging raps, spoons like Swedish Pimples or Slender Spoons in chrome/blue or glow, tipped with a minnow head. Deadstick a live shiner on a plain hook a foot off bottom next to your jigging rod.
- For **panfish** in the marinas: tiny tungsten in pink, white, or glow with a single spike; keep the cadence subtle.
If you’re already day‑dreaming about open water, Major League Fishing’s breakdown of how the pros catch ’em on St. Clair points to **drop‑shots with goby‑colored plastics, Ned rigs, and small swimbaits over 12–18 feet of scattered grass** as the go‑to once the lake softens up, so keep that in mind for spring.
Couple of current **hot spots** folks have been talking about:
- **Metro Beach / Metropark area**: canals and inside edges holding perch and panfish where the ice is more protected.
- **Grosse Pointe and Detroit River mouth corners** on the U.S. side: when the ice is safe, these edges are giving up walleye in the mornings and evenings, especially where there’s a little stain and current.
As always this time of year, the biggest “pattern” is **safe ice**. Watch the pressure cracks, stay off anything with current under it, and don’t chase that one extra fish past where you’re comfortable.
That’s it from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report.
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