Annual Fishin' Mission--- Report

[Indian Summer]

Excited to be leaving on Saturday for our 11th or 12th annual trip to Lake St Clair which is half in Michigan and half in Ontario. We fish the Canadian side which is much more productive. Plus they have Labatt's Blue. It's been a long tough year so far. Work sucks and I'm in between jobs now. School has me buried. Last year was fantastic and I've been getting some good reports on the fishing although the storms have been rolling through really fast and furious one after the other. Catching and releasing muskies is a blast. We have our share of fun on the deck at night too.

Wish me luck guys and gals. I'll post some pics when I get back. Here's a good one from last year. I have a friend and his 13 year old son who got two like this one over the last couple days. One day last season we got 56! In one day! Excited is an understatement.

[WapitiTalk1]

Jealous. Good luck and boat a horse!

[Indian Summer]

That's the goal Rory. The numbers are nice but it's all about the pigs. Every once in awhile we boat a 5 or 6 foot sturgeon too which is cool.

[twinkieman]

Have a great trip, and right now I am turning green ENVY!

[BrentLaBere]

Awesome, I have been looking forward to your post! Couldn't believe the amount of big fish you guys pulled last year. Hope you ave a great time.

[Lefty]

Catch the big ones

[Indian Summer]

I'm back. We had another really good year. Insane really. We have 2 boats in our cabin each with 3 guys. it takes 3 to fish the Great Lakes running planer boards etc. One guy has to man the wheel while one reels in fish and the other grabs them with the Boga Grip... or in the case of monsters.. the net.

My boat landed 154 muskies. Our cabin mates 145. A total of 299 for the week. Had we known that on the water we would have stuck it out for one more. We had a strong finish on Saturday with a double... then a triple.. all over 40 inches, then several more over 40. The last two hours were crazy so we could have easily caught #300.

Each boat landed 4 fish over 50 inches. My buddy Adam got a 53. His partner got a 52. His dad got a 50.5 and a 50.25. Two over 50! My one boat partner got a 51. I was the lucky stick for the week with a 50.5, 52.5 and a 53. I got two over 50 in one day... and a huge hangover the next! lol

We had 51 fish over the 40 inch mark. My one partner and I tied with 18 each and the other guy got 15 so pretty even. We take turns on fish using the same order all week. In those fish I got a 45, 48, and a fat 49 incher. Hell of a trip. Lake St Clair can be rough weatherwise. it is 20 miles long with an average depth of 12 feet. So if you can imagine what a puddle looks like when you hit it with a leaf blower you'll get the picture. I've seen 15 foot waves and boats blown onto shore with holes blown in the sides. water spout. Even two tornadoes over the years. This year we only got blown off the lake for half of one day. Pretty lucky.

Like elk hunting big water muskie fishing is hard work. 13 hour days. Cut fingers and sore muscles. It's one of those vacations you need a vacation after... but can't wait to get back. Those of you who know a thing or two about muskie fishing will appreciate these numbers. Not to brag but we have become the masters of the lake. Nobody comes close to what we catch. Half at best. They ask how we do it and we say the program is work! That and Wiley Lures which is all we use. Nothing else. 5 1/2 inch crankbaits. Mostly jointed and some straight bodies. Things change several times every day. Fish location. Location of schools of bait. The color they want based on light and water color. Our rains never stop as we talk all day every day about what to use and where to go. Dale Wile, who makes the lures is one of my partners and we use his boat. He has only fished the lake a couple years and has developed faith in me... never letting me out from behind the steering wheel and fishfinder/GPS.

We see other boats catching fish all the time but at the ramp at the end of the day we always seem to have stumbled on to a few more than everyone else. I credit my elk hunting state of mind to that in part. Persistence and a methodical thought process. Look at what is going on, consider the factors and the changes taking place and keep updating the plan. We have a saying on our boat that goes "Why keep doing the same thing and hoping for different results" If it ain't broke don't fix it but if it isn't working right... make adjustments. Nothing major... just subtle ones. Something to think about.

With this trip behind me I'm now counting down the weeks to elk season. it's coming fast. I hope my luck continues in the mountains. A few pics of the bigger ones......

[Indian Summer]

Piggys

[Indian Summer]

E20140622_141644_2.jpg (71.47 KiB) Viewed 6887 times

EDaleWiley.jpg (91.58 KiB) Viewed 6887 times

Let em' go to grow. 100% Catch & Release.

E2014062295082314.jpg (67.33 KiB) Viewed 6887 times

[Indian Summer]

The good, the bad.... and the ugly! lol

[zpd307]

holy shitake

[Indian Summer]

Cabin Mates. Nothing like good partners right!

[Indian Summer]

Our senior mate Bill Andresky. Nicest guy you'd ever meet. Last day, one for the road. 50 1/2 incher. Happy birthday Bill!

[easeup]

holy cow batman....that s a haul!

IS - fishing guide to the stars!

[WapitiTalk1]

Joe, glad you had the makers mark to drown your sorrows for not catching any big fish what a trophy trip buddy.

[BrentLaBere]

Kellogs, Labatt and Makers. All good stuff......but whats the coke for?
Awesome stuff and thanks for sharing again this year! I have a few buddies that consider themselves muskie fanatics and are still looking for their first 50+....
Those are awesome numbers to post up

[Indian Summer]

Yeah there are people who fish the same lake on the same dates and have yet to boat a 50. It takes hundreds of fish to come across one. Size is by luck mostly. But the guys in the other boat, and several others I know there use lures other than Wiley's and the 50s they do catch, and most of the big ones, hit on the Wiley lures. I can't figure out why anyone would handicap themselves by burning gas to drag anything else really.

Here's one more pic I got this morning. Big Fish Ed, a good friend, and a rare catch. A 45 1/2 inch tiger muskie. A nice fat one too. Tiger's are a cross between a muskie and a northern pike and are sterile... can't reproduce, so I might have kept this one and put it on the wall. He's considering a reproduction mount.

Ed has 15 fish over 50 inches from St Clair. This year on the deck at night they were all calling me Ed. lol Eddie doubles as our disc jockey on the deck.

[BrentLaBere]

Great looking fish. We boated one this year up on LOTW but it was a young one, roughly 32".
Do you strictly troll those lures? Or is there anyway you can throw them and get good action. Most of the time they are throwing, but sometimes they will troll late fall. I might have to tell em about those lures.
Again, awesome stuff

[Csrbowhunter]

Joe,

Man that's awesome to catch that many muskie in a week! Let alone for a lifetime!!! Next year after all the advice you have given me, I should do a lot better I'm still waiting on those wiley lures to come in. After they do I'm going to try them at a lake near me called Caesar's Creek. I can't get back to lake st. clair till next year so I have to get my fix some how

[Indian Summer]

I know them all. lol Caesar's has some of the fastest growing muskies anywhere. They are some really nice fat fish too. A few years back some guys formed the Caesar' Creek Chapter of Muskies Inc and turned in some really nice fish in the release contest. I have never fished it but would like to. I have a bunch of friends in Dayton that I'm always wanting to visit too. Figure some things out over there and maybe I'll join you some day. Did you order lures on the Muskie Thrills website? That seems to be the best way. Dale is so busy he hasn't answered his phone in months. He's usually standing at the lather or in the paint room. It's even hard for those of us who know him to get an order in. Be patient.

Have you booked a room? Places to stay up there are tough on the prime weeks. Being that it is centrally located I like Deerbrook. Plus Al the owner is totally cool. I know of a house to rent in the east corner by the Thames River. There's a canal and a dock to keep your boat in the water too which is nice. As long as a NW wind doesn't stain up the water in that end it would be THE place to stay. Get in touch with me before you leave and I'll give you some detailed pointers. I might make a mid summer trip this ear. I have a friend who left today for a week. Also... late fall is INSANE. Thousands of muskies move into the Thames River. Like salmon you can even see them porpoising on the surface heading in the river. It gets crowded and you can only run one rod in there but the fishing is nuts. The shore will be lined with fishermen too. For that reason I prefer to stay out on the lake where I can run two rods with less people around. You can fish in tight at the first break to 8-9 feet using bigger lures than in the summer. It's nice, and cheap, because you don't have to make long runs to get to the fish. The fish are fatter and there are some real hogs caught then. Plenty of 50s. There is no question that Lake St Clair is hands down the number one muskie lake in North America. You can get some heavier fish in the Georgian bay and the St Lawrence obviously has sea monsters but you won't come close to the numbers anywhere else. Not even close! One thing to remember... the lake seems big when you first start fishing it. But year after year as you get more waypoints dropped it gets smaller and smaller looking. I have waypoints from Detroit to the east corner. There is always a "spot" to jump on and catch muskies no matter what the conditions are or where you may be forced to fish according to the wind. Stay in touch. I love hearing reports after hooking people up. Next year your report will be totally different. Just make sure you have those Wiley's I'm telling you.

[Csrbowhunter]

Yea I ordered from Muskie thrills. I'd like to add those colors you told me about before he sends my other Order so I can save on shipping. I'll let you know how I do at ceasars. I know some guys that have really done well down there. I only fished it once for Muskie. Most of the time when I fish it I'm fishing for crappie and walleye.
I think next year I'll be able to go up around 20th of June. It can't come fast enough! Lol

[Indian Summer]

Starting in 2015 we are back to odd dates. Actually tey are our original dates. Season always starts the 1st Saturday of June. Next year the 1st is a Sunday so no fishing the first week of the month. With 2 groups ahead of us in the cabin that bumps us back to June 27 to July 5th. Todd Leopardi will be up there the week before us as always. He will do better with our dates manly because of warmer water temps. Our week will be just as good. Those are the two top weeks for sure. What are you using for line & leaders? We use Mason Tiger braid in 80 lb and fluorocarbon for leader material. Are you running planer boards?

[wawhitey]

oh this thread is torture. havent fished since last summer. ive locked in a spot on a really gravy run this summer, but it provides no fishing opportunities. (tug work) heres me on the tug a couple years ago down off the pacific side of mexico, heading back from florida. biggest fish ive ever caught. http://imgur.com/ngk0qmS

the pic doesnt do it justice. i have better pics somewhere, thing was almost 6ft long.

[Csrbowhunter]

I'm using 60# braid with 6foot flora carbon leader . Some people say they don't like braid because it has no stretch and you pull it right out of their mouths but I just set my drag loose. I haven't used plainer boards but from what everyone says that's what most of their fish come off of. It sounds like I need to learn to use them. They look like a pain in the a$$ to me.

[Ghost]

Holy hannah Joe!! Thats doing something!!

[Indian Summer]

Ha ha.. yeah Cort, if you're going to do something might as well do it right ya know. But that doesn't happen over night. Quite the learning curve.

Your setup sounds just fine to me Csrbowhunter. I guess it's pretty easy to see the advantage of planer boards especially on big water. We cover about a 125 foot wide swath. But there is nothing wrong with boat rods. We get lots of fish on them. Some days they outfish the board rods for some reason and we get plenty of the big fish from the boat. Boards can be a pain in the arse. But they are worth it and eventually running them becomes second nature.

Now sliders... those freaking things are a different story. Since 2 rods per man became legal I don't play with them. mM friends do and 3 guys have 8 lures in the water... but we still outfish them. I used to run them. Over the years I have handlined two 51 1/2 inchers if you can imagine that! lol