Lake St. Clair Winter Smallmouth, Walleye, and Perch Report

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Lake St. Clair fishing report.

We’re deep into early winter now, so think **cold water, slow presentations, and safety first**. According to the National Weather Service for the Detroit/Port Huron corridor, we’ve got seasonable early‑December temps, light to moderate west–northwest winds, and a mix of clouds and filtered sun. Air temps are riding the mid‑30s to low‑40s, and water temps on St. Clair are hovering just above the upper‑30s to low‑40s. Sunrise is right around 7:45 a.m., sunset about 4:55 p.m., so the best bite window has been late morning into that mid‑afternoon warmup.

No real tide here, just seiche and wind‑driven fluctuation, but the Great Lakes water‑level bulletins show Lake St. Clair running a few inches below long‑term late‑fall averages, so expect a slightly lower, very clear lake. That clear water has the fish spooky but still chewing if you fish smart and slow.

Recent chatter from local shops around Harrison Township and St. Clair Shores has been all about **late‑season smallmouth, walleye, and perch**. The bass guys working the deeper breaks have been picking off decent smallmouth, mostly 2–4 pounds, with an odd 5 mixed in. Walleye trollers and jiggers are reporting decent numbers—nothing crazy, but enough keepers for a mixed bag. Perch catches have been more hit‑or‑miss, with pockets of 9–11 inch fish when you land on the schools.

Cold‑water smallmouth are acting just like Jonathon VanDam describes for northern clear lakes: roaming edges, feeding by sight, and responding to subtle stuff you can keep in their face. Major League Fishing’s breakdown of his smallmouth approach still plays here: **jerkbaits, tubes, and swimbaits** worked slowly over primary breaks are the ticket.

Best producers right now:

- **Lures**
- Suspending jerkbaits in natural perch, goby, and ghost shad patterns, long pauses.
- 3.5" tubes in green pumpkin, goby, and brown craw on 3/8 oz heads, dragged and lightly hopped in 14–20 feet.
- Small paddletail swimbaits (3–3.75") on 1/4–3/8 oz heads, slow‑rolling near bottom.

- **Bait**
- For walleye: emerald shiners or minnows on a simple jig, slowly lifted and dropped.
- For perch: perch rigs with small minnows or spikes, just off bottom, staying mobile until you mark a school.

Couple of **hot spots** to circle:

- **Mile Roads / 9‑ to 14‑Mile area**: Focus on the deeper breaks and isolated rock in 13–20 feet. Good for smallmouth and bonus walleye when the wind sets up a drift.
- **Metro Beach / mouth of the Clinton River**: Work the edges of the channels and nearby flats as they slide into deeper water; good mixed‑bag zone with perch and the odd walleye when current’s moving.

Fish are not smashing baits; they’re sipping. Downsize line, go to fluorocarbon, and let that bait soak. If you think you’re fishing slow, slow down more.

That’s your Lake St. Clair update from Artificial Lure.

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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI