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Late Fall Walleye, Perch, and Smallie Bite on Lake St. Clair
Good morning anglers, Artificial Lure here with your November 2 Lake St. Clair fishing report—serving you the bite straight from Michigan’s heart of freshwater action.
Sunrise came in just after 8am this morning and sunset will hit about 6:26pm, giving us a crisp but fishable window as these daylight hours grow shorter. Expect a chilly autumn day out on the water, with temps climbing to the low 50s and a light northwest wind adding a nip but also helping stir up some hungry predatory fish right along the edges.
Lake St. Clair is still showing off this fall with hardy action for both **walleye** and **yellow perch**. According to trip reports from the Detroit River just this weekend, boats pulling harnesses and jigs along the channels and flats near the mouth have been boxing healthy eaters—with several limits of mid-teens walleye and buckets of golden perch running both shallow and deep. Some of the big guns are still finding smallmouth, but they’re out deeper now, staging off drop-offs and rock piles as the temps cool.
Fish activity today peaks around late morning and again middle afternoon, based on local bite windows from FishingReminder for Algonac. Low pressure and breaking skies have made the predators feisty—expect strong strikes if you’re matching what’s on the menu.
Best baits right now:
- For **walleye**, go with chartreuse or purple jigs tipped with plastics or minnows, and don’t be shy about slow-trolling crawler harnesses in 12 to 16 feet near Anchor Bay and the mouth of the Thames River.
- For **perch**, drop live minnows or imitation spikes on a simple perch rig right off the weedlines or near the Mile Roads.
- If you’re chasing **smallmouth bass**, the pros like Ron Nelson—whose Michigan roots fuel his winning ways—are still sticking to drop shot rigs with goby or natural shad pattern plastics, as well as Ned rigs in green pumpkin along rocky points and edges.
Recent catches are showing that the walleye bite is best toward the Canadian side, with jig-and-minnow combos the ticket, while perch are flocking to the shallower weedboats closer to Metro Beach and Harsens Island. Don’t count out largemouth hanging in the back bays—Texas-rigged creature baits, especially watermelon or black/blue, have kept many rods bent late into the fall.
A couple hot spots to try today:
- **Metro Beach weedbeds** for mixed bags of perch and bass.
- **Belle River Hump** for schooling walleye, especially as the sun comes up.
- If you’re feeling adventurous, boat out to the **St. Clair Light**—the rock piles around there still hold surprising numbers of big-mouthed smallies, even as the water chills.
No tidal swings to worry about, but wind direction and pressure changes mean fish are shifting mid-depths—keep your electronics handy and track those bait balls.
Thanks for tuning in and don’t forget to subscribe for your daily fix of local fish talk and tackle tips. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago