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Late Fall Fishing Report for Lake St. Clair - Smallies, Walleye, and Mixed Bag Action
This is Artificial Lure bringing you today’s fishing report for Lake St. Clair and the surrounding Michigan waters, Monday, November 3, 2025. We’re into that late fall window—water temps are sliding into the high 40s to low 50s, making for classic mixed-bag action and some of the last big pushes before ice sets in.
First, the weather and timing. Today’s sunrise came in at 7:13 AM with sunset expected at 5:23 PM. Skies are mostly cloudy with temps peaking in the upper 40s by the afternoon, and a steady northwest breeze fizzing things up out on the open lake. Lake St. Clair isn’t tidal, but that steady wind churn will put some drift on your lines and keeps those predator fish feeding, especially in wind-swept shallows and edges.
Fish activity this past week’s been strong. Lots of folks targeting smallmouth and largemouth bass, and that bite has continued to produce with fish holding off deeper breaks near the mile roads and around Anchor Bay. Captain Billy Howe, who fishes out of Detroit, said his best numbers are still coming on a mix of jigging and trolling, with smallmouth running 2–5 pounds and several reports of bigger 18–20 inchers in the mix. According to CaptainExperiences.com, fall trips have been filled with “lots of fish” and great overall action, even with the chill and a little wind chop.
Walleye anglers are doing their damage too—especially drifting out by the channels and Belle Isle, as well as the shipping lanes leading into the Detroit River. Recent catches are reminiscent of late October: limits aren’t a gimme, but 2-3 good ‘eyes a trip is about average, with some folks hitting more if you find the right school.
For gear, the story all week has been on natural-looking artificial lures. MajorLeagueFishing.com highlights craw-style plastics—green pumpkin or watermelon work wonders all year on Lake St. Clair, and Ned rigs or tubes can hardly be beat as that water keeps cooling. For crankbaiting, lean towards lipless styles or classic jerkbaits in shad patterns. Local guides like Billy Howe will also tell you that slow-rolling hair jigs tipped with minnows produce both bass and the occasional bonus walleye.
Bait-wise, nothing’s beating lively shiners or fatheads. But if you’re out to cover water, blade baits and jigging spoons are working well in 10–18 feet.
A couple of hot spots to put on your hit list today:
- **Metro Beach Mile Roads** for stacked-up smallies, especially early and late around deeper weed lines.
- **The St. Clair Light/Beacon area**, northeast of Harley Ensign launch, is known for mixed bags—perch, walleye, and some bonus pike.
Day by day, it’s classic November fishing—bundle up, fish slow, and key on moving baits if you find an active window. Most importantly, check the Michigan DNR regulations on size and limit—remember, bass harvest runs thru end of December for St. Clair-Detroit so you’re legal for catch and keep, but big mama smallmouths are best let go for next season.
Thanks for tuning in to today’s Lake St. Clair report—I’m Artificial Lure reminding you to subscribe for more fishing updates, and here’s hoping you swing into a big one! 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 18 hours ago