St. Lawrence River versus Black Lake bass fishing
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 10:37 am
5 of my past 6 guide trips have been on the St. Lawrence River launching out of Chippewa Bay which is very near to Black Lake. I like the fishing better there this time of the year when Black Lake is going through its algae bloom stage. My customers catch the same numbers and size of both largemouth and smallmouth and they tend to be more aggressive in the cooler, clear water. I don't think there was one of these past trips with less than 20 bass and there was one or two of the trips where I'm sure they totaled more than 30 bass. It is bigger water with unmarked shoals which can be intimidating to those new to it, but the key is to pick the calmer days and learn small sections of the river. Some of my customers have assumed I would have them fishing deeper water, but the largemouth stay shallow most of the summer and there are still scattered smallmouth in the shallows of the river. Maybe because there is more grass this year. Probably the majority of the main river smallmouth are in deep water by now, but my customers have caught enough of them in the shallows of the bay that I haven't needed to spend alot of time having them fishing deep water. That fishing to me still isn't strong enough yet and it is a more difficult way to fish. And besides, I'd rather see them catch jumping smallmouth at the end of a long cast rather than hauling them up from straight under the boat. That's the difference in what I offer my customers versus the way the big charter boats might have them fishing. The number one technique for sure has been the wacky worm but topwaters and traditional texas rigs and tubes will work too. What's surprising is I never use live bait which some might think is needed in clear water. The bass here respond to the artificials quickly in the clear water whereas the low range of visibility on Black Lake can require a slow presentation. On the St. Lawrence, the active fish usually see your offering right away in the clear water. It is important to keep the boat moving.
We'll see how the fishing changes in the next weeks. Black Lake should begin to clear especially if we start getting more rain. It sometimes really turns on after it clears. The St. Lawrence largemouth should be grouping up more in select areas and the deeper smallmouth areas will hopefully have enough of them there to make them easier to catch.
We'll see how the fishing changes in the next weeks. Black Lake should begin to clear especially if we start getting more rain. It sometimes really turns on after it clears. The St. Lawrence largemouth should be grouping up more in select areas and the deeper smallmouth areas will hopefully have enough of them there to make them easier to catch.