# Clinton River



## HOSSUM (Apr 23, 2005)

Does Ne One Know Where The Salmon And Steelies Enter The Clinton From. I Am Doing Stucco On A Condo Project Right At The Mouth Of The Clinton On Lake St.clair. Am I About To Be Fired For Using My Rod For 8 Hours Instead Of My Trowel? Tnanx Hossum


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## wackoangler (Jun 1, 2003)

Im pretty sure that the majority of them enter at Crystal lake in Pontiac. I wouldn't think that they would enter the river at the Mouth. I could be wrong.


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## Robert Hoover (May 8, 2005)

this makes me curious i saw a guy on my way back from the launch today casting cleos i have recently seen people this year for the spring run fishing in the same spot they had the long rods and were floating something they also had a net with them.sometimes in the early spring we catch steelies in front of the 400 tower troling for walleye .my buddie has caught coho in algonac threw the ice. ice fishing i had a steelie to the ice i was on the clinton just up stream a mile .also we use to get and i stress use to with great simpathy get browns and steelies at the spillway damn not anymore we also use to get nice walleye their mostly large one ive seen one 12lbs on a scale anyway i dont really know but seeing this guy today made me curios besides the warm water i dont see why not


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## MEL (Jul 17, 2005)

Im gonna take a wild guess at this and say perhaps LakeSt. Clair??? See the way i figue it, They come into the river from the lake. My thinking is that they spend most of there time in the Great Lakes than come into rivers at certain times of the year. I could be wrong tho.


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## ESOX (Nov 20, 2000)

I think all 6 salmon expected to arrive in the Clinton this fall are a few weeks off. You would probably stand there casting all month long and never get a bump from a salmon. Steelhead planted at Yates are spring runners, but some may trickle in once the water cools. Not really fishable numbers but the incedental fish is had..


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## back2spool (May 7, 2005)

Salmon DO NOT enter the river from Crystal Lake.

95% of spawning fish that enter the Clinton do so from Lake St. Clair.

(95% not substantiated, just trying to make a point)


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## MEL (Jul 17, 2005)

back2spool said:


> Salmon DO NOT enter the river from Crystal Lake.
> 
> 95% of spawning fish that enter the Clinton do so from Lake St. Clair.
> 
> (95% not substantiated, just trying to make a point)


Im sure we all know where the fish enter from. Just trying to have a little fun here... Get it???


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## Silverexpress (Sep 6, 2006)

I recently caught a brake lining and a disk rotor. This was at Parkdale rd. upstream from Yates. 

I was using a muddler, and let me tell ya, once that brake lining got side ways to the current it started stripping line like mad.

Never landed it since it got eaten by a steel rim.

The inhabitants in these waters grow fast, and I think it's due to the fecal matter that washes in. I've tasted it now and then when I bite the tangles off my leaders. It taste like it's gotta a lot of protein in it still. And here's a quick fix....the E. Coli will leave a lingering bitter taste in your mouth...I found out that a few days of chewing on breath mints will do the job of making it go away.


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## mwp (Feb 18, 2004)

Yep that river needs some help thats for sure.I dont think many people would dare to eat anything out of there.Just my two cents!!:corkysm55


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## MEL (Jul 17, 2005)

mwp said:


> Yep that river needs some help thats for sure.I dont think many people would dare to eat anything out of there.Just my two cents!!:corkysm55


Yep it needs some help. But you should have seen it in the 60's to mid/late 70's!!! Its come a long way. Still has a ways to go but i dont see the flourecnt green, pea soup water that it had before. I dont see all the dead fish(suckers,carp) floating down it like it used to have. Guys complain about the smell. 30-40 years ago the smell was horrable, from a mile away.
And the smell could change. On day it was sulfur, next day radiator fluid, next day toilet, next day rotten garbage disposal. You could not stand along the banks in the heat of July and August as the heat seemed to cook 
all the toxins and make it smell even worse. And no fish lived in it. Shops and plants along its banks dumped their sewage directly into it. You name a poisen and its was dumped into the Clinton.
So today you have a stream that can hold trout in what once was an open cess pool. 
With more help and better management it could become a good trout stream. I hear more clean ups and management for the river is planned so
perhaps in 5, 10 years it just might be a fine river. Lets hope!!!


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## MEL (Jul 17, 2005)

Silverexpress said:


> Please click one of the Quick Reply icons in the posts above to activate Quick Reply.


WHY???


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## MSUICEMAN (Jan 9, 2002)

i'm guessing that was operator error


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## Silverexpress (Sep 6, 2006)

I apologize for my prior sarcasm, but in all honesty I to have hopes for the Clinton River Watershed.

On a positive note, it is a river, and as all rivers do eventually...the bad stuff will get washed away. .....

Well, anyhow...with all this rain in the forecast the steelies should start making that trek upriver.

And....my ploy to scare everyone away is not working! Darn thought I'd have all the steelhead to myself....thanks MEL for giving everyone hope.... ;-)

PS....MEL sorry about the "bad Report"..I'm using a Treo700P's dinky keyboard and touch screen and it is easy to fat finger the hyperlinks. It's operator error on my part. You stated nothing offensive. I'll get with the mod later to delete any marks.


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## fire-tiger (Mar 15, 2005)

:fish2:[quote=Silverexpress

On a positive note, it is a river, and as all rivers do eventually...the bad stuff will get washed away. ...


With all the toxins buried in it's watershed and accumulated in the mud along it's channel. The Clinton will denfinetly not be cleansing itself in our lifetimes.:fish2: :fish2:


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## MEL (Jul 17, 2005)

No proublems with your post. It was funny and weather you ment it or not its sad but true that there still is a lot of crap in the river. Its far from what we would call a pristine trout stream. But i do like to remind people how far the river has come back over the past 30 or so years


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## back2spool (May 7, 2005)

It has come a long way since I moved here in '84 as a 10-year-old when carp were your only hope.

My apologies for not getting the sarcasm noted eariler in regards to fish spawning in the river. Duh...

Anyway, big cleanup on for Saturday, you fools should all come!


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## MEL (Jul 17, 2005)

I was hoping to make the cleanup this Sat. but i've been told im needed to be out of town. One way to enjoy the river more is to be part of the solution.
So if you want to see it cleaned up so we can have a nice trout stream
than its up to US to do it.


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## Silverexpress (Sep 6, 2006)

I'll be there (Rochester area)!

By the way, how do I attach an image? I wanted to post a pic of one of the browns I've caught at Paint Creek. 

Also a few years back I was fishing just below the overpass next to Yates Cider Mill, and I think that very same log jam is still there. I clipped the corner of the logs with a marabou muddler size 6, and as the current started to swing it away and towards my side of the river this humongous shadow of a brown came shooting out from underneath. That animal must of been the length of my leg. It took an angry strike at the fly and missed it. Man that was a heart stopping moment in broad daylight! It made me think of abandoned pet alligators.


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## maak (Aug 15, 2006)

I worked in a factory in Pontiac in the late 80's, right along the river. Just the stuff that I saw dumped on the banks gives me the willies.

Also, interesting facts: In the late 70's, the DNR planted browns in the river at the hatchery in Drayton Plains, and it made for an enjoyable Spring run up from Cass Lake. Now, they've switched over to walleye, and I have'nt heard of any success. Believe it or not, they even planted kokanee salmon there for a short time. I met a guy in the early 80's at a fishing show with a bunch of them mounted. One was labeled " State Record For Kokanee Salmon On 2-Pound Test Line". By then, they had stopped planting them.


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## spar10 (Jan 22, 2001)

Interesting discussion on the Clinton. If you want more information, I would refer you to the Clinton River Assessment that Fisheries Division just published (Special Report 39).

http://michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10364_10951_19056-46270--,00.html

Unfortunately, rivers were seen as sewers in the past. They were simply a means of moving unwanted stuff downstream. Fortunately, with the passage of the clean water act in 1972, many lakes and rivers have made a good comeback. Check out the fisheries section in the report where I compare the current fisheries catches to those in the early 70's. There is no question the river is on its way back. We are not quite there yet, but we are headed in the right direction. 

The lower Clinton supports a quality seasonal steelhead fishery and also has a strong run of walleyes. We have recently begun managing the Clinton River in the Auburn Hills/Rochester Hills area for brown trout, as well.

There is no question that the point source pollution is being addressed, the biggest challenge the river faces now are non-point sources, especially stormwater issues.

Check out the report and I think you will find some interesting stuff. I think most of you would find the fish sections of the report particularly interesting.

Jim Francis


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## back2spool (May 7, 2005)

Jim,

On behalf of a lot of local fishermen, we appreciate your work on our area rivers. Sure they aren't the handsome, athletic rivers of Northern Michigan, they're more like the slow, freckled kid, we love them just the same...


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## Silverexpress (Sep 6, 2006)

Jim, 

After reading prior threads, I now know what you do, and have accomplished. Just wanted to say that I've enjoyed the local trout fishing, and am just discovering the potential fishing opportunities that the upper Clinton River can offer. Plan to fish it for trout when the desginated streams/rivers close down for the season.

Anyhow, thanks!


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## bobcolenso (Sep 11, 2003)

Robert Hoover said:


> my buddie has caught coho in algonac threw the ice.


Where did he throw the ice (question mark key not working)


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## ESOX (Nov 20, 2000)

Thanks for the link and your efforts Spar10.


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