# Lake St. Clair fly fishing.



## gr8johnson (Jun 16, 2006)

My buddy called me the other night and told me to turn on channel 56. What I saw was very cool. I saw 2 guys in a flat bottom "bay boat" fly fishing on Lake St Clair. Now that may not seem like a big deal to most, but I live about 8 miles away from LSC and they were using 7 wt line and pole which happens to be the same as my gear. They said the guy was from Hank's Fly shop. Now I am going to call them and see if I can hook up with their guide (I dont have a boat) and learn the area and find some good shore fishing spots. They caught 5 species of fish during the show. I keep thinking that it will be harder to do the trout thing for me with time and difficulting in learning where to get them. But I would be thrilled catching bass from a lake that is just minutes from my house. Does anyone else fish this lake regularly? Is it hopeless without a boat to get to the good spots?


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## unregistered55 (Mar 12, 2000)

Saw that one too. Pretty good. Lk St Clair is really a tremendous fishery. If I had the time I'd love heading out that way to explore. Long time ago I used to head there to stalk carp with a bow in the spring on marshes by Algonac. saw Pike & smallies a lot in shallow areas that one could sight fish to. Saw a few guys doing it. I've been told they are some bays,canals & spots on Harsen's Island that can be waded and fished with a flyrod that are quite productive for smallies & other species.
Maybe check those out.


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## DanP (Mar 1, 2005)

I have fly fished St Clair twice with Steve Kunnath out of flymart for smallies - had a blast and also picked up a 30" northern which is what I would now like to try and target. Purchased a 14' alum boat to try and work the flats. Plan is to have it set up for fall and then spring next year. 
Steve is a good guide - check Flymart Fly shop on line and contact info should be out there.

There are a few members on the site that spend alot of time on LSC with a fly rod so information is out there. 

Dan


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## double trouble (Nov 20, 2003)

if you work the flats area from the left side of the enterance to the north channel all the way arround to the raft bar , you can't go wrong. p.m. musky bob instead of a guided trip. i am sure he has a couple spots you can try. he has about 50 years casting on st. clair. you can probably catch at least 20 species depending on the season.the other area would be muscamoot bay but you may need a permit.


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## WILDCATWICK (Mar 11, 2002)

> the other area would be muscamoot bay but you may need a permit


????


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## tommytubular (Jan 25, 2002)

DanP said:


> Steve is a good guide - check Flymart Fly shop on line and contact info should be out there.
> 
> Dan


I don't doubt Steve is a good guide.......but he doesn't work work with flymart anymore. In fact, Flymart was bought out by Hanks Fly Fishing last week. In fact the website doesn't work either.

I didn't believe it myself......so I went to the store and it is closed. Went to Hanks and it's true.....he bought him out.


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## unregistered55 (Mar 12, 2000)

tommytubular said:


> I don't doubt Steve is a good guide.......but he doesn't work work with flymart anymore. In fact, Flymart was bought out by Hanks Fly Fishing last week. In fact the website doesn't work either.
> 
> I didn't believe it myself......so I went to the store and it is closed. Went to Hanks and it's true.....he bought him out.


 Interesting. Wasn't too long ago Flymart announced their move to Waterford or Clarkston. It's a tough business-flyfishing has definitely reached a plateau as far as growth. Look at some of the the shops no longer around:

Flymart:Royal Oak
Geake's: Ferndale
Freeland Outfitters: Keego Harbor
Benchmark: Farmington
Paint Creek Outfitters: Rochester
Orvis: Rochester
West Bank Anglers: West Bloomfiled Twp.
Bueter's:Northville & Novi
Lakeside Tackle: Farmington
I likely missed a couple also.
There was an Orvis shop on NW Highway in Southfield. Riverbend Outfitters & they got bought out by Flymart about 8-9 years ago too. For a while it was a really trendy shop. Reminds me of tennis pro shops in the 70's around here ( Metro Detroit ) there were 6 or 7 & now none really.


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## WILDCATWICK (Mar 11, 2002)

It's odd. Because on a national level I've read that the sport is still growing and not shrinking. It may have leveled off a bit compared to the boom right after the movie "A river runs thru it".

I see more pontoon boats on the streams than ever before. I wonder if there is a way to find out flyfisherman numbers. Store closures may not be directly related to the number of flyfisherman but more related to the amount they are spending and where their purchases are being made.


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## unregistered55 (Mar 12, 2000)

WILDCATWICK said:


> It's odd. Because on a national level I've read that the sport is still growing and not shrinking. It may have leveled off a bit compared to the boom right after the movie "A river runs thru it".
> 
> I see more pontoon boats on the streams than ever before. I wonder if there is a way to find out flyfisherman numbers. Store closures may not be directly related to the number of flyfisherman but more related to the amount they are spending and where their purchases are being made.


 Sounds about right. I may not be typical but it's been 6 years since I bought a new rod and though I buy other items for use, I haven't purchased many big ticket items like waders,vests or pontoon boats etc... did buy a new reel last year.
On the original post I wish I had more time to prospect and explore new spots like Lk. St Clair & others. I've read other posts on the River Raisin & the Monroe area. I'm not far from there maybe I should give it shot.


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## gr8johnson (Jun 16, 2006)

So where can I get a map of LSC so I can find the flats? I am in clinton township. Where is it in ref to my local. I have no time on this lake and want to be able to fly fish from shore too. A map with a ref point would be great. People keep mentioning locations when they talk about the lake but as I have know idea where they are talking it does not help me much. Thanks.


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## ESOX (Nov 20, 2000)

Get a Fishing Hotspots map from just about any tackle store or marine supply, they will have a lot of names of other features on them too. The Flats are the St Clair River delta.


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## unregistered55 (Mar 12, 2000)

The Flats- probably a great spot to stalk " Golden Bones"


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## raisinrat (Feb 9, 2006)

hey you may want to check out the show from this past week.

here is a link to the vid.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=908161963&n=2


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## MOduckdoc (Aug 17, 2001)

One of the reasons the flyshops are struggling so much is the thing that keeps us all in touch and allows us to throw around so much info. The internet, internet flyshops can be run with practically no overhead. Here in St Louis we have a couple of good shops. The one that is really successful at making money is Feathercraft, yet when you go in you are usually the only one in the stores besides the emplyees running their butts all over the shop getting together net orders adn the ones that try and help you are usually jerks. The other shop, T. Hargroves is a place of real character. Guys just sitting around tying and talking, not as much buying and selling as far as I can see, but alot more enjoyable atmosphere. I try not to order much of my stuff online because I like the interaction I get in a good shop like Hargroves. If we want to keep these places around we are going to have to be patrons in order for them to keep their doors open. So when you can hit BBT, Gates and others like it, spend a few bucks and enjoy the time there. Plus they are usually a good source of local information.


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