Late Season Walleye and Perch Bite on Lake St. Clair

Winds on Lake St. Clair today are running light to moderate out of the west-northwest, with air temps starting near freezing at first light and climbing into the upper 30s to low 40s by mid‑day. Skies are on the cloudy side, with scattered breaks, so expect a classic gray‑on‑gray late‑season feel on the open lake. Sunrise is right around 7:45 a.m. with sunset just before 5 p.m., giving you a short but productive daylight window if you time it around those low‑light periods.

Lake St. Clair doesn’t have real ocean tides, but water levels are nudging up and down with wind‑driven seiche and Detroit River flow, so watch for subtle current sliding along points and channel edges. That faint push of water is lining up fish on inside turns of the St. Clair River shipping channel and on the breaks off the Mile Roads. When you find the “just right” drift speed—about a slow walk—you’re in the zone.

Recent action has centered on walleye and perch, with a sprinkling of smallmouth for those still grinding the offshore structure. Anglers running the river and the south shore have been boxing decent numbers of eaters in the 15–20 inch range, with the occasional bigger walleye pushing over 24. Perch reports have been spotty but solid where they’re found, with mixed packs of 8–11 inch fish and enough jumbos to keep it interesting.

For walleye, keep it simple and local: handlining or trolling stickbaits and smaller crankbaits in natural shiner, gold, and perch patterns are putting fish in the net. When boat traffic is light, vertical jigging with 3/8 to 1/2 ounce jigs tipped with emerald shiners or soft plastics in chartreuse, silver, or purple is hard to beat. Perch hunters are doing best anchoring on small pods of fish and dropping down perch rigs with live minnows or waxies, keeping the rig just off bottom to stay above the zebra mussels.

Smallmouth are in their wintering haunts, but there are still bites to be had if you commit. Dragging tube jigs in green pumpkin, goby, or smoke over deep rock and edges, or working a blade bait with slow, short hops, will pick off some heavy bronzebacks. Let the bait sit more than you think; those cold‑water fish are striking on the pause rather than the pull.

A couple of hot spots to circle:
- The Mile Roads off St. Clair Shores—especially 9 and 10 Mile—are still giving up walleye and perch on the deeper breaks when the wind lines up your drift.
- The mouth of the South Channel and the shipping channel edges near the Belle River and Selfridge areas are producing good mixed bags for folks pulling cranks and working jigs along the current seams.

Overall fish activity today will peak around dawn and again late afternoon as the light drops, so line up your best drifts in those windows and slow everything down. Dress warm, keep an eye on that west wind, and be ready to move 50–100 yards at a time until you land on a school—once you get that first bite, double down on that exact depth and speed.

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