Belleville Practice

With the dog days of summer upon us, fishing can get tough and that is exactly what I encountered yesterday on Belleville Lake. River systems can offer decent fishing even in the middle of summer because of the current generally running through the stystem and that is why the club is visiting Belleville and Wixom in August. But the current was not very noticeable when I was practicing and the fishing was extremely tough.

The water was 75 degrees and current was not very evident. The water is dark, probably only 3 foot visibility at best. There are not a lot of flats which is where I usually like to start my practices so I just put the trolling motor down and covered water. There is a lot of rip rap and most banks drop quickly into deeper water and weeds were definitely at a premium. I decided to throw crankbaits, topwaters and a football jig and cover lots of water, hoping to find a smallmouth pattern. I caught several small brown fish on the crank early but nothing of any size. I shifted gears to largemouth and did not find much of anything worth noting.

All told, I had about a dozen bites and caught 8-10 fish with only two being legal. The bite was very slow and I may need to shift gears again on Sunday. The body of water is very intriguing and it is different than anything we normally fish which is cool, but it will definitely be a challenge. A few pre-fishing reports have trickled to me and a few guys have caught them so I still think limits are a possiblity but it won't be easy.

As far as the launch goes, I exited at Belleville Rd and went south about 1.5 miles and then made a left on Huron River at the police station. The launch is about 1/2 mile from there and it is a pretty good site. Hope to have a good turnout and I'll see everyone there.

Belleville Lake Preview

Name: Belleville Lake, Ypsilanti, MI
Type: Impoundment on the Huron River system
Size: 1270 acres
Clarity: Stained with average clarity about 3 feet
Structure: Points, flats with lots of gravel and a river channel that runs the length of the lake
Cover: Weeds (bulrush), stumps, docks and laydowns
Weather: Forecast calls for 80 degrees and partly sunny. Slight chance of t-storms.
Projected winning weight: Probably around 8-9 pounds.


Belleville Lake is located near Ypsilanti and is a riverine system containing both smallmouth and largemouth. It has a maximum depth of 29 feet and contains many types of fishing options such as rip-rap, islands, seawalls, roadbeds and old foundations. It is known as a decent largemouth lake but smallies do show up at weigh-ins. The east end is the downriver portion of the lake, closest to the dam and contains most of the gravel and rock. As you head upriver the lake becomes shallower and weedier and that is where most of the wood is located.


Since the club has not been to Belleville in 20 years, most of the members will be seeing it for the first time. The members will be confronted with many challenges such as to target the more dependable largemouth on the west end or go after the smallmouth on the rockier and deeper east end. Current is a big factor on river systems but many times water is not pulled on weekends making fishing that much tougher. The low water clarity should also be factored in as most of our tournament lakes are clear and weedy. Crankbaits may come into play as could flipping and frog fishing.


Due to the close proximity to I-94 and the Metro area, this lake receives lots of pressure and those who have fished it say it will fish tough. Bringing in a small limit could very well take home first place. The event will be this sunday from 7am to 3pm and will go out of the Mayberry State Park area located on Huron River Dr., halfway between Haggerty Rd. and Belleville Rd. Thunderstorms are in the forecast for the weekend which could also add to the drama.


I will be pre-fishing the lake later on in the week and will detail all of my findings. The race for the classic and AOY are becoming interesting so this should be an intriguing event.

Belleville up next

Both of the chapters of the SCMBC will be back in action next weekend over at Belleville Lake near Ypsilanti. The Junior club will host it's event there Saturday and is in need of boats so if anyone is interested, please contact Scott Rice for more information. This would be a great chance to help the kids and pre-fish for Sundays event as well.

Speaking of the senior club, we will hold a club event there for the first time in over 15 years. Belleville is a 1270 acre impoundment on the Huron River located near Ypsilanti. I will detail this event later in the week but have already begun receiving information concerning this body of water and it sounds as if it will fish tough. This was probably to be expected in the middle of summer, especially when you consider it's proximity to a major city and I-94 which makes fishing pressure a major issue.

The launch is located on Huron River Drive about 2 miles west of Haggerty. It can be reached by traveling east off of Belleville rd.

The Club from a Rookie Perspective

Let me start by saying... The Southcentral Michigan Basscasters have been around for quite a while. As we hit the half way point in the season, I would like to address everything I have noticed about the club, and maybe a few things that I think could make it better without severely changing the traditions and history that makes the club what it is.

First of all, everyone who is in the club are great people. I mean this from the bottom of my heart. For example, the first tournament I fished as a club member I will remember forever. I pulled up to the ramp at Center and immediately as I exited my vehicle, Phil asked if he could help me with my cover. Now, coming from fishing NBAA and many open tournaments, it came to me as a shock when someone immediately offered me assistance with something. That has never happened in all 15 years of fishing tournaments. Thanks Phil!!!

Secondly, at Hardy I had the opportunity to hang out with a few club veterans who all told me where they catch them and what to look for on the lake since neither Craig or I have fished it before. The cool thing was that I believed all of them. Rarely do you get the feeling that people are telling the truth about their fishing spots. I could tell that these guys were sincere and only wanted Craig and I to have the same great experience they were going to have.

Lastly, everyone knows how to fish!!! Now don't get me wrong, I knew that coming in. But what I didn't realize was that I would get that same adrenaline rush fishing against 20 good fisherman as opposed to 100 that you don't know.

Now for the hard part, please don't take this the wrong way. A few things I would change.

First of all, I would make the open tournaments part of the normal club schedule. I find it unfortunate that not every club member does not attend, and fish the opens. Maybe the points for angler of the year would be half the total weight for those tournaments, or maybe 2/3's. I don't think we are giving a true representation of what the club is about when we have an open, and only half the members are their. I think also that we need to push memberships at the opens and maybe as a door prize, give away a years membership or two.

Secondly, I feel that perhaps we need to push for a tournament or two to be con-joined with a club from a neighboring county like Lansing or something. The two clubs would compete against each other, as well as individually. It would create more fun, If we win, and it would give everyone the opportunity to break the monotany and fish against different people. It would also be alluring to new members as something that other clubs don't do.

Lastly, I would love to see one draw tournament to force people to fish with someone else. No reason... I would just like to see it :)

In closing, my experience so far has been great. I hope everyone has enjoyed the company of both Craig and I!!! I do plan on many great years with the club, and one day fishing with my 4 year old son Spencer. Attached is a picture of a giant blue gill he caught from the drive way last week.

Sincerely Matt Morgan

Jerry's on another vacation

Back to Back for Rice

It's not that often that someone wins two events in a year in the club but to win on back to back events is special and that's just what Scott Rice did when he won last Sunday on Lake St. Clair. Scott not only weighed in 15.73 pounds of smallmouth but he also put his co-angler (and son) Rich Rice on a limit that exceeded 12 pounds, good for third place. Here's how it happened:

Scott ran way down into Canadian water near Mitchells Bay to an old favorite spot his dad, Jim Rice Sr. had won a tournament on a few years ago and hoped to connect there. He came up empty but his son Rich started catching fish. The same goes for spot number two which was also located in Canadian water and pretty soon Rich was culling. "I didn't catch a fish until about 11:15 and by then Rich already had five", exclaimed Scott but after making a third move north up the Canadian shoreline, he went to work. "I was fishing a rock and weed mix in about 5-7 foot of water. Any deeper and all you caught were small fish. I didn't catch a lot of fish but I got some bigger bites." Scott was fishing a brown/cinnamon grub while Rich was throwing tubes, both on spinning gear spooled with 12 pound Berkley Big Game mono.

The victory for Rice was his second of the year and vaulted him back into the top ten for the AOY race. It also marked the 5th win for him in the last 14 club tournaments dating back to last year.

- Jim Rice caught a limit in his fourth straight event
- Scott Rice had big bass at 4.48 lbs and Jim VanAken had second at 4.08lbs.
- 8 of the 19 fishermen weighed in limits

LSC Results

1 Scott Rice 15.73

2 Jim Rice 14.70

3 Rich Rice 12.19

4 Bill Maurer 11.55

5 Jerry Smith 10.50

6 Craig Deck 9.55
7 Patricia Rice 9.39
8 Matt Morgan 9.23
9 Mark Dereadt 8.92
10 Jay Dereadt 8.80
11 Brian Masters 5.60
12 Tim Chapman 5.41
13 Roy Albert 5.14
14 Jim VanAken 4.08
15 Tom Curry 1.75
16 Kathy Maurer 0
16 Mike Pritchard 0
16 Tanya Pritchard 0

16 Mike Maske 0

Weekend weather

The updated weather forecast for Sundays tournament doesn't look as bad as originally forecasted. Highs will be close to 80 degrees with winds being westerly from 8-14 mph. The original forecast called for 12-20 mph winds which would have made for a difficult day but it looks as if the weather will not be an issue. The NBAA circuit had a 40 boat tournament out of St. Clair today and the bite was pretty good but finding the bigger fish was an issue. It only took 18 pounds to win and lots of limits in the 12-15 pound range. Quantity was not an issue with lots of 2 pound fish being caught but the bigger fish were few and far between. Look for lots of limits tomorrow but finding kicker fish will be the challenge.

Lake St. Clair preview

Matt Morgan hopes to get 5 of these Sunday

This Sunday is the clubs annual event on Lake St. Clair and it is a favorite of everyones for good reason. LSC is considered by many to be the finest smallmouth fishery for both size and numbers in the country. It measures over a million acres and connects the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers. The lake has fished a little tougher this year but it is still a fish factory and 15+ pounds is usually required to win the club event.

St. Clair is very diverse with the northern part resembling a huge sand flat with scattered weedbeds. There is a lot of current present, especially near the river mouths and the channels. The farther south you go the more rock that you will see, not tons but scattered boulders and gravel. The Canadian side of the lake gets the least amount of pressure and has a multitude of options available and this is where a lot of the huge weights are caught during big events.

Patterns: Yes dragging tubes is a great technique for LSC but you can't just launch the boat and start dragging. There is a lot of water and the fish may seem like they're everywhere but they're not. Locating irregularities such as slight drops, weedbeds and rockpiles are the key. Plastics are not the only way to catch the smallies either. The FLW tournament held here last year saw many high finishers throwing jerkbaits and crankbaits to locate active fish. Spinnerbaits will work as well and drop-shotting is also a great way to catch pressured fish. These smallies will feed on crawfish, small perch and the ever present gobies so matching the hatch is important. The mayflies may also be an issue so topwaters could come into play.

Factors

Run or stay close: There is a lot of water and the grass is always greener somewhere else so this will be a big decision for many of the club members. The Canadian side is intriguing and the mile road section is a great option. But with big boat rides come big risks like time lost fishing and the drive back from a far off location can be downright dangerous on this big lake. Remember, the last two club tournaments on St. Clair have been won within 5 minutes of the launch ramp.

Weather: As with any big water the weather must be considered when deciding where to fish. Big winds can come up in a hurry and make the ride back to the weigh in an adventure and it can also muddy up quality fishing areas. The clear water is the key to the sight oriented smallmouth so a few days of high winds can change things greatly. The water temps have been as high as 74 already this year but a recent cold front knocked the temps back into the high 60's recently so the fish may still be recovering from that although higher temps are predicted for Sunday.

Pressure: Lots of tournaments are held each week on this lake but it seems to bounce back quickly. There is a NBAA event going out of the Harley launch Saturday that will feature close to 100 anglers so that may also be a consideration whether to stick close or find less pressured fish. The mile roads seems like a popular destination for local club events but it can seem like bumper boats down there on a busy weekend.

Ones to Watch

Jim Rice Jr.: He has extensive experience on this lake and is a threat every tournament.

Scott Rice: He won the last club event and has a score to settle with St. Clair when a poor finish last year cost him the AOY title.

Mark Dereadt: The current AOY leader has a lot of momentum and is solid on St. Clair.

Matt Morgan: He's new to the club but not the LSC smallies. Matt has probably the most experience on this lake of anyone in the club and is a serious threat.

Mike Maske: A spinnerbait guru who always seems to do well here including a win on St. Clair in 2008.

LSC practice 7/3

I got out on St. Clair yesterday for my official practice day and it didn't go so well. The water temps had dropped 5 degrees from last weekend, the mayflies were still present and of course the wind was howling. Not great conditions to pre-fish a 450 mile lake but that was my day to go so Mike Maske and I still fished for about 6 hours. We ended up catching about 20 fish but nothing over 2.5 pounds. We both also hooked and lost big muskies up in anchor bay.

We fished water from 5-12 foot deep and just could not get into anything real consistent. Normally I like to get 5-6 different weedbeds marked and just rotate them during the tournament, making a "milk run". But with the big winds I've encountered this year, I havn't been able to locate very many new areas and my old ones don't seem to be producing yet. I may have to lower my expectations for next week but it's still St. Clair and anyone can catch 17-20 pounds in a hurry so I know it can still happen. I may get out one more time before the event next Sunday and I'll report my findings if I do.