2013 Episode Synopsis
by Charlie Wray

Episode 230: Summer St. Clair Muskies

Today, the Mercury Marine Destination takes us out to the Muskie waters of Lake St. Clair. After an early morning run down the Hwy.401 in the Ram, it's time for a fun Summer day on the water with Jim Fleming and Drifter II Charters. Joining Charlie and Jim today is Water Depot's Peter Strain. Peter has never caught a large Muskie but that is about to change, and change in a big way.

Jim has been doing this for years and knows the lake like the back of his hand and always has produced numbers of great fish, today was one for the record books! Jim is about as honest as a person can be, so if fishing has slowed or weather is looking poor, he will phone and cancel a charter rather than simply take your money. Jim is out to give you the best he can. Drifter II Charters (519) 845-1115. This is trolling in 10 to 18 feet of water at 4 mph with planer boards and long rods. For those of you that don't like trolling, you might like this, it is exhilarating to feel the hit of a Muskie that rattles the rod holders on a hit and tears out line with the clicker on the reel screaming!

Charlie brings his own equipment simply because Jim normally uses mono on charters since it is more forgiving for clients who might be more excitable and surprised at how big these Muskies are, and how they react (the mono will stretch and allow for slight mistakes in fighting the Muskie). Charlie loves his 50 lb test Seaguar Kanzen braid for rock hard hookups, but without the stretch, you need to be a little more careful. Rods need to be flexible and drags need to be silky smooth, and the Okuma Catalina and Clarion line counter reels are perfect. Match them up with a Convector GL series medium-heavy rod, and they are ideal for the boards.

Jim has also learned over the years that fluorocarbon out fishes the very visible wire, so 6 to 8 foot Seaguar leaders of 80 lb test, complete with Jim's weed guards are part of the set up. Sharp hooks are a must with the boney, tooth filled mouth of a Muskie, and these are filed to a sticky sharp point. Jim has a complete selection of custom painted baits to match the water colour to perfection, if you don't think it is important, you will after a day on the water with Jim.

To keep the wood baits in the best shape possible (hard when the tooth filled mouth of the Muskie is always hammering them), Jim uses Mustad #7982HS-SS and Mustad #7825-NI double hooks. Not only do they hook the Muskie extremely well, the configuration of the double hook does not rub on the wood lures during trolling, causing unneeded damage and gouging the lures, it is only the Muskie scratching up the lures, not the hooks.

Charlie had a blast with Peter, not only did they land 14 Muskies this day, but this included a fat 49 incher, a 51, a 52, and a 53 inch trophy. Four trophy Muskies on a beautiful Summer day, talk about fun! The waters of St. Clair are often muddy or heavily stained, and simply having a lure that stands out in these conditions is not enough. There is a balance to have the lure colour look natural as well, still be seen, but not so obvious it doesn't look natural. A good selection of lures is a must to match the water conditions. Find the schools of bait, and you will find Muskies, these fish roam the lake with the bait under the cover of cloudy water, not holding structure like you would expect. Braided lines do not hold well in the release clips on the Planer Board line, the braids are slippery. One of the best Charlie has found and has been using for years is the Scotty Power Grip Plus, these are ideal.

Another trick that Jim has learned over the years and one Charlie will surely not challenge, is to put the lure back exactly where it was when it was hit or caught a fish. Simply moving the lures down the line on the planer board is not enough. If that specific lure, with a specific lead of line (helps greatly with the Okuma line counter reels), is at the correct depth for a hit, that magic distance from the boat, it needs to be repeated, put it back exactly where it was. Sometimes lures run slightly deeper than one that looks exactly like it, and when the Muskies are hitting or suspending at an exact depth, get the working lure back where it was. You would be amazed at how many times that one lure, back in the exact same spot, has caught the majority of the fish, even when eight lines are being run. I believe!!

Continue to Episode 231

Go Back