Smallmouth bass fishing in Lake Huron

In Lake Huron, smallmouth bass peak May–September and are around April–October, spawning in June, according to Fish Scouter's month-by-month season calendar. June: Drummond Island and Les Cheneaux beds.

1. JanuaryNot here
2. FebruaryNot here
3. MarchNot here
4. AprilArrivingSpring run peaks on the rivers; St. Clair smallmouth pre-spawn. River walleye and steelhead; catch-and-release smallmouth on Lake St. Clair.
5. MayPeakBay walleye trolling begins; lake trout shallow off Alpena. Crawler harnesses on the Saginaw Bay flats; lakers on the Thunder Bay reefs.
6. JuneSpawningDrummond Island and Les Cheneaux beds.
7. JulyPeakSummer walleye and St. Clair muskie. Troll Saginaw Bay's outer reefs; Atlantic salmon and pinks at the St. Marys Rapids.
8. AugustPeakLake St. Clair smallmouth — world-class drifting.
9. SeptemberPeakKings and Atlantics up the rivers; perch on the bay. Au Sable and Thunder Bay River runs; jumbo perch on Saginaw Bay's outer flats.
10. OctoberAround
11. NovemberNot here
12. DecemberNot here

Saginaw Bay — one of the great walleye and perch fisheries in the country — the rocky Thunder Bay and Drummond Island shoals for lake trout and smallmouth, the Au Sable and Rifle river runs, and Lake St. Clair, the shallow weedy world-class water for muskie and smallmouth between Huron and Erie.

Fish Scouter charts 324 lake, 86 reservoir spots in the Lake Huron & Lake St. Clair map area — the kinds smallmouth bass hold on.

• CrayfishHooked through the tail on a #2 to 2/0 hook and dragged slowly along rock and gravel — the smallmouth bait, and good for catfish and walleye.
• Minnows (fatheads, shiners)Hooked lightly through the lips or behind the dorsal on a #6 to #2 hook under a slip bobber for crappie, perch and walleye; a big golden shiner on a 2/0 to 4/0 for largemouth, pike and stripers.
• LeechesHooked once through the sucker end on a #8 to #4 hook under a slip bobber or on a live-bait rig — walleye and smallmouth can't leave them alone.
• NightcrawlersWhole on a #6 to #2 hook under a bobber or on a bottom rig; threaded on a spinner harness drifted for walleye. The bait that catches everything in fresh water.

• Leader10–20 lb fluorocarbon
• Hook#2–3/0
• Jig head1/8–1/2 oz
• Braid10–30 lb

Feeds in 45–82°F water, best at 60–74°F.

All about smallmouth bass · Lake Huron & Lake St. Clair, the whole year