Destination: Detroit River

EverStart Series Northern Division, July 23-26

“It’s about one month too early to win this tournament by staying in the river,” said last year’s EverStart Series winner on the Detroit River, pro Kevin Vida of Clare, Mich. In fact, he believes about 80 percent of the anglers will concentrate their efforts on Lake Erie. This is one of the great things about this tournament – anglers have not only the river at their disposal but also nearby lakes Erie and St. Clair, and all three offer some of the best smallmouth fishing in the country.

According to Vida, the fish will be finishing their postspawn patterns and moving into their summer habits of chasing forage. This brings them out of the river and into the lakes as they scatter in search of a good meal. He also points out that this is an ideal time of year for fishing the big lakes, as the spring storms have long since passed, and the rough fall weather is still a few months away.

Both Vida and pro Steve Clapper of Lima, Ohio, believe the bass will be found at depths of 16 to 22 feet on offshore humps. Prime locations mentioned by both pros are Pelee Island in Lake Erie and the Belle River Hump in St. Clair. Some anglers may even make the 60-mile run to the Bass Islands on the Ohio side of Lake Erie to find their limits.

Clapper, known by many as “Steady Steve” because of his consistent success on the Detroit River, believes tubes will be the most productive bait during the tournament, with any shade of green and brown being the colors of choice. Anglers fishing in St. Clair would also be wise to try spinner baits and crankbaits in 3 to 10 feet of water. A 1-ounce double willow-leaf spinner in chartreuse and white is his preferred choice.

Vida agrees tubes in the above-mentioned colors will win the event, and adds that spinner baits in all white with white blades or all chartreuse with chartreuse blades as well as top-water baits would be excellent choices for boating nice bronzebacks. He also stressed that quality-size largemouths can also be found at both St. Clair and the river in areas of heavy weeds.

Links:

Pro field
Co-angler field
Tournament details and payouts
Pre-tournament press release