Bountiful Lake St. Clair - Major League Fishing

June 18, 2001 • Gary Mortenson • Archives

FLW anglers expect huge stringers, highly competitive tournament on Michigan lake

David Fritts, Tommy Biffle, Takahiro Omori, Clark Wendlandt and Craig Powers have already tasted victory on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour in 2001. But the question remains: Who will be next to hoist the trophy at the upcoming $1 million Forrest Wood Open? With only one tournament remaining before the Sept. 12-15 FLW Championship on Lake Champlain, the excitement continues to build for the final tour stop of the regular season – Lake St. Clair. Not only will the 2001 Kellogg’s Angler of the Year title be decided, but the final chapter will be written for many FLW anglers intent on qualifying for the year-end championship.

However, if that isn’t enough excitement for bass-fishing enthusiasts and ardent followers of the FLW Tour, a $200,000 first-place prize, a bountiful fishery and a collection of the nation’s top anglers will almost assuredly make for one of the hardest-fought contests on the FLW Tour to date.

Lake history/facts

A circular or “heart-shaped” body of water bordering southeastern Michigan and southern Ontario, Lake St. Clair was first discovered by French explorers on Aug. 12, 1679. Since that time, Lake St. Clair has come to be widely recognized as one of the most productive fisheries in the nation – serving as a refuge for excellent smallmouth bass populations as well as some significant numbers of largemouth bass. Part of the Great Lakes chain, Lake St. Clair is 26 miles (42 km) long and occupies an area of 460 square miles (1190 square km). As one of the most heavily trafficked legs of the St. Lawrence Seaway, Lake St. Clair is connected to Lake Huron in the north by the St. Clair River and to Lake Erie in the south by the Detroit River.

Angler of the year to be decided

As it stands now, Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., is the frontrunner and odds-on favorite to win the 2001 Kellogg’s Angler of the year title. Although this is only his first full season on the tour, VanDam has already recorded two second-place finishes in five events (placing second at Okeechobee, 29th at Pascagoula, 28th at Lake Martin, 12th at the Beaver Lake and second at the Red River) and has averaged better than 15th place over the course of the entire FLW tournament season. By contrast, Rick Clunn – who is currently in second place in the overall point standings race – has averaged a 29th-place finish throughout the year. VanDam, who currently has 932 angler-of-the-year points to his credit, leads second-place Clunn (858 points) and third-place Micky Bruce (853 points). Consequently, VanDam needs to finish in 73rd place or higher at Lake St. Clair to go home with the title.

Great Lakes fishery put to the test

Using past history as a guide, most, if not all, of the FLW field appears to be duly impressed with both the quality and quantity of fishing on Lake St. Clair.

“Lake St. Clair is probably one of the best fisheries in the United States,” said Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Ark., who finished in fifth place the last time the FLW Tour visited the lake in 1999. “The lake has a little bit of everything – weeds, rocks, sand and other good cover as well as a lot of bait fish. It’s probably one of my all-time favorite places to fish.”

Marty Stone, a native of Linden, N.C. and member of Team Timex, agrees that the lake is one of the best tour stops of the year.

“The fishing is going to be awesome,” said Stone. “It’s one of the most healthy fisheries I’ve ever seen. The only way fishing will be difficult is if Mother Nature intervenes and kicks up a stiff wind. Other than that, I expect the fishing to be fantastic.”

“It will be awesome as always,” said Mike Wurm of Hot Springs, Ark., and member of Team Coleman. “Trust me, a lot of fish and a lot of limits will be caught. It’s been like that every year I’ve fished Lake St. Clair.”

Huge limits only way to advance

Because Lake St. Clair is such a healthy fishery, anglers are predicting that it is going to take some very large stringers to advance through the tournament. While 22 pounds can usually get most anglers into the semifinals, that almost certainly will not be the case in Michigan.

“I think it might take upwards of 17 to 18 pounds a day to advance,” said Stone. “Personally, I wouldn’t feel comfortable trying to advance with a 15-pound stringer.”

“It’s going to take you 12 to 14 pounds just to get a check,” predicted Wurm.

“I think it’s going to take 14 or 15 pounds a day just to make it to the top 10,” said Nixon. “And I think it’s going to take 16 pounds to make the top 5 and probably close to 20 pounds to win the thing.”

Shallow conditions, one-of-a-kind cover

While FLW anglers should see some of the best fishing all year, they also will be confronted with some of the oddest conditions of any other lake on tour, according to Nixon. Not only is Lake St. Clair one of the shallowest parts of the entire Great Lakes chain, but it is also home to some strange, underwater fishing obstacles.

“The lake is pretty shallow and you actually have to be on the lookout for submerged cars stuck at the bottom of St. Clair,” he said. “Every spring, cars fall through the ice and wind up at the bottom of the lake. So you have to be really careful in the shallows. You definitely don’t want to hit a car.”

The FLW tour stop on Lake St. Clair will take place June 20-23.