Walleye (pickerel)
Good
Through the ice where it is safe: jigging spoons and a dead-stick minnow near the bottom at first and last light. Open rivers: slow jigs in the deep holes.
Lake St. Clair Fishing Report
Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live weather and water data
Lake St. Clair: muskie, smallmouth bass and ice-fishing perch on a shallow lake between Windsor and the St. Clair River delta.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~6 °C est.
Air / High
8 °C / 11 °C
Wind
NW 33 km/h
Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Lake St. Clair is in its winter rhythm: slow, deep and around the brightest hours. Today brings clear skies, wind NW around 32 km/h, steady pressure near 1016 hPa and a high of 11 °C. Water sits around 6 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:12 PM-1:12 AM and 11:32 AM-1:32 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Yellow perch
Good
The ice season where the ice is safe: small spoons and tungsten jigs tipped with minnow heads, moving hole to hole to find the school.
Northern pike (jackfish)
Good
Under the ice where it is safe: tip-ups with dead bait in the shallow bays.
Tie on: Jigging spoon through the ice · Dead-stick minnow · Tip-up with dead bait · Tungsten jig and wax worm. Prime windows: 11:12 PM-1:12 AM, 11:32 AM-1:32 PM, 7:27 AM-8:27 AM. Similar at 12 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Ontario requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from C$12.21. Ontario fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing smallmouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with Ontario MNR before you keep anything; the Smallmouth bass page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Lake St. Clair today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (07:14), sunset (17:14), the moon and today's score. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:12 PM-1:12 AM and 11:32 AM-1:32 PM; minor 7:27 AM-8:27 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
Water and weather
Conditions here are modelled from weather, season and the nearest stations.
No live gauge on this water
Water readings appear when a Water Survey of Canada station covers it. Until then the seasonal curve below is the estimate.
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp8 °C
High / Low11 °C / 7 °C
WindNW 33 km/h, gusts 42 km/h
Pressure101.55 kPa, steady
Sky / Rain2% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset07:14 / 17:14
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~6 °C est.
The level of the whole lake, live at both ends: Lake Erie water level today.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Lake St. Clair
The best day on Lake St. Clair this week looks like Sunday Nov 15, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Sunday, Nov 15 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, Nov 9 — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:12 PM-1:12 AM and 11:32 AM-1:32 PM
- Minor period
- 7:27 AM-8:27 AM
- Sun
- 07:14 to 17:14
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 34 km/h
- Rain chance
- 1%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Lake St. Clair: seasons written for the Canadian year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Smallmouth bass
Opens late June in most of Ontario; best July to October
Open now Closes Dec 1, 2026. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are open from the fourth Saturday in June to 30 November. Rule as read from Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources on 2026-09-27.
The rock-and-current bass of the Great Lakes shores, the Bay of Quinte, the St. Lawrence and Lake St. Clair. The Ontario bass season opens in late June in most zones, after the nesting period. Closed or out of season in most waters.
Largemouth bass
Late June to October in Ontario
Open now Closes Dec 1, 2026. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are open from the fourth Saturday in June to 30 November. Rule as read from Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources on 2026-09-27.
The weed and dock bass of southern Ontario, Rice Lake and the Bay of Quinte. Same season as smallmouth in most zones. Out of season.
Walleye (pickerel)
Spring opener to fall, and the ice
Open all year Walleye and sauger, yellow perch and northern pike are open all year in Zone 19. Rule as read from Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources on 2026-09-27.
Called pickerel in much of Ontario and Manitoba. The fish of Lake of the Woods, Lake Winnipeg and the Red River, Lake Diefenbaker, Tobin Lake, Lake Erie and the Bay of Quinte. Most zones close in spring for the spawn. Through the ice where it is safe: jigging spoons and a dead-stick minnow near the bottom at first and last light. Open rivers: slow jigs in the deep holes.
Muskellunge
Opens in June in Ontario; best in fall
Open now Closes Dec 16, 2026. Muskellunge are open from the first Saturday in June to 15 December; minimum size 112 cm. Rule as read from Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources on 2026-09-27.
The trophy fish of Lake St. Clair, the St. Lawrence, the Detroit River and Lake of the Woods. Catch-and-release is the culture; minimum sizes are large where retention is allowed. Out of season.
Yellow perch
Year-round; the ice season at Lake Simcoe and Long Point
Open all year Walleye and sauger, yellow perch and northern pike are open all year in Zone 19. Rule as read from Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources on 2026-09-27.
The ice-fishing fish of Lake Simcoe, Long Point Bay and Lake St. Clair, and a summer staple on every Great Lakes shore. Schools move constantly. The ice season where the ice is safe: small spoons and tungsten jigs tipped with minnow heads, moving hole to hole to find the school.
Northern pike (jackfish)
Spring, fall and the ice
Open all year Walleye and sauger, yellow perch and northern pike are open all year in Zone 19. Rule as read from Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources on 2026-09-27.
Called jackfish on the prairies. Found in almost every lake and slow river from Ontario to Alberta; big fish in the cold, deep lakes. Under the ice where it is safe: tip-ups with dead bait in the shallow bays.
When to come: the Lake St. Clair calendar
Activity by species and month for the Canadian year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
Species activity by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Smallmouth bass
Largemouth bass
Walleye (pickerel)
Muskellunge
Yellow perch
Northern pike (jackfish)
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 6 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Angler reports
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. Nothing here is copied from a shop or a charter. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
No angler reports yetBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake St. Clair today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 43 km/h gusts make boat control the real battle. Walleye (pickerel) led the card at good. High of 12 °C, wind to 43 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 42 km/h gusts make boat control the real battle. Walleye (pickerel) led the card at good. High of 8 °C, wind to 42 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 39 km/h gusts make boat control the real battle. Walleye (pickerel) led the card at good. High of 11 °C, wind to 39 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Outdoors Card and Ontario fishing licence, from C$12.21 for a resident adult, with higher prices for other Canadians and visitors. Details and where to buy → Except on a one-day licence you also need the Outdoors Card.
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and protected areas are set by Ontario MNR and, in salt water and for salmon, by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Ontario licence page before you keep anything. The zone-by-zone seasons and limits are on Ontario fishing seasons.
Access
On the Canadian side, anglers need an Outdoors Card and an Ontario fishing licence, and Zone 19 allows two lines from a boat in open water.
About this water
Lake St. Clair is a lake in Ontario, Canada, covered from the Ontario reports and listed in all Canada waters.
Fishing Lake St. Clair: the full guide
Lake St. Clair
Lake St. Clair is the shallow lake between Lake Huron and Lake Erie, fed by the St. Clair River in the north, drained by the Detroit River in the south, and split by the border between Ontario and Michigan. On the Canadian side, Belle River in the Town of Lakeshore and Mitchell’s Bay in Chatham-Kent are access communities. It is fished for muskellunge and smallmouth bass in open water and for perch through the ice. No live public level gauge is used for the lake here, so the report rests on the weather and the season.
Species and seasons
Muskellunge are trolled through summer and fall, smallmouth bass are drifted on the open lake, and yellow perch, walleye and northern pike round out the catch. The Ontario side is in Fisheries Management Zone 19: muskellunge open on the first Saturday in June and close on 15 December, bass open on the fourth Saturday in June and close on 30 November, and walleye, perch and pike are open all year.
Where to fish it
The open lake is trolled for muskie and drifted for smallmouth. Mitchell Bay, in the northeast corner, is the perch and ice-fishing area. The Thames River enters the lake on the Canadian side, and the lower Thames, the Chenail Ecarte and the lower Sydenham have an all-year walleye season under the Zone 16 exceptions.
The St. Clair River delta
The marshes and channels of the delta at the north end include the territory of Walpole Island First Nation (Bkejwanong). The First Nation requires non-members to hold its own pleasure craft permit throughout its territory, and a fishing licence from it to fish from a boat there; check its current rules before entering those waters.
Ice and seasons
The shallow lake freezes in cold winters and Mitchell Bay is fished through the ice, but river currents weaken the ice unevenly, and no agency certifies it. In Zone 19, ice huts must be registered online and taken off before 16 March.
Reading this report here
The water temperature estimate, labelled as one, follows the shallow lake’s fast warm-up. On a lake this shallow, wind decides the boat days and quickly muddies the water; pressure and cloud are the other inputs to the score.
Licence, access and rules
On the Canadian side, anglers need an Outdoors Card and an Ontario fishing licence, and Zone 19 allows two lines from a boat in open water. The Michigan side needs a Michigan licence. Ontario’s rules are linked below, and the fees are on our Ontario licence page.
Common questions
When is muskie season on Lake St. Clair?
On the Ontario side, from the first Saturday in June to 15 December, under the Zone 19 rules.
Where is the ice fishing on Lake St. Clair?
Mitchell Bay, in the northeast corner, in cold winters; check the ice yourself.
Do I need a permit to fish the St. Clair River delta?
In Walpole Island First Nation territory, non-members need the First Nation’s pleasure craft permit and fishing licence, besides Ontario’s licence rules.
Is fishing good at Lake St. Clair right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Fish stocking
- Ontario fish stocking report
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- Pages checked
- The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on How our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.