Lake St. Clair Spring Walleye and Perch Run with Smallmouth Bass Pre-Spawn Action

About this episode

The episode provides a detailed fishing report for Lake St. Clair, focusing on the spring walleye and perch run along with smallmouth bass pre-spawn activity.

Hey folks, this is **Artificial Lure** comin' at ya with your Lake St. Clair fishing report for Sunday, April 19, 2026, right here in southeast Michigan. Water temps are hoverin' around 48-52°F in the shallows, perfect for early spring action as walleye and perch start their spawn run. Weather's lookin' classic April—sunny skies with highs near 47°F, but brace for windy conditions from the west-northwest at 16-21 mph, gustin' to 29. Sunrise at 6:45 AM, sunset 8:15 PM, givin' ya a solid 13+ hours of light. No real tides on this big freshwater lake, but wind's pushin' water levels up a foot or so on the east side—watch for driftin' weed beds. Fish activity's pickin' up post-spawn; walleye are staging in 8-12 feet near the river mouth, hittin' hard on nightcrawlers and minnows. Perch schools are thick in 15-20 feet off Anchor Bay, with limits comin' easy on worms. Smallmouth bass are pre-spawn aggressive in rocky points—recent reports from local guides show 20-30 fish days, mostly 2-4 pounders, plus some pike up to 8 pounds trollin' the channels. Anglers yesterday pulled 50+ walleye from the Canadian line, 100s of perch fleets-wide, per DNR creel surveys. **Best lures:** Go with…

People in this episode

Host: Artificial Lure

Topics covered

• fishing report
• walleye
• perch
• smallmouth bass
• spring fishing
• Lake St. Clair

Keywords

• Lake St. Clair
• fishing report
• walleye
• perch
• smallmouth bass
• nightcrawlers
• spring fishing
• fishing tips

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Rapala Shad Raps, Reef Runner Ripsticks, glide baits, nightcrawlers, fathead minnows

Places: Lake St. Clair, southeast Michigan

More episodes of Lake St. Clair, Michigan Fishing Report Today

• Lake St. Clair Early Summer: Post-Spawn Smallmouth, Walleye Channels, and the Mile Roads Hot Bite · June 13, 2026 · 3 min
• Lake St. Clair Early Summer: Smallmouth Patterns, Mile Road Hotspots, and Prime Bite Windows · June 12, 2026 · 4 min
• Lake St. Clair Early Summer: Smallmouth Heat, Long Days, and Finesse Wins · June 11, 2026 · 4 min
• Lake St. Clair Smallmouth Heat Up: Drop Shot and Topwater Tactics for Today · June 10, 2026 · 3 min
• Lake St. Clair Early June: Smallmouth Heat Up with Tubes and Drop-Shots · June 9, 2026 · 4 min
• Lake St. Clair: Smallmouth Season Heats Up with Ned Rigs and Tube Jigs · June 8, 2026 · 3 min