When Kevin VanDam speaks, bass fishermen crowd around and listen intently. When he talks about his favorite Michigan bass lakes, they take notes.
VanDam, known as KVD by his countless fans, is the greatest angler to ever pilot a bass boat. He calls Michigan home and grew up fishing many of the Wolverine State’s fabulous bass lakes and rivers. Here’s what he has to say about one of his favorite Michigan fishing destinations.
Lake St. Clair
“St. Clair is the greatest smallmouth bass fishery on the planet,” VanDam said. “It’s my favorite lake to go to for numbers of smallmouth and trophy fish. You can’t beat it.”
VanDam’s praise includes the clear, aqua St. Clair River, which flows into Lake St. Clair from Lake Huron, and the Detroit River, which flows from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie.
Lake St. Clair is a “big round bowl” about 25 miles across that averages only 10 feet deep. The smallmouth here relate to the lake’s expansive gravel and sand flats, and they prowl scattered patches of a short, thin aquatic vegetation called sand grass.
“Sand grass is the main thing that holds crawfish, perch and sand minnows,” VanDam said.
There is also a wide variety of other baitfish that keeps St. Clair’s smallmouth fat and feisty, VanDam added.
In the deeper sections of Lake St. Clair, smallmouth also frequent leafy “cabbage” grass that can grow to depths of 18 feet or more. The amount of cabbage varies from year to year depending on the winter weather, VanDam pointed out.
St. Clair’s smallmouth also frequent rockpiles formed by what has been dredged from the shipping channel and deposited on the bottom nearby.
“There is a tube and a drop shot bite at Lake St. Clair anytime of year,” VanDam said. “Because it’s so shallow, spinnerbaits and jerkbaits can be great, too. There’s also a tremendous lipless crankbait bite in the spring and fall.”