Ned Rig Fishing on Lake St. Clair
Lake St. Clair · Michigan · Midwest
Lake St. Clair is a naturally shallow glacial lake averaging just 10–12 feet deep, with a dredged shipping channel cutting through its center and extensive grass flats, sand/gravel shoals, and emergent weed beds ringing its margins. The lake sits at the crossroads of the St. Clair River inflow to the north and the Detroit River outflow to the south, meaning current influence is ever-present and fish positioning responds strongly to flow and wind direction. Smallmouth bass are the marquee species — numbers and size class both — while largemouth stack in the Anchor Bay and Marshy areas of the Michigan shoreline.
Ned Rig pairs a 3–4" ElaZtech-style floating plastic (TRD, Finesse TRD, or similar) on a 1/15–1/6 oz mushroom head jig. The bait's buoyancy causes it to stand upright on the bottom, creating a subtle action that triggers bites when nothing else will. Exceptional on hard bottom, gravel, and rock.
Ned Rig Setup for Lake St. Clair
| Rod | 6'10"–7'2" medium-light spinning rod, moderate-fast action |
| Reel | 2500 size spinning reel |
| Line | 10 lb braid + 8 lb fluorocarbon leader |
| Weight | 1/15–1/6 oz mushroom jig head (Z-Man Finesse ShroomZ or similar) |
| Hook | Size 1 or 1/0 wide gap, built into jig head |
Seasonal Tactics on Lake St. Clair
Lake: Smallmouth push onto gravel and sand shoals in 4–8 feet once water temps climb past 55°F, typically mid-May, making tube baits and finesse drop shots on hard-bottom flats extremely productive. Largemouth stage in the emergent vegetation edges of Anchor Bay ahead of the spawn.
Ned Rig: Deadly on pre-spawn fish holding on gravel and pea-gravel flats in 4–12 feet.
Lake: Post-spawn smallmouth scatter across the main lake flats in 8–14 feet, suspending over cabbage and milfoil edges; topwater walking baits and Ned rigs on the weed lines draw consistent action through July and August. Largemouth bury deep in Anchor Bay hydrilla and milfoil mats, rewarding punch rigs and hollow-body frogs.
Ned Rig: Work deeper rock piles and main lake points. Drag slowly, let it stand. Green pumpkin and watermelon dominate.
Lake: Smallmouth stack on the deeper grass edges and transition to feeding aggressively on gobies and shad as water temps drop through the 50s — glide baits, tube jigs, and swimbait-head rigs produce outsized fish through October. Largemouth compress into the remaining green weed pockets and respond to a slow-rolled swimbait or a swim jig.
Ned Rig: One of the best techniques as fish get finicky before winter. Match shad colors on sandy/gravel bottom.
Lake: Legal ice-fishing seasons permitting, jigging spoons and blade baits over hard-bottom areas in 10–14 feet produce smallmouth through winter. Open-water anglers targeting the southern end near the Detroit River outflow find actively feeding bass around current transitions.
Ned Rig: Best cold-water finesse technique after drop shot. Extremely slow drag on hard bottom near deep structure.
Best Conditions
Clear water, hard and rocky bottoms, post-cold-front, heavily pressured fish, any season except peak summer spawn
Use Z-Man ElaZtech plastics exclusively — they float and are nearly indestructible. Regular soft plastics sink and kill the technique.
More Techniques for Lake St. Clair
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