Trailer ramp · Lake St. Clair · Michigan

Ames Boat Launch

Name: Ames
Address: MI, US
Telephone: 810-765-5605

A public trailer ramp on Saint Clair River in St. Clair County, Michigan, with 1 lane and 35 trailer spaces. Managed by Algonac State Park.

Directions Call 810-765-5605 All St. Clair launches

The launch

What the agency lists

Launch type: Trailer ramp — 1-lane ramp
Water: Saint Clair River
Lanes: 1
Trailer parking: 35 spaces
Toilets: 1
Fee: Not published in the source — ask the manager
Managed by: Algonac State Park
Owner: DNR-PRD
Location: St. Clair County, Michigan
Coordinates: 42.5978° N, 82.6003° W

Before you launch

Lake St. Clair is big water

St. Clair averages about eleven feet deep and much of it is shallower. Outside the dredged shipping channel, watch the chart and the depth finder, and keep clear of freighter traffic in the channel itself. Wind across the open middle builds a sharp chop quickly.

Current from the St. Clair River in the north and the Detroit River outflow in the south. It moves ice, it moves boats at anchor, and it makes ice near either end untrustworthy in any conditions.
Shallow, fast-building chop. Eleven feet of average depth means a 15-knot wind produces a short steep sea that beats a small boat badly and shuts down flat fishing entirely.
Heavy commercial freighter traffic in the marked shipping channel bisecting the lake. Freighters have no ability to maneuver around you and their wake and draw are significant.

Read how to read a Great Lakes marine forecast and trailering and launching on big water. Pack the big-water safety kit.

From this launch

What to fish on Lake St. Clair

Our St. Clair fishing guides name spots at or near St. Clair River:

Lake Sturgeon · June through September, after the spring spawning period has passed

Lake Sturgeon in the Lake St. Clair System

The St. Clair River below Port Huron: Deep, fast, cold water under the Blue Water Bridge and downstream past Marysville. The heart of the system's sturgeon habitat, with hard bottom and current the fish have used for centuries.

Steelhead · November through April on the St. Clair River; March and April in the tributaries

Steelhead in the Lake St. Clair System: Port Huron to the Clinton River

The St. Clair River at Port Huron, under the Blue Water Bridge: A Michigan DNR Trout Trails site off Thomas Edison Parkway. Shore anglers fish the riverwalk for steelhead, brown trout and salmon in heavy current. Bring a long-handled net — the walk sits well above the water.

Walleye · Late April through early June, and again from late September into November

Lake St. Clair Walleye Fishing: Night Bite & Delta Tactics

The St. Clair Flats delta channels: The North, Middle and South channels of the St. Clair River delta. Current-driven, and the seams behind Harsens Island and Dickinson Island hold fish through spring.

Muskellunge · June through mid-November, with October and early November the trophy window

Muskie Fishing on Lake St. Clair

Lake St. Clair holds the densest muskellunge population on the continent, and the old line about ten thousand casts does not apply here. A competent angler on a good October day can raise a dozen fish and boat several.

Northern Pike · Late April through June, September through November, and January into February on Anchor Bay ice

Northern Pike Fishing on Lake St. Clair

St. Clair pike are the fish nobody drives here for, which is why they get so little pressure on a lake famous for muskie and smallmouth. The St. Clair Flats delta and Anchor Bay hold good numbers in water shallow enough to fish from a kayak.

Smallmouth Bass · Late May through October, with September and October the best big-fish window

Smallmouth Bass Fishing on Lake St. Clair

Lake St. Clair is the best smallmouth lake in the country and the numbers are not close. Eleven feet of clear water over grass, a forage base of gobies and emerald shiners, and enough four-pound fish that a five-pounder does not stop the boat.

Yellow Perch

St. Clair by season

SpringWalleye in the rivers, smallmouth staging on the flats SummerGrass flats, gin-clear water, and muskies FallThe best muskie fishing in North America WinterPerch and pike through ice that is never guaranteed

Next ramp over

Nearest St. Clair launches

Snooks2.2 mi · trailer ramp · 1 lane · MI
North Channel2.8 mi · trailer ramp · 8 lanes · MI
Deckers Landing3.6 mi · trailer ramp · 2 lanes · MI
Algonac Municipal3.9 mi · trailer ramp · MI
Fair Haven5.5 mi · trailer ramp · 4 lanes · MI
Algonac State Park5.6 mi · trailer ramp · 1 lane · MI

Straight-line distance, not a boating route.

Landmarks from the water

Lighthouses nearby

St. Clair Flats Rear Range Light6.1 mi · deactivated
St. Clair Flats Range Front Light6.3 mi

Source

Launch facts are from the Michigan DNR, State Sponsored Developed Boating Access Sites, retrieved 2026-10-05. Ramps close for repairs, fees change and water levels move; confirm with Algonac State Park before you tow. Fishing rules are set by theMichigan DNR.

Chart shoreline generalized from Natural Earth (public domain). Not for navigation. Something wrong or missing? Write to contact@greatamericanlakes.com.

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