Lake Blackshear Fishing Report January 2006

Blackshear: Level: Full pool. Temp: 50 degrees. Clarity: The main run of the lake is slightly stained, back in the sloughs the water is clear.

Bass: Slow, according to Ernie Broughton who held his season-ending Classic on the lake December 17. “A lot of the guys packed up and left the lake by noon or 1 p.m.,” he said. “Clint Brownlee and Jerry Gray won the tournament with five fish that weighed 17.1 pounds, but Homer Cain and Bill Wellon won the season-long title with a weight of 191 pounds. Bob Hardin had the lunker, a 7 1/2-lb. largemouth. This time of year a strong pattern is to head up the river and work a jig ’n pig through blowdowns along the river channel. Ernie said he has been puzzled by the lack of schooling activity thus far. “You can see pods of shad, but they are not schooling.” Topwater baits have not been producing. Finding fish remains the key. Ernie recommends fishing up the river either on river ledges or back in the sloughs. Concentrate on blowdowns, brushpiles and brush with spinnerbaits, crankbaits or a jig ’n pig.