Lake Blackshear Fishing Report July 2011

Blackshear: Level: 0.2 feet below full pool. Temp: Mid to high 80s. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Good. Brian Davis said you have to work hard for them, but there are some pretty good sacks, up to 19 pounds, being caught right now at Blackshear. Brian said to go at night if you have the option. It’s hot, and boat traffic is intense during the day, and there’s a good dock-light bite going on at night. He likes to throw a crankbait like a Strike King KVD 1.5 in sexy shad around lights on some of the deeper docks, and he’ll also fish a big worm to try and get the bigger bites. Brian likes a Zoom Ol Monster in green pumpkin on a pegged 3/16-oz. Texas rig. If you’re fishing during the day, skipping docks is the best bite going. A CBT jig head paired with a green-pumpkin Senko is a good bait for this. The last bite Brian mentioned, which has been slow because they aren’t pulling any water at the dam, is on the main-river ledges. Folks aren’t catching many fish offshore, but they have been bringing in some of the heavier fish.

Catfish: Fair. Rusty Parker said the catfish bite has been pretty good on 8- to 10-foot sand flats off the river channel. He’s found a good flat just south of the mouth of Boy Scout Slough, where he dumps spoiled peanuts to lure the fish up onto the flat and then drops a jumper worm to them. He likes to fish a single worm just off the bottom using a slip-float.

Bream: Good. Rusty said he and his dad have had good morning trips recently when they’ve found bluegill beds and worn the fish out on crickets. It’s not difficult to have 25- or 30-fish days right now.

Crappie: Fair. Rusty said he hasn’t had a chance to catch them yet — because his dad is dead set on bream and catfish — but the crappie are stacked up under the 280 bridge in 8 to 15 feet of water, almost on the bottom. He’s also marked some fish on deep channel ledges and around deep trashpiles. This time of year, when the fish aren’t feeding very actively, Rusty likes to tightline minnows or minnow-tipped jigs on double-hook rigs. He’ll push the rigs around very slowly to tempt fish into eating.