Lake Blackshear Fishing Report June 2017

Blackshear: Level: Full pool. Temp: 76-81 degrees. Clarity: Stained.

Bass: Coach Stephen Birchfield reports, “Fishing this time of year on Lake Blackshear is tons of fun. The fish are on their postspawn pattern, and you can really load up on them in a hurry. This time of year you need two lures to catch fish. The first lure you need in the boat is a Senko worm on a spinning reel. I use the spinning reel this time of year because it is easier to skip under the branches of the cypress tress, and that’s where you are going to find the majority of the bass. The closer you get to the base of the tree, the better. Focus on trees in shallow water close to a creekbed. The other great pattern right now is the topwater frog bite. I use any brand hollow-bodied frog, and the bigger the better. While this bite produces less fish, it produces bigger fish. I like a medium-action rod with a baitcaster lined with 50-lb. braid. Fish this lure shallow, and make long casts to cover lots of water. When retrieving the frog, focus on fast, aggressive twitches, making the frog skip across the top of the water. Both of these patterns should work all over the lake, but focus on the coves and sloughs south of the 280 bridge, with Cedar Creek being the sweet spot. As the month gets hotter, keep a Sammy on the deck, and be prepared to walk the dog with it anytime you see busting fish roaming shallow. As always on Lake Blackshear, don’t be afraid to fish shallow. Be safe on the water, and enjoy some good summer fishing.”

Crappie: Rusty Parker reports, “The crappie have been biting fairly decent for the past few weeks. I have not been able to fish as much as I have wanted to because of health problems. The few times I have been crappie fishing, I was able to catch a lot of good-sized slabs. Usually at this time of the year, most of the crappie should be in the postspawn pattern. I was able to pull in 29 good slabs in a two-day span by pitching jigs around structure that averaged in the 15- to 18-foot range. I have caught some slabs with minnows, but for me, pitching jigs has produced the most and largest. I was using the Sore Lip jigs in 1/24-oz. size with chartreuse/pink/chartreuse and chartreuse/watermelon/chartreuse getting the most slabs. In my opinion, I do think they will be in full postspawn pattern by the time you read this report. A great area to tight-line minnows is the river channel ledges. That’s the method I will be trying, but I will also be shooting docks because of the hot weather. Docks with more shade are better. May your catch be large and plentiful. God bless everyone, and remember that Jesus loves you.”