Lake Blackshear Fishing Report – May 2006

Blackshear: Level: Full pool. Temp: 75 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: On, then off. The Blackshear Buddies tournament April 8 was won with a 21-lb. sack caught by Homer Roach and Norman Bass. The fish were reportedly caught on buzzbaits worked over grassbeds. The night’s catch included a 11-lb., 7.84-oz. largemouth caught by Scott Holland that is the new Blackshear lake record (see page 126 for photo). A week earlier, Ernie Broughton and his father caught five largemouths, including a 10-pounder, that would have topped 35 pounds. The fish were holding in isolated cypress trees in the lower lake and hit Carolina-rigged green-pumpkin worms. During the tournament, crankbaits, spinnerbaits and worms around docks and the deeper cypress trees caught fish. Ernie said that as the spawn ends, the fish pull back to the ledges and to deeper grassbeds. The topwater bite with buzzbaits and Tiny Torpedos should fire up early and late, and Trick Worms around the grassbeds should catch fish.

Crappie: Good. Rusty Parker and his dad caught 28 the last week in April pitching RAG-fly jigs around the Smoak Bridge pilings. A white/clear-with-sparkles/white jig worked best. Rusty says black/chartreuse-with-sparkles/black is a good bet, and so is anything with a majority of chartreuse. The fish are mostly spawned out and pulling off the banks back to bridge pilings, deep docks and the river ledges.

Bream: Rusty said he and his father pulled 18 shellcracker off a bed in 18 inches of water on worms and crickets the last week of April. The bluegill should be hard on the bed on the next full moon.