Lake Blackshear Fishing Report – May 2007

Blackshear: Level: .2 feet below full pool. Temp: mid 60s. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: “They have been biting good,” said Clint Brownlee. “If we could just get some stable weather, they’d really bite good.” Clint said to throw a spinnerbait around grassbeds and cypress trees early in the day, then if you want to slow down, switch to a weightless Trick Worm in the grass, or a Texas rig with a 1/8-oz. weight to fish a worm slowly through the cypress tree roots. Green pumpkin and watermelon are good colors on Blackshear, said Clint. “If the water is stained, black with red flake is a good color.” The topwater is beginning to pick up as the fish come off the spawn. A white buzzbait or a Zoom Horny Toad around the grassbeds or trees has a good chance of getting blown up. Ernie Broughton said it took 22 pounds to win the April 21 Blackshear Buddies tournament. “The fishing has been pretty good,” he said. “There were a lot of 5- and 6-lb. fish caught.” Big fish of the tournament was a 9.4-lb. largemouth. Ernie said he has been catching a lot of bass by fishing the edges of grassbeds with a Carolina-rigged worm. “I have thrown some topwater, including a frog, but it hasn’t produced for me,” he said. The fish seem to be holding right on the edge of the grass.” Ernie said a redbug Trick Worm has been the hot color for him, with green pumpkin as No. 2.

Crappie: Good. The fish are mostly off the banks but still in the creeks in less than 12 feet of water. Jerry Pheil has been catching them pulling minnow-tipped jigs. By late May trolling will fade, and the best way to catch them will be to pitch minnows and/or jigs to brushpiles in water 10 to 15 feet deep. Dock shooting under deeper docks will also pick up as the water warms. For the details on how Jerry catches crappie in May, see page 52.

Bream: Rusty Parker and his dad were on the lake April 27 looking for bluegill beds and didn’t find any. The cold weather apparently has the bluegill spawn behind schedule. However, Rusty predicts the bluegill should be on the bed with the full moon on May 2. The shellcracker are bedding, says Rusty. He said he had heard reports of good catches of shellcracker at the end of April from the upper end of the lake.