Lake Blackshear Fishing Report – October 2009

Blackshear: Level: 0.1 feet below full pool. Temp: High 70s to low 80s. Clarity: Clear with a stain upriver.

Bass: Tough. Ernie Broughton said it took 13 pounds to win his pot tourney, and the weights dropped off sharply. The high, muddy water experienced by most other lakes in the state had not yet hit Blackshear at presstime, but Ernie said it’s making its way downstream. October typically brings an end to the late-summer doldrums. The shad have already started moving up into the creeks, but Ernie hadn’t seen much action around the bait at presstime. As the water cools a little more, topwater activity should pick up in the backwater creeks and sloughs. Ernie said to concentrate on wood structure and grass edges with topwater baits early. Pop-Rs, Baby Torpedos and buzzbaits are all good choices. A Rat-L-Trap is hard to beat if schooling fish start coming up. Ernie said a chrome/blue Trap is best. This time of year, a 1/4- or 1/2-oz. Trap should do the trick. If you can’t get them on top, the worm bite should also pick up. Fish grass edges, stickups, logs, stumps or any other kind of structure you can find in 6 to 10 feet of water with a Carolina or Texas rig. Ernie likes a Zoom Trick Worm in either black with red glitter or pumpkinseed with blue glitter.

Crappie: Fair. Rusty Parker said Blackshear didn’t get hammered too bad by the late September deluge, and the lake was back to fishable within a few days of the storms. The crappie are still scattered, with some still on the deep channel ledges and some starting to move up shallow. “You won’t catch a lot of fish, but the ones you do will be good, quality fish,” Rusty said. Pitching jigs to brush or cypress trees in the 6- to 10-foot range is working pretty well, and it’s getting better every day. Any color mixed with chartreuse is a good color, Rusty said. Try the trees in Cedar Creek or fish brush under bridges. Rusty said the Highway 280 railroad trestle has been producing pretty well. Crappie.com is holding a Slabfest at Blackshear Oct. 10. It’s a weekend of family friendly good times wrapped around a Saturday tournament and fish fry. For more information, call Rusty at (229) 322-6864.

Catfish: Good. Rusty said it’s not hard to catch a good mess of eating-sized cats. Rusty uses soured peanuts as an attractor. Anchor your boat in 10 to 12 feet of water on the sand flats off the main channel, and throw a few cups of your attractor, rice or soured peanuts, out every now and then. Fish a jumper (pond worm) on a bream hook about 6 to 12 inches above enough weight to keep it on the bottom. The fish aren’t big; they’re perfect eating size.