Guided Bass Trips on 8/5 and 8/6

[GuidedBassTrips]

Friday 8/5 and Saturday 8/6 I had Marvin Bush and his two grandsons Gabe and Cole for two days of bass fishing on Black Lake. Marvin is from Kentucky and is a repeat customer of mine in Florida. This was his first time at Black Lake. Gabe is age 9 and know lives in Albany. Cole is age 8 and lives in Ohio. Marvin told me I would have my hands full keeping them entertained. Most will say with kids you are better off taking them bluegill fishing. But I wanted to see them catch bass and felt that shiner fishing under floats was the best and might be the only technique for them to catch there own fish. If it was a month ago I would have showed them how to fish a senko, but not now. My first two spots produced no action, with shiners! After blaming it on the green water, I ran to the south end where I knew the water was clear. They began catching fish right away and caught a mix of smallmouth and largemouth throughout the day on small shiners. The bass were also small but it kept them busy. They learned how to set the hook, play and land the fish, and also hold and release them without harm.

On the second morning I decided to try using crayfish with them. I knew this would be a challenge, fishing without a float would require more patience. On the first shoal I threw out a crayfish for Gabe and a 4lb largemouth ate it quickly. He hooked and landed the fish on his own. I continued to try and show them how to work them on the bottom and feel the rocks but this proved to much for them. So I went back to having them use shiners which produced more fish and this time some bigger fish. Cole eventually landed his own 4lb largemouth. After the shiners were gone, I pulled onto a good smallmouth shoal and Marvin and I worked the crayfish for them. The smallmouth began biting and we would hand them the rod so they could enjoy the fight. They caught several nice smallmouth a couple of them were solid 3 pounders. All bass were released.

Right now Black Lake is in the height of its algae bloom and the fishing is much tougher now. There is still clear water on the south end which seems to make for easier fishing. Bottom fishing will work in the green water if you are patient and know where the fish are. The crayfish are working better for both species and some bigger smallmouth are starting to bite them. This is the time of the year I usually will switch to primarily using crayfish on the bottom unless of course I have shiners on board. Artificials will work early and late but can be a challenge at other times.

Good luck to everyone fishing the lake.