Guided bass trips of 6/18, 6/21, 6/22.

[GuidedBassTrips]

Opening day of bass season I had Jerry Vandemark and his 10 yr old son for a guided bass trip on Black Lake. The weather was beautiful and the bass were biting. I knew the largemouth would be biting better than the smallmouth. After a brief start with a topwater, I showed them how to fish a senko and soon they didn't want to throw anything else. They fished until 4pm catching what seemed like 40 bass total. Jerry weighed and measured the biggest ones the largest being 4lbs even with approx 5-8 bass weighing 3 to 3 1/2 lbs. A few smallmouth were caught on the senkos. We used crayfish for about an hour with no success and went back to the senkos. Brandon also caught an 19" walleye on a senko. The walleye and all the bass were released. Both shoals and weedlines produced the fish.

Tues 6/21 and Wed 6/22 I had Bob and Millie DeWalt from PA. They were staying at Back Bay campground and I picked them up both days for a half day trip. We fished from 7am to 1pm both days, just beating the rain on Wednesday. Both days seemed tougher than opening day. I did spend more time having them fish crayfish on the bottom for smallmouth. The first day was an equal mix of largemouth and smallmouth. The morning was very bright and still and the largemouth were not eating as good as opening day. They did catch a few 2-3 lbers on the senko. The crayfish produced the smallmouth. The largest being 3 lbs. Day two produced almost all largemouth. A 4 pounder and a few 2-3 lb fish ate the crayfish and some more on the senko. One nice smallmouth did come on a crayfish but they didn't seem to be biting as well. All bass were released.

Overall I would say both species are mostly post-spawn. The lake had warmed quickly into the mid 70's two weeks ago. The water also dropped quickly. Most of the bass were a little thin which explains there aggressiveness opening day.

Good luck to everyone fishing the lake.

[biggerbass]

Thanks for the info! Especaially water temps & spawn conditions. How deep do you fish with the crawfish and do you drift or anchor? I know you can't give me all of your secrets & maybe this year I'll book a day with you, but any help would be appreciated.