Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Fishing Report - Cane River and Black Lake


Saturday, March 19, in the morning went to the lower end of Cane River Lake. The boat launch by the dam was closed, but was okay for kayaking. The water here was very clear, you could see several feet down. The bass - and some big ones, too - were swimming around the grass and near the docks. Bream everywhere were busting craneflies on the surface. A size 10 blue dun Stippled Popper landed a bunch, most too small to keep. But I did notice the bigger ones were sitting underneath, letting the small ones get to the bug. So I decided to switch to a bigger popper, BoogleBug size 8. That landed a few nice keepers.

The bream action then just stopped, so I picked up a 2nd fly rod loaded with a black Borger Down and Dirty Crab / Crawfish. In a span of four casts, two big goggle-eyes ate it. Then several minutes later, a small bass. Then a few minutes later, BASS-ZILLA hit the BDDC and an epic battle ensued. Couldn't keep the fish out the grass, tho. I finally pulled up about 10 pounds of grass, but with no bass inside!

That was the last bass I would catch for awhile. The pressure hit the 30.30 mark and the fish got lockjaw. Since it was a chamber of commerce type day, I took some time to do some photos of the river area. At each spot, I could see bass working the shorelines. I made it up to the mid-lake launch, and even there, with 60 boats having come, gone, and in/out, there were bass swimming around the launch area. Yet, nobody was catching. That told me it was time for lunch!


In the afternoon, I headed to Black Lake for bream. The landings were packed to the hilt with boat trailers as it was a full moon and the big sow bass were on the beds (that was the 'word'). Launched at Chandlers Landing, which is more kayak-friendly. I started with a jitterbee under a small strike indicator, but the bream came up and hit the indicator, so I switched to a size 10 black/chartreuse Wildcat. That's what I ended the day with. Caught about 3 dozen bream, some real nice, including a couple more goggle-eyes. Also 3 bass, two small ones, and one about 2 1/4 pounds. The lake water is very clear, and the grass is already up to the surface in many places.

Catch