Cape fair 10/14 short trip

[Hammer time]

Went with my son and put in at daybreak. Fished swings and points with pop r and spook, caught 7 between us all spots no keeps.

Sun came up over the horizon so tried cranking wart and fat free shad on shaded channel banks, one small brownie.

Hit pea gravel points with football jig from Jackson back to ramp caught 4 more all short spots. Wonder where the blacks are?

Loaded up 12:30 had great time on the water with my son.

Tight lines and CPR

[m&m]

Hammer, nice report sounds like a good time on the water with your son.  I've wondered all year where the black bass have gone.

Mike

[Hammer time]

Mike, other than pre-spawn or up the white river I totally agree with how scarce the blacks are.

Interesting note though, I went to weigh in couple of weeks ago when BASS boys were here and talked to the guy tending the holding tanks and asked about percentage of blacks to brownies and he thought 60 percent blacks to 40 percent brownies. I guess guys like us just can't find em.

Anybody catching very many blacks?

[Champ188]

Hammer, I had a decent bunch of blacks 2 weeks ago in a creek off the upper White. I'd rather not say specifically where because it's one of my go-to tournament spots. Other than that, I haven't seen many at all myself.

I'm pretty well convinced that the brown fish are now the dominant species on the lower half of the lake, and that's great. Love 'em. But I hope they don't choke out the blacks in the long run by out-competing them for food. That's good news about the BASS boys catching a lot of blacks. I think they'll start showing up in better numbers once we get a frost or two.

[Chunk Rock]

Caught 4 1/2" lb.black in aunts creek first week of October on c.rig zoom lizard but that was it, rest jaws and spots. So there around.

[Hammer time]

Thanks Champ, was up the white last Wednesday and caught mostly blacks and a few spots but otherwise  not very many lakewide.Like you and so many I love the scrappy brownies but have seen a big decline in quality blacks over the last 10 years.

 I tend to think that since Lbv hit us in the late nineties the brownies are becoming more and more prolific.

[abkeenan]

It's hard for me to chime in since I fish the dam area 90% of the time which is dominated by smallies and to an extent kentuckies. When I do run down into long creek its about 80% largies and 20% kentuckies. Kinda rare to pick up a smallie once you pass Brushy Creek and especially when you cross into Arkansas in Long Creek.

[Champ188]

Us Arkies mostly like our bass big, mean and green.

[Hammer time]

Chunk Rock, that c- rig lizard is my go to bait in the spring and football jig all summer and fall. Maybe I should through it some now. I know you can catch them on it year round but have had best success on football jig in the fall.

[Champ188]

Hammer, I used to fish a C-rig centipede a LOT during the fall down on Ouachita and caught a ton of fish on it. Not sure why I got away from it but was telling Donna the other day that I'm gonna get back to throwing it this fall, especially on some of those points and channel swings up in the Kings.