Black Lake NY was a bust

[billmac]

I've been fishing mainly some small power reservoirs near me, and I've been dying to get to Black Lake.  Well, my son and I spent about 4 hrs on the lake yesterday for 2 small bass (1LM, 1SM) and only 1 more strike.  We pounded the weeds / pads with spinnerbaits and chatterbaits, and the islands / rock humps with drop shot and shakeyheads.  We saw a number of dead bass, presumably from the recent tournaments, but we didn't even have panfish followers.  I spoke with 1 other guy at the end of the day and he had fished about 8 hrs for 4 bass.  My two bass came on a wacky rigged yum dinger.  I'm not blaming the lake. It was my first time going since I was a kid, and there was a cold front blowing through, but I had hoped for better.  Oh well, that's fishing.

[FishinBuck07]

I would say between the tourneys, and the cold front it made the fishing tough.  But like you said that is fishing!  Look at the bright side of it though, you made memories with your son on a lake you fished as a kid.  That is a great day in itself!

[billmac]

Yes, it was an interesting day.  I had trouble starting the outboard, and in the process of fiddling around pulled the kill switch without realizing it, adding to the frustration.

 

But the lake is beautiful, we saw herons, cormorants, an osprey and a kingfisher.  And this was my first time fishing a wacky rig, so you have to take the rough with the smooth.

 

Over the course of my life I have often come home wishing I had caught some fish, but I have never come home wishing I hadn't gone fishing.

[J Francho]

On 9/9/2019 at 10:02 AM, billmac said:

We saw a number of dead bass, presumably from the recent tournaments

Why do you presume this? 

[billmac]

I don't think I've ever seen so many dead fish on a body of water that isn't a tournament spot and someone told me there were at least 2 tournaments in the recent past.

[J Francho]

There's at least one tournament there per week.  There might even be evening tournaments during the week, as well.  There is also much more recreational anglers than tournament anglers.  Maybe it was them.  To blame bad fishing on a few boats is a little presumptuous.  That lake can be very tough in post frontal conditions.  When it's like that, I try to focus on deeper fish.  They seem less affected by weather.

[billmac]

No, I wasn't blaming bad fishing on tournaments, I was making the connection between more dead fish than I usually see with tournaments and of course I could be wrong.  Cold fronts and the fact that I have no experience on the lake are most likely to blame for our lack of success.

[Jleebesaw]

There was two tournaments the weekend before. Nothing last week though. I would assume any fish that died from those 2 tourneys would be on the bottom and or eaten by last sunday.

    I fished there Sunday as well. I was there from 6am to 1pm or so. It was a little slow. I caught 6 bass. Take that with a grain of salt though, I know that lake very, very well, so i have a bit of an advantage I guess. I caught most on a bluegill colored square bill on the edge of weeds around islands. 2 or maybe 3 I got on a t-rigged 10" power worm in motor oil with red flake.(good color on black lake btw). Used that in the same areas, just in the thicker spots. The couple guys I talked to at the launch didnt have much luck either. The weather wasnt great for fishing. Seems like any major change in weather like we had over the weekend slows the fishing down. 

      I dont know if it interests you guys, but the fall crappie bite is in its infancy now. A good friend of mine got 60 keepers there Saturday with his dad and nephew.

[MacJig]

I go to Black Lake at least once, sometimes 2x year. It is a great lake for Crappies (although last year they ran small) . Funny thing is that I went for crappie but wound up catching a 19" bass, guessing around 4lbs. On top of that, I caught it on a Bobby Garland Baby Shad plastic which is made for pan fish/crappie fishing. So, when I go out looking for bass; nothing. When not targeting bass, I get one. Ahhh, there is no sport like fishing.