Reservation Number : 24384
Property Name : BlackJack Ranch
Reservation Date : 05/13/2020 PM -
Total Fish/Sizes : 50 / most 14-17" / no harvest
Lures Used : squarebill, z-craw, TX-rigged worms

Bob Scheidemann and I arrived at BlackJack shortly before noon on the 13th knowing that the entire area had received 2.7 inches of rain the previous afternoon and evening.  One nearby personal weather station reported just over 5 inches.  The access road was wet but mostly firm, water was gushing across the road from the small (no-fishing) pond to the lake, the low-water crossing on the spillway was over a foot deep, the pier was totally under water, the club boat was halfway submerged, and the entire lake had expanded past its normal banks.  We were later told that the ranch received 4.83 inches.  Given the amount of rain and runoff, the water was pleasantly clean and no weeds were visible on the surface.  During the afternoon, the lake level dropped several inches and the pier decking was finally exposed.

Bob quickly found that the bass were close to the normal (submerged) shoreline or even swimming over pasture grass.  In fact, almost every bass we caught all day came from these locations.  We observed numerous large arches on the fishfinder that were suspended over deeper water but we were never able to coax a bite out of any of these.  This must be where all the big ones were hunkered down because all that we caught were between 11" and 19 inches.  The harvest quota has already been reached for the year.  Squarebills, Z-craws, and TX-rigged stick worms were the most productive lures but other lures yielded a couple of bass each.  We caught fish from the boat and from shore.  Deep running lures often encountered healthy grass.

We enjoyed a fun afternoon fishing at a lake that held up quite well to a deluge.