Christmas 2012 photos

Brian and Denise

 Chad and Stephanie

 Michael

 Denise

 Living room

 Stephanie and Chad

 Mike and Bella

 Bella



Fish On!

2012 Year in Review.

Summer of Denise... 4 lb 9 oz.  Her new record.



Old Glory at Black Lake

Opening day of Bass season.

Black Lake, Tavern Island

Islands of Black Lake

2012 proved to be our best year yet at Black Lake.  We had it all.  Nice warm weather, great fishing and great fun.  It was also the year of the drought.  We saw very little rain for the year and record low lake levels.  That didn't seem to slow down the bass at all.  In total, we caught 670 bass for the season.  31 of those were over 3 pounds.  11 were over 4 pounds.  A new record for us!  Lunker of the year was 4 lbs 10 oz and the Lady Lunker was 4 lbs 9 oz.  Every fish caught was released back to the lake.  Early in the season we did very well catching a bunch of fat bass in "The Cut".  In June, the first two weeks of bass season always produce the highest catch rate. July was a good month with several 4 pounders.  At times the "Devils Graveyard" was producing quite well.  But you had to be there at the right time day.  August was also a productive month.  Normally in August we don't catch many, but this year was an exception.  We caught our biggest lunkers in Augest.  Lonesome Bay and Upper Deep Bay had good action if you know where to go.  Jennies Island was difficult this year with all the thick weeds.  Behind Jennies, is Watch Island which was nearly unfishable due to the thick weeds.  Not to mention the low water level also made it difficult navigating.  Fishing south of "The Narrows" didn't produce much this year.  We caught some real nice lunkers near Conger Island.  This year we saw HAB's (harmful algae blooms) on Black Lake.  The DEC posted warnings to avoid these blooms.  There was an extended period of time the lake looked like pea soup.  This is attributed to the drought this year and low water level.  But the bass sure didn't seem to mind.  I caught my biggest bass in some pretty bad looking green water.  The lake did start to clear up in late September.  September fishing was decent but we didn't do too well in the Dash for Cash.  We finished 28th place with 8.09 lbs.  I guess it's not too bad considering there were 144 teams.  Every year we try to crack the top 20, but there are a lot of great fisherman to compete against.  In October we began to wind down on fishing and only got out to fish three times.  The last day of fishing (the 13th) we did manage to catch 12 bass.  Top 3 weighed 10 lbs 7oz..  That would have been good for 5th place in the dash for cash.  It was a good day to end the year.  All and all we had a lot of fun this year.  Hoping next year brings more fun and BIG BASS!!!  Until next time folks...   Fish On!

October 13th, final fishing report for 2012



Last Lunker of 2012 season.  4 lb 1 oz.

This is closing weekend for the Black Lake Lunker Hunter.  It's a four day weekend for us as there is much to do.  Due to a rainy and windy forecast, we will only be able to fish one day.

Saturday, 13th -  Very rainy night and morning.  Couldn't get out fishing until the afternoon.
1:45 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.  47 degrees, cloudy, southwest wind at 10 mph to start.  Caught 12 bass.  The fish bite was good.  Caught several nice bass.  Fished Red Point Bay, Middle Point Bay and Dwaynes Island.  Points of the bays were productive.  Best three fish were 3 lb even, 3 lb 6 oz and a nice 4 lb 1 oz lunker.

This year we caught more fish over 4 lbs than any other year.  I will post a 'year in review' wrap-up, when time permits.  We have lots of work to do in the next few days.

Sunday the 14th, boat removal at the Black Lake Boat Launch.

Until next time folks...                            Fish On!

October 6th & 7th fishing report

Lakeview

Another tough weekend for fishing.  Really bad!  Cold and rainy.

Saturday 6th - Lots of rain overnight.  Fished 12:15 p.m. -4:00 p.m.  49 degrees and windy.  No fish!  Fished wind protected areas.  Started at Conger Island.  No luck.  Headed south to Apple Island.  No fish there either.  Wind pick up real bad.  Had a very rough ride back to the cottage.  Denise was holding on for dear life.  Waves were big!

Sunday 7th -  Cold and cloudy to start.  41 degrees.  West wind about 5 mph.  Fished 7:50 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.  Caught 3 bass.  Fished in our bay in the Narrows.  Also fished Upper Deep Bay and The Cut.  Had a couple more on but they shook off.  Weather cleared up and the sun came out.  But unfortunately, we had to pack up and go home.

One more weekend to go and then it will be time to close the cottage for the season.  Until next time folks...          Fish On!

Sept 29th & 30th fishing report

No new pics this week.  But here is a picture of my brother from 1 year ago today with a 5 lb 6 oz. Lunker!

The bass had lock-jaw this weekend.  Very tough bite.  Only caught 4 bass for the weekend.  Sucky!!!

Saturday 29th -  Fished 7:45 a.m - 1:15 p.m.  Over five hours and only caught 1 bass.  49 degrees to start.  Light northwest wind.  Extremely foggy!  Had to stay in Big Bay for over and hour before the fog lifted. Also fished Conger Island and The Cut.  Fished 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.  Only 2 bass.  Denise caught them both south of Jennies Island.  Also fished Watch Island and Emery Island shoal.

Sunday 30th - Fished 8:25 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.  Overcast skies, 50 degrees, light north wind.  Only caught 1 bass near Conger Island.

Last day of September.  Cool air, cool water, leaves are changing colors at the lake.  Only 2 weekends left before we close up for the season.  I hope the fish are biting better next weekend.  Until next time folks...        Fish On!

2012 winning team comments

Here is the comment from the winning team in the dash for cash 2012:

"First I would thank Ali and his staff for their time and effort in hosting this event. I look forward to this each year. This I believe may have been my 20th. year. I know all the rules and follow them. I was part of a team that tied for first place and my partner took the polygraph. I know what its like walking away from the weigh-in wondering what those guys did to get that weight.


Well I can tell you we did nothing different than any other year. We fished the spots that had fish on them earlier that week. I had only caught 1 fish over 5lbs. in practice and most were 14". I threw the same jig with a ZOOM trailer.

Believe me we are just as surprised to be able to get those bites and get them in the boat besides. The last fish we caught 5lbs was wittnessed by another contestant. The other 2 were caught behind other teams after they fished the same water. I hope they didn't see us.

We ended up using my partners boat because mine had a motor problem. We moved into an area that I was familar with and he gave me the front, not to many guys will do that. Its just one of many little things that made this a great day on the water.

My partner and I fish together at some open tournaments and we compete against each other in our club. Weather we win or lose we always congradulate the winners and we always have a good time. Did I mention he is great with the net.

I will admitt we had got really lucky this year. The level compation and the experiance that fish this is what makes winning this such so special."  Team #40.

Sept 22nd & 23rd fishing report

Denise with a nice 3 lb 6 oz.

 3 lb 11 oz & 4 lb 4 oz Lunkers.

Saturday 22nd -  First day of Autumn.  Nasty wind and rain in the morning.  West wind 10 - 20 mph with gusts to 35.  Could not fish in the morning.  Fished 1:00 p.m - 5:30 p.m.  We caught 7 bass.  Denise caught a nice 3 lb 6 oz using a bubble gum worm.

Sunday 23rd - 48 degrees, clear sky, southwest wind 10 mph and gusty.  Fished alone 7:50 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.  Caught 4 bass.  Two nice lunkers!  3 lb 11 oz at naked man point in The Cut.  4 lb 4 oz hawg at east Conger Island.  The wind ended up getting real bad.  Took final water sample of the season for the BL association.  Only a few more weeks to go before we close up for the season.  Hope we can catch a few more lunkers.  Until next time folks...     Fish On!