Father-Son Duo Enjoys Big Day on Blackwater River

Jerry and his son, Chris, fished the Blackwater River out of Franklin yesterday morning for only the second time this season. Said Jerry, "With the low water levels now, the current is manageable in our favorite spots." He went on to explain that they had been avoiding the Blackwater due to the strong current created by all the rain this season.

Even though the water level and current were to their liking yesterday, Jerry said they were a little disappointed in the beginning with the muddy conditions (the accompanying photos tell that side of the story) they found. As they soon would learn, however, those muddy conditions were not an issue. Their collective totals for the day were 38 fish, 29 of which were bass.

Seven of the bass Chris and Jerry caught yesterday were 14-inch keepers. Their best five tipped the scales at 11.5 lbs., led by the two fish you see in these pictures. Chris (top photo) is holding his big fish, which weighed in at 2 lbs. 15 ozs. Meanwhile, Jerry (bottom photo) is holding his best fish of the day, which weighed 2 lbs. 2 ozs.

"We were culling very early in the day," said Jerry.

In case you're wondering what they were using, the answer is flukes and senkos. All the fish were caught on those baits.

As Jerry noted in the closing line of his email to me, "This was a day when neither of us wanted to leave, but Chris is a dad, and spending time with his son is a rewarding experience as well." So the duo wrapped things up and called it a day at 1315, after six and a half hours on the water.

It didn't take Jerry very long to get his head back out of the clouds from the good day he and Chris had Saturday on the Blackwater River. He and a friend fished the Northwest River today (Tuesday, Aug. 27), and all he had to say about their day was that it was tough, tough, tough!!!