# Fri the 13th Blackwater



## auguy7777 (Feb 23, 2009)

Roanoke River Runner and I braved the wind and cold today to go do some cranking at Blackwater and it kinda paid off. We caught a huge Jack, two reds, and three good bass from noon until 4. We just threw some crankbaits around north of the I-10 bridge. Water temps were warmer than I expected, seen some right around 58 degrees. The fishing wasn't horrible, but I'm glad to be out that cold.


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## Spoolin Up (May 3, 2011)

Nice fish man, That Jack is huge for this area!


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

Just curious. Are you calling the chain pickerel a "jack"?


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## auguy7777 (Feb 23, 2009)

MrFish said:


> Just curious. Are you calling the chain pickerel a "jack"?


Yes


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## Tres (May 8, 2010)

Yeah, that's a big jack for sure


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## PAWGhunter (Feb 3, 2010)

That "jack" reminds me of the northern pike I used to catch going up in Canada..despite the bones they are good eating


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## CatHunter (Dec 31, 2008)

Geez that chain pickerel looks like a northern pike!


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## markw4321 (Oct 4, 2007)

That is a nice jack fish ! Florida record is 5 3/4 lbs''.


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

Great report but I have to ask, why does everyone call them jacks, jackfish, etc?

Thats a big one for sure


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## Randall2point0 (Feb 11, 2011)

All fish caught north of the bridge, around the mouth of the river? Never seen one of those "jacks" before...


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## roanokeriverrunner (Jul 13, 2011)

those chain pickerel(jacks, or southern pike) sure are fun to catch, but they sure will mess up some tackle.


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## Tyee Dave (Oct 24, 2007)

Dang, that is a nice Jack. Some of my fondest memories are when my uncle fried up some Northern pike in Wisconsin. Good eats!


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## auguy7777 (Feb 23, 2009)

i sure wish we would have had a scale to weigh it on if the record is only 5.75 lbs. I think we had that beat. Took me a while to get it in.


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## Spoolin Up (May 3, 2011)

I think just in my opinion, that in my youth anything really bony was a jack, like jack mackeral, skip jack etc, what do you guys think


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## FishWalton (Jul 22, 2010)

That jack (chain pickerel is actually a whopper for Florida. I have caught a fair number but nothing anywhere near this size. Not long ago decided to eat one. It was ok but bream and bass are better. 

The name 'jack' is just a local name. Something like a 'red ear' is called a shellcracker.


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## Spoolin Up (May 3, 2011)

I was in blackwater off of marquis basin bass fishing with a broken back rapala and caught some of those jacks brand new lures too, they took the paint right off of them, aggrevating stuff!!


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## Spoolin Up (May 3, 2011)

Yup Like Bluegill, pumpkinseed, shell cracker, because of them eating oysters and smaller chell fish, stump knockers, croakers lol goes on and on good question though I believe the chain pickerel is in the muskie and pike family I have caught them as far up river as juniper creek up near munson on a rooster tail while wading the creek, it was a tenth of the size of that jack.


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## auguy7777 (Feb 23, 2009)

Forgot to mention that the Jack was actually caught with a Berkley hardbody 3 inch swimbait. He hit it like a rocket ship. Took about 5 mins to get into the boat. I thought I had a striper.


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## Spoolin Up (May 3, 2011)

I bet! That swim bait is it like a soft shad type bait?


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## skiff89_jr (Apr 1, 2011)

Those jacks are fun to catch. I catch them all the time wade fishing the creek on light tackle and green spinner baits.


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## CatHunter (Dec 31, 2008)

Yep if you have a kayak there's a stream on fairfield that they call 
"Jones swamp" I always called it "moccasin creek"Fished it my hole life

Slide the yake in the water on fairfield and work your way east, its a tiny little creek about 6 feet in the deepest holes, Its loaded with Chain pickerel, grass pickerel and True Florida strain black bass, the fish tend to run small but lots of action these fish get very little fishing pressure, from no access points to fish. A big bass is 3lbs and a large pickerel is about 18 inches but you will have 50 fish days. "Use small lures"

If you fish it please release most of what you catch, small body's of water like that get over fished quickly.

The creek will open up in too a large virtually un fished lake.:thumbsup:


























You may only hear me talk about catfishing, but we fish for every thing.

I have caught redear sunfish, bluegills, spotted sunfish, warmouths, yellow bullheads, redhorse sucker fish, chain pickerel, grass pickerel, and Florida black bass from this creek, there the blackest little things u ever seen.

The pickerels are so aggressive we used to use a cork with a single hook slid all the way to the end making it into a top water lure, and they smash it to pieces.


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## CatHunter (Dec 31, 2008)

That pickerel for sure looks like it had a shot at the state record.


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## auguy7777 (Feb 23, 2009)

CatHunter said:


> That pickerel for sure looks like it had a shot at the state record.


I guess I know what I'm doing Monday, getting it again :thumbup:


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## CatHunter (Dec 31, 2008)

get it bud, bring another one back to Pensacola:thumbsup:


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## fishallyear (Oct 24, 2007)

DANG! guess i shoulda reported mine.......... beat 6lbs easy! ron


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## jcoss15 (Oct 11, 2010)

wow man awesome jack....I got to try that area down there around the bridge.


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## CatHunter (Dec 31, 2008)

Wow am I the only one that fishes to catch records, them fish would have been on the books for sure.


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## pole squeezer (Oct 29, 2008)

CatHunter said:


> Yep if you have a kayak there's a stream on fairfield that they call
> "Jones swamp" I always called it "moccasin creek"Fished it my hole life
> 
> Slide the yake in the water on fairfield and work your way east, its a tiny little creek about 6 feet in the deepest holes, Its loaded with Chain pickerel, grass pickerel and True Florida strain black bass, the fish tend to run small but lots of action these fish get very little fishing pressure, from no access points to fish. A big bass is 3lbs and a large pickerel is about 18 inches but you will have 50 fish days. "Use small lures"
> ...


 Wow!! I used to fish that creek with my mother and sister, It was our secret jewel because, not too many folks fished it. We used to run into one guy who used to catch fresh water trout, and used to have huge stringers of shellcrackers, and bream draped over his shoulder. Man, the chain picks were large, there were jumbo bass, and big cats. Place was full of snakes, best fishing ever.
The only other place that came close for fishing and snakes was a feeder creek that used to empty into the muskogee river behind Champion Paper Co.
Caught some of the biggest redbreast bream I've ever seen in that little creek. It was spring fed, the water was very clear, and you could hop across it in some places. Snakes at almost every step though. lol


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