Charleston Lake Bass

Post by **ganman** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 12:10 am

Charleston Lake is well known for its Lake Trout and over the past decade its popular for its smallmouth bass fishing but there is great largemouth fishing as well.

Sat nite we gave the largemouth a crack in the shallow bays near Outlet. Within the first 5 minutes I got one 22 inches long, 6lb. plus. Caught fish all evening in shallow pads and bullrushes on spinnerbaits, weedless spoons and topwaters.

Tonite we fished the same area but worked deeper weeds beds and shoreline logs and debris with plastic worms and jig'n pig. We caught more bass tonite, all fat and well conditioned but none as big as the one Sat nite.

Last week out in the big water the smallmouth hit floating Rapalas steadily all evening and towards dusk on almost every cast one would blow up on it often knocking the lure clear out of the water.

This spring I had some good pike fishing. The pike were thick bodied and clean as opposed to the skinny pike from other lakes. My biggest from Charleston this spring was a shade under 10 lbs.

Saturdays big bass was the third 20"/6lb. plus bass I've caught from one one the Gananoque River system lakes so far this season. The other bass were caught in Lower Beverly and Gananoque Lake.

Geez, someone might say this ain't the kind of stuff you should throw around on the internet but sometimes it's harder to keep your mouth shut....lol.

Post by **Northern King** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 6:13 am

Well it sounds like the bass are really starting to hit. I have a cottage on Charleston and I boated many 2 to 3 lbs smallies 2 weeks ago. Last year I hit some bigger ones 5+lbs. There definitely is a lot of good fishing on Charleston. It seems to me the fishing has gotten better this year and last year then the previous years.

I nailed a couple of nice pike at the beginning of the season and the lakers were really hitting this year.

Post by **ganman** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 9:18 am

Bigfish.....How about the jumbo perch. I remember years ago bait fishing for bass in the big water and catching them. I thought they were a pest then...I sure wouldn't think so now.

Post by **Northern King** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 4:07 pm

Ganman, I have caught some nice perch but never any really big ones. But there are definitely alot of them around. That 6lb largie must of been one heck of a fight. Unfortunatly, I have never hooked into one that is that large yet but, I hope to eventually nail one.

Did you make it out to Charleston at the beginning of the laker season??? It was a great fishing this year we nailed some nice ones.

Post by **ganman** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 8:56 pm

Yea it was a great fight, brief but all hell broke loose. I was throwing a Johnson weedless spoon/pork rind into the pads. Ten feet behind a rolling wake honed in on the spoon. I didn't feel the fish or see a swirl, I suppose he just inhaled the spoon. Somehow intuition took over and I just reared back and set the hook hard. I was using 14lb mono and a stout rod. I got his head up on the hookset and kept him on top and moving but he still jumped and tailwalked and thrashed the pad bed.

I was watching your posts about laker fishing on Charleston. I was never much into trolling, downriggers etc. but I liked what I saw. Next year I'll be ready with a set of downriggers.

Years ago when the season was open we used to have great fishing on Charleston through the ice. Opening day had a carnival atmosphere, we all drove right out on the ice at daybreak some years in trucks/cars warmer years on snowmachines. We kept ourselves warm (so we thought) with cheap wine and sipped whisky. We caught alot of fish! I know guys who would book a weeks holiday off work, it was the highlight of their season.

Post by **Rescue78** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 11:16 am

I always wanted to fish Charlston lake but since it is such a big lake, I wouldn't have clue where to start

If anyone is going and willing to take me out, let me know. I have a boat if needed.

Post by **ganman** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 5:52 pm

When I fish Charleston it seems I use less gas. I just motor away from the ramp around a point and drop the trolling motor. I poke along the shore pitching and casting texas rigged worms, topwaters, small cranks, jigs to anything a bass can use as cover. Logs, weeds, boulders, docks etc. You'll stumble into some coontail patches doing this.

The other night I found one such patch 50 feet in diameter that gave up 5 bass. A rule of thumb if the water out from shore is shallower than 20 feet you'll get largemouth, deeper its smallies. Thats not carved in stone but its common enough. Remember where you find those coontail beds by August some of the biggest fattest largemouth in the lake move in to the deeper beds and you'll have a field day dunking a 1/2 ounce weedless jig/craw into the pockets.

A mid summer smallmouth pattern thats almost a certainty is to find a large shoal or bar surounded by deep water. On a calm evening wait till the wind dies down, tie on a minnowbait (Rapala). You should see bait working. Twitch that lure on the surface and hang on. Towards dusk the action picks up where you'll have a response almost every cast.

Post by **Rescue78** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 9:48 pm

GanMan

Thanks for the Charleston Lake 101 lesson. I should print that one for future reference.