Blackhawk Lake Near Cobb (all postings)

went out and hit up some crappie spots last week a couple different days. of course i bought bait else were than palans, but they seemed to be hitting good by the dam. slip bobber set at 2ft and crappie minnows hooked through the tail. they were hitting in other spots but the best and most abundant place i found was by the dam in the shallow rocks and boulders.

I'm in....I pledge to never spend another penny at the corner bait shop. It shouldn't be too much of a problem avoiding such pleasant people.

Fished Sunday water temp was mid 50's fish weren't biting too well. As far as the Bait shop owner and his bride could it be that we judge them to harshly? That he is actually a man so misunderstood that he only comes off as a complete Jerk? That he is a caring person wanting only what is best for the lake and those that use it? Nahhhh

for everyone out there planning on going to Black hawk, dont stop at palans. Lets all work together to make them go under and let that baitshop go under new ownership. these people are arrogant, ignorant, and are very rude. they rob you of bait, the guy has something wrong with him. they claim there is a "No Cell Phone Policy" even though i have gone into the store and had the guy know i was there and continue talking to a friend on his phone when he has a waiting/paying customer depending on his business. the Blonde woman is very rude, and walks with her nose in the air. everything is over priced including bait, tackle, ammunition, tobacco, beverages etc. i would recommend going to Firm Worm in Arena, very generous and always happy to have a conversation and to make you feel welcome. there bait is alot cheaper as well as everything else. i would recommend for most people going to Blackhawk or Governor Dodge lakes and coming from arena, Barneveld, or near by locations of Arena to invest in an air bubbler for your minnow bucket to keep them alive and active over night and purchase bait from Firm Worm. you wont regret making the change. i live in Barneveld and i personally always go down to arena the night before a day fishing just to buy bait, yeah its more gas money, but much better quality and service.

I don't live near Blackhawk but it's one of my favorite lakes in the area. I only get to camp and fish there 2-3 times a year but I keep coming back because... 1) I always catch some nice bass, most are released, a couple kept for dinner, 2) no wake speed makes kayak fishing much more enjoyable than on some of the bigger lakes and 3) I can usually find a decent campsite even without a reservation. I've only stopped at the bait shop once, will never stop there again. We had kids at home and the woman rudely told my wife to leave the store when her cell phone rang and she answered it. WOW... I thought this was America?

spend most of my time on twin for skis/cox for bass/pannies, but the few times I have fished blackhawk I have had little success. caught a few nice bass one outing, biggest was 18". panfish seemed pretty small. tons of people on the water too. Not my first choice for fishing. Only stopped by bait shop 1 time, and the people there seemed angry and rude. not sure how you run a business by being mean to your customers.

as for cribs, not sure what the complaint is other than them not being deep enough. cribs = habitat = more fish. I also presume that some people dont like the pike in there? pike eat the oodles of smaller baitfish that infest that lake. i would throw in a few million more and maybe you would have some better sized panfish. combine that with a 10 panfish limit like Cox has, and you might actually have a decent fishery someday. Way too much pressure for "general" fishing regs. This lake needs to be micromanaged. and the rude people at the baitshop need to re-locate to a different state.

Made no comment on why water was dirty just stated that it was. Am sure rain and wind are most of the problem. Rest of comment about cribs was to save someone from running into them with a prop.

did you ever stop and think that the water being dirty and murky is from ALL THE RAIN WE HAD. greyghost you are just putting this lake down cause you want it all to yourself. cox hollow and twinn valley are also very dirty BECAUSE OF ALL THE RAIN.

Greyghost, Do you know why the water is that color? It reminds me of the river. I took my family fishing their last night for crappies and I have never seen the water there that color. It looked very muddy. Usually this time of year it is gin clear being able to see 10ft. down

I also don't care for the people up at the bait shop. Not very friendly in my opinion. I would think that you would want to put people on fish = selling more bait.

Fishing report - tried 1/32oz jig for pannies with no luck. Highlight though was teaching my three year old how to use a spincast real. Made daddy proud when I only had to run through it with him 3 times and he learned it. No more spider man pole

Lake is a mess dirty full of floating debris. Visibility is about 4 inches at best. Tried for pan fish nothing working Plastics another guy with Minnows nothing. would think the lake needs a week to recycle. Article in paper stated that the paper work done to put in the cribs had only 2 peoples input Bait shop owner and Van Dick. Not the way it should have been done. Their were 8 cribs above the water line 2 weeks ago and the water is high. Now someone has gone out an sawed the branches off the exposed trees a foot under the water line about where you will run your prop. He made a bad problem worse. Paper work says they are to be minimum 5 feet below surface. Article also states about poorly formed cribs and use of materials that seemed to be insufficient. More of a dumping ground for broken sewer pipes than an ideal fish attractant.

There was an article in Wisconsin Outdoor News about a month ago on this. It wasn't an anti article it was praising the 20 plus volunteers. They had all the required permits according to the article. DNR had some quotes in it as well. Never read the Dodgeville letter to the editor. Going off of what I read in WON I would say they are there for good.

i did not read that article, but am curious as to what it said? I think cribs were put in at cox hollow/twin v, and yellowstone as well. just what was said.

Did you read the letter to the editor in the Dodgeville Chronicle a few weeks ago about the fish cribs? Very interesting article; waiting to see if the barge and crane show up to remove the cribs. Very doubtful but a possiblilty. If it was my car that fell through the ice, I'd have 30 days to remove it. Time has to be getting short. Good luck fishing this weekend.

Fished from about 11 til 4 on Sunday. Couldn't find any fish. First time fishing this lake, but tried a few spots that a gentleman pointed the direction in. No such luck. Tried plastics on jigs, and crawlers. Would like to try this lake for bass. Any pointers anyone? Thanks in advance.

limited out on crappies today. all caught on redworms by the dam.