Now, I'll be the first to admit that I'm new to this crappie game, and I'm new to the lake, but something's gotta give soon!

I've fished darn near zero water to 30 feet and I have 4 crappie to show for it! I feel almost like I'm back on fork! I've caught MANY bass in the 3-6 pound range, quite a few white/hybrids (still not sure how to tell them apart), I've also caught a few decent cats.... I kept the cats for the table....

Is there gonna be a pattern for crappie at some point? I got sick of bass on Fork taking my minnows and jigs, and now it seems that I'm in the same boat. Are the crappie not spawning yet, or am I doing something wrong?

My bride is wanting some crappie filets.... I'm not providing! Any advice?

It is not the same as other lakes in my opinion. I do well in the summer in the deepest water I can find with brush in 16 to 18 ft. One thing, follow the river channel and look for bends with brush. Forget the timber in my opinion...just how I do it. Bridges hold some fish but are pressured...forget that too. The spawn this year is weird like everywhere else. I suspect it is happening where the spawned last year, which is about 6 feet under now.

Try the shallow water at the Miller Rd bridge

welcome to the forum!

Ronnie,my brother in law wants me to take him to aquilla this sunday.guess i will go limit out.

Thanks Tom!

I've been pondering along the same lines you're talking. There are a couple of bends that now have a bit more structure than there used to be!

I put out 4 homemade PVC trees that are around 6' tall in what is now 16' of water. When (if) the lake comes back up, it should be good for Summer and winter bites. As of Sunday evening, I even marked a few fish around them. I took the advice of a gent on here that recommended that I rough sand the tar out of the pipe before dropping it in.

I placed them well off the beaten path in an area that everyone told me not to go into or I'd lose a lower unit, I explained to them that's why I have a trolling motor! We shall see how it goes soon I hope.

I try my best to avoid crowds on the lake. While I lived on Fork, I fished year round, but never joined the crowd at the dam during the winter crappie fishing, just too many folks for me.

Alan

i expect a full report,then we will follow suite.best of luck to you both!

It can become very costly if you are unable to tell the difference between sand bass and hybrid. I focus on the tooth patch over the looks as on lewisville I've had fish I can not tell without looking at the tooth patch.