Not to mention needed
We were torn between Bob Sandlin & Palestine. We didn't have the time or the funds to fish both the tourneys and as I've caught a ton more crappie on Sandlin,
We decided to go pre-fish where our odds would be best
11-19; Bob SandlinWe got a later than planned departure, hence a later launch.....Missed the early feeding pattern all together, but nobody told the crappie
I stuck a quality fish immediately
Even the not-so-desirable fish were slamming the Super Fry
Belinda started the day, missing bites, getting frustrated, swearing a little
But once she got her "Tadpole" mojo groove on, she was a slab slinging machine
Although we didn't find a huge concentration of fish, we caught several that went into the box at every stop but 1
We caught some fish in 24-28 fow, but the majority came 35-37' deep in 49 fow
I marked our braided line at 35', but most bites came when you lowered the mark 2' underneath the surface
Belinda said this fish could have eaten this can if her thumb had not been in the way
We were only keeping 11" or better fish, but did have to scoop up a couple of smaller ones that ended up floating on the surface.
I was keeping a close watch, measuring all the maybe fish just to see how the day went.
Here's my "Pretty in Pink" Jigum bead counter
All the beads had been pulled to the bottom and all but 4 were slid back up for a total "Keeper" count of 46
We kept 28 of the better fish
Belinda used the "Tadpole" in Black Emerald Shiner & Purple Passion, I used the Super & Mr Frys in PP
We could have easily caught a double limit, but my back was screaming and Belinda had said she was still mad at the crappie on Fork.
I agreed to take her, if we could leave now and only fish till noon
11-20 ForkWe got a pre-dawn blast off, and I believe that was the 1st time I remember launching at 154 and NOBODY else was there. The parking lot was vacant
Our 1st couple of stops only produced a keeper each, unless you want to count the endless bass and sandies that were attacking our jigs
At the 2nd stop, Belinda stuck this fish and her drag went to slipping
Made another stop, caught some nice fish, but nothing we wanted to put in the box.
Seth pulled up to a pile with some clients about 100 yds away, so we idled by and briefly discussed the slow morning bite.
After we left there, I found a bp in 32 fow that lit up my screen like the a 4th of July firework show
It was
GAME ON!Belinda & I were discussing how alot of guys that stop by, stare in disbelief when I show them the Super Fry and explain that's all I drop after it gets real cold
This 9 1/2" crappie had the complete bait entirely out of sight in it's mouth
The pile just kept giving up quality fish
We were throwing fish under 12"s back
When it slowed down, we graphed and found some new structure, but didn't catch any fish we wanted to keep.
I said "It's about time to go", but here lies the problem when your "Thump" loving spouse knows some of your spots......
"But we haven't fished the so & so spot yet"
I steadily worked towards the ramp and finally got her to agree it was time to head in
Belinda again used the Tadpole and I used the Super & Mr Frys and although we dropped both the BES & PP, the BES was MVP of the day