Good morning TFF! Hopefully everyone isn’t freezing to death with the temperatures plummeting into the low 90s
The fishing conditions continue to impress me. I personally expected the bite to get much tougher when we experienced so many days in a row of 100 degree weather, but as of last Saturday, my “job” continues to be very enjoyable. Here are the techniques and tackle we are using to put fish in the boat:
Lakes Fished Recently: Lewisville down to Whitney and east to Cedar Creek.
Water Temps: 84-88 degrees
Rods: 7ft G Rods and 6ft Ugly Stiks
Reels: Pflueger and Shimano
Line: 8lb Mr. Crappie Hi-Vis Monofilament
Tackle Providers:
www.constantpursuitoutfitters.com and
www.sscrappiejigs.com Depth: 12-18ft
Best Pieces of Advice: 1) downsize your bait. 2) catch the aggressive fish then move.
I can’t tell you how many times in the last month that I’ve seen a pile absolutely loaded with crappie, only to catch 4-6 fish. I’m very convinced that the fish are feeding mostly at night (given the temps) and are simply eating our jigs out of convenience. That being said, we are still putting up good numbers if we fish aggressively and hit a lot of spots. Think about it: if you hit ten spots, and pull 4-6 fish off of each one, you’ll have a nice mess at the end of four hours. If I go 2-3 minutes without catching a fish, it’s time to move, no matter how many fish are on the pile.
My most productive technique lately has been to drop down our tiny little jigs on 1/16 ounce heads to pull off a few aggressive fish. Once we pick up 2-3 fish, I’ll then have someone drop down a live minnow or cut bait to trick a few more into chewing on that hook. So far this year, this approach has treated me very well, with our average take home still in the 40-50 keeper range.
One tidbit of information that might serve you well, and it’s a LOT cheaper than minnows, is that crappie absolutely love night crawlers. I often fish for bream at our brush piles (bait for flatheads and blues) and absolutely wear out the crappie on a typical gold hook under a split shot. A man can tip his jig with a piece of worm and enjoy some serious results.
As of last week, we cleaned 42 crappie on Wednesday, 71 crappie on Thursday, 41 crappie and 150 sandies on Friday and 50 crappie on Saturday.
If you really want to go, but you’re on a budget, I could probably be talked into a discount trip these next two months, as it will be my slow season. 817-266-9811or
www.ftworthfishing.comThank you TFF!
Saturday's picture doesn't like me for whatever reason...