Finally getting better!

Went to Lake Nacogdoches this morning. Water temp had dropped from 65 to 60. Found fish only in 23 ft of water or deeper. They were hanging about 15ft deep on VERTICAL structure. Males were dark too.

Spawning that deep or Staging to move up shallow and spawn is the question of the day! Ha.

Nice fish.

You're giving me Hope Jacob!!!!! Thank you!!!!! And nice haul!!!!

Exactly my question. Blacks and whites were that deep, and I caught mostly males.

Cooler weather pushed um deeper. But they hadn't been there long, or they wouldn't be that dark... IMO

Interesting having dark males that deep. pretty fish!

Yea, cool...I caught 18 this afternoon in 1 to 2 feet of of water....they moved from the bank to six feet off...

Ya, I think it has a lot to do with the water clarity. I was fishing a stump today that was about 5 ft under the surface and could see it clear as day. So, they are probably hanging about 10-12 ft deep suspending on any structure in that range until it gets dark.

Nice

THEY ARE SPAWNING!!! cooler weather doesnt push them deeper, the barometric pressure changes that occur when frontal conditions arise is what makes them move. 23 feet of water column doesnt change temperature enough in a few cold overnight hours to affect anything.

shouldnt the males be nest building on the banks? they arent because they have structure to spawn on at a depth they are comfortable at.

you think they sneak into shallow water at night to spawn?

Careful now Jacob...Leanin Post May be reading your post...

Dang It...I was TOO slow!

Honestly, I believe they are too, especially because I’m mostly catching males, which would make sense. Males are there protecting the nest. The pattern seems to be consistent too. I’ve caught jet black males year after year on this lake on deep brush (18-25 FOW).

I’ve read a lot of articles on water clarity and the spawn. They all y’all about light penetration. I think it may have be something even simpler that keeps them from being super shallow- birds. Not sure if fish have a natural imaging to avoid predators from above the water, but I’d assume they’d try to keep deep enough to stay out of striking distance of eagles, cranes, kingfishers etc. Just a thought...

you want to know why spawn is so difficult for so many fisherman, its because they will fish 40 miles of banklines and get skunked because they just refuse to believe that crappie can spawn as deep as they decide to.
they come uop with every excuse in the book, the birds ate them, the females reabsorbed thier eggs, the lightning killed them and they sunk to the bottom, the flood washed them away, they didnt spawn this year, we caught them all last year,its the zebra mussels, the water is too clear, the water is too dirty, global warming, polar ice caps melting, salt water intrusion, the bees are disappearing, the golden rod plant poisoned the water, hydrilla choked them out, duckweed clogged thier gills. the cormorants ate them all. the otters dammed up the creek and blocked the fish from getting back there.. its all BS.

I think they sneak in to feed and some spawn at night. There was a radio tag study done in one of the articles I was reading saying that crappie moved a ton during the spawn and would go back and forth constantly, but would tend to go shallower at night and deeper as the sun rises.

that is exactly why shad go shallow at night to feed. the birds go to roost. The shad instinctively know this. as Ive said before, if you ever want to really understand crappie fishing, do some night fishing.

they arent sneaking into shallow water at night to drop thier cargo like a stealth bomber, they are feeding on shad, till just before daybreak when the shad disperse.
Now just go find similar places like you did today, and you will hammer them all spawn.

I like night fishing...boat is ready, green lights are too!

I bet over 95% of the crappie caught in Texas, during the spawn is in water less than 10 feet deep.


Interesting, I didn't know otters built damns either.

Let us know what you catch there around the full moon that is coming up Jacob. If they are spawning there females will be thick and easy pickings.

Nice post and fish. Good job.

you sure must have a sore arse from being proven wrong so many times, speaking of trolling I was told of your little trick of pretending to be white bass trolling past guides on brush and marking thier spots.
I share real effective, truthful information on this forum, not a fake, braggart.
sometimes I come across somewhat harsh, but im honest and straightforward.
It sometimes feels like folks get angry because im letting secrets out. is that your problem mr Radar?
Also its sure nice that you found a crew to kick it with up north tx, since nobody in the centex will have anything to do with you and Clinger.

may be true but I would bet that 60 to 70 percent of all spawning crappie ARENT being caught because they are spawning deeper than 10 feet and most fisherman arent targeting them there.

Jacob , lay off that spot a bit, if you clean it out, less females will come. THEY WILL COME THOUGH! you will be able to catch some hogs!

Nice read, lots of theories with these crappie fish....
One thing that I've seen is if you're catchn males back out a bit and tha females are right there....
I don't ever fish shalla (not even during the spawn) & catch mostly females while the ones that are pitching the banks pick up the smaller males...
I will say my deep (10-15') will be considered shalla to some of y'all 20+ft fishers....
One MY lake there is this one stump that sets about 4' under the surface in about 16fow, during the spawn I can always catch a few suited up males off the top of this stump...Can/will fish spawn on structure?

I know Ken and he seems like a genuinely nice guy so I question some of your comments. I've never met you or even know your real name but if you have written books on catching crappie, are a touring national tournament angler or have a tv show that we would all be interested in following then let us know so we could all learn as much as you seem to know. I am not trying to come off in a bad way but with all you post I was just questioning your credentials and how you know everything about crappie? Heck, I'm new to crappie fishing after fishing for them exclusively for the past three years because every time I think I have them figured out - they prove to me that I don't. Oh well, I just love to fish for them and like meeting all the great, kind-hearted and genuine crappie fishermen that I have met so far.

Clinger is as good as they get, I have seen what he catches as well as Ken.

LeaninPost should fish the CrappieMasters on Fork.

Yeah....that truthful information that says water temp isn’t a factor

I have a question or two for whom ever is inclined to answer:What is a/the Spawn? Is it a Noun,is it a Verb?, and which of the sex actually do it? Male or Female?Do they both do it. does anyone know?Help a feller out!PLlZZzz

Spawn (Noun) - that child over there is my spawn.

Spawn (Verb) - my wife let me spawn with her once and I ended up with the child over there.

I think the males do it because the females never seem to want to do it.

Heck, what do I know? Much like women, I have never figured out crappie but I do like to chase them whenever I can or when my wife let's me.

^^this

The females do it.............but it takes two to tangle and deep too!


Well, that's what Richard Pryor and LeaninPost said anyways.

Dave has never spawned deep!

Poor guy.

Your true personality is coming thru.
So pathetic when someone has to stoop to personal attacks, full of lies, just to sooth their ego.

Well Guy`s....I tried

I have heard the the females prepare the eggs, then turns them over to a suitable male, who guards the nest/hatchlings from marauding gasper goos, and other would be predators for a while, then leaves to go tend to his other chores...but hey, I could be wrong...

Hey, I am glad crappie spawn deeper, cause that means all the bank walkers can’t catch all the crappies and we don’t have to worry about decreased limits or 12 inch minimum limits...

Nouns and verbs...seriously? Well in that case, I prefer Bluenitros answer...it gets right to the heart of the matter!

Ok, I think Ken is a nice and genuine guy...I also think leaning post is a genuine and straightforward guy...I ALSO think they are competitors on the lake, and both can catch fish during the spawn at about the same depth...just saying, Ken ain’t getting that fancy boat anywhere near where I fish and leanin post don’t want to go there either, cause there are plenty of deep spawners...that said...I have been catching some really nice males and some bigger females right on the bank lately...of course y’all don’t fish there, but 12- 15 inch males are fairly nice fish to me...especially when they don’t come much bigger on this particular lake...