Lake Waco Crappie Help

Hello All - My father & I hit up Lake Waco Sunday Morning, which we probably should have called it quits from the get go d/t the strong North wind, but we had planned to go, so we gave it a shot. We 1st watched for gulls over the water to see if the shad were running. I caught 1 small white bass had to throw back. We then went to the cove by the damn where Lake Shore Dr crosses over & we didnt have any luck there. So we decided to troll - we both had a Big Bomber w/a spoon on the end (We have had good luck on Lake Belton w/whites & hybrids with this method) & I had a medium diving lure as well. Dad caught 1 really nice crappie, but that was all we had for the morning. There were other fisherman at the damn on the rocks fishing, I do see guys there all the time, & a friend says they always catch crappie on the rocks by the golf course/marina, but we didnt go over there & give it any time.

I know that "brush piles" are where crappie are & I know the guides are eating them up on the piles. I'm not asking for any personal "hotspots" from folks, but any suggestions/techniquies/lures that are given are MUCH appreciated.

Thanks for the help & HAPPY FISHING!

look for brush in about 18 to 25ft of water. There are a few in the cove by Lake Shore. I've had good luck on minners and jigs like the Thump buddies and slab bandits. There is brush all over the lake but you need a graph to find it. I hope this helps.

PM sent

Find some brushpiles in 10-15' and drop a jig.

Also, when you find those birds working over the whites, throw a heavy slab around them. I was using a 1 ounce Friday and catching small ones on top. Cast outside the fish you see surfacing, let the slab fall to the bottom and bounce it back under the surfacing fish. Should be able to pull up some keeper fish that way. We had quite a few 13-14" and even one of these.


Use an 5' ultra light dock shooter and 6lb line and it makes those 8" whites a lot of fun to catch.

location, location,location. That's the trick
to catching crappie. I have spent a lifetime
fishing Lake Waco. Now I do it for a living.
I am not like most guides that I have heard.
Book a trip with me and I will gladly show you
numerous locations ( I have 77 marked on my GPS)
that hold crappie. With the price of boats, tackle
etc, It seems like a $300 dollar investment to
gains locations would be logical. I would imagine
that I will save you that much in fuel alone,
not to mention the countless hours of searching
and not catching.

Greg 254-722-2931
www.thecrappieking.com

pm sent.

I've had some luck up in the river at the mouth of the S Bosque and Hog Creek. There are some brush piles and a gravel barge out there that I've caught some fish off lately. Brush piles are the way to go though if you can find them.

Was catching them from 2'-4' near brush a week ago on any cove out of wind. Using chartreuse jigs and/or minnows. 50/50 on M/F. Work and Mother Nature has prevented any trips since. Good luck!

Are they shallow in the timber that surrounds the lake or is it too low?

When I fished Waco, the fish were where they should be....plenty of brushpiles and plenty of fish.

If not in the shallow timber....back off the bank and start graphing....it won't be long till you find a brushpile.

First off, welcome to the tff, I too was out there Sunday, manages a few, went back today and managed a few more. Do you guys live in Waco?

Yes

Second off welcome to the forum .. With all do respect Monster Crappie the guy wasn't asking for a Guide to take him out .. Just a few pointers on were to catch some fish .. Sounds like he has a boat ..

Put 50 in the boat yesterday on brush in 8 to 12' of water. Slab bandits in Texas Toast and anything with blue/black/chart combo seem to produce the most for us on this lake. Waco shorelines are lined with brush. If using a traditional graph, it can be tougher to locate but it is there. There should be fish showing up on the bridge in good numbers soon, if they aren't already there.

No Offense taken Jigmaster. I was offering my services
to speed up his crappie catching ability. It is a lot
more effective to show someone good fishing spots than it is
to tell them.

www.thecrappieking.com

welcome to the forum ....
a guide there kan show u more than a million posts
they live on the water ketchn crappie ....
the knowledge from a single trip will carry u a long ways there i am sure ...
best of luck to ya ....

Thanks to you all for the info! I live in China Spring down Wortham Bend, so I am putting in off of Yankie/Flat Rock boat ramp. I do have my own boat w/depth finder, etc. I grew up on Lake Belton & we know it well. But, I have lived in Waco going on 3 years now, so I want to learn how to fish this lake. I have done well the last 2 yrs during the white spawn up all 3 Bosques and have done well with cats up the rivers on trot lines as well, but as far as fishing the lake, I am a complete rookie. A guy told me about the old damn, and I found it, but have yet to fish it either.

MonsterCrappie - I thank you for the offer of taking me out, & I do agree that it could probably save me some money in the long run, but I have gotten some good info on here from some guys for some good starting points, so I am going to give these a try 1st to see what happens.

As far as techniques of slabbing & the lures ya'll are using, seriously, I appreciate you all sharing this info with me. Hopefully I will gain some good experience this spring/summer & be able to share some goodies with all of you as well!

try the pile I gave u called "wacogood" first. you will probably limit out right there.

There is nothing like getting info ideas etc from any of us .. Depth location location location and all .. But theres really nothing like finding them on your own figuring them out and ketchin .. Its about the pride .. If you are a fishermen you will ketch .. Go get em .. PM SENT

Take leanin post suggestions on this. If he tells you a specific pile GO TO IT!!

Stacked up 75 more today. Same pattern. I doubt that you find a single pile with a limit on them just yet. Most piles have 5 or 6 feeding fish right now and a good pile has a dozen. Stick and move. If you sit for a few minutes with no bite, head to the next pile.

I found a simular pattern to Zach this weekend during that awful north wind. Some piles I could see fish on the graph but coudnt get bit, most piles we caught a few quick and then moved on. Found a couple piles that gave up 10-15 and then went dead. Dont stay on one spot long without a bite on waco. There are lots of piles and lots of fish so if they are not active on one pile, move on to another and find fish that want to bite.

another thing that helps is dont always go in a daisy chain, from closest pile, to the next one in the line, to the next one, because someone else could have just did the same thing. mix it up sometimes, go hit some piles u had not hit in a while, or go scan for new ones. variety is the spice of life.

I have been guilty of this in the past. Plan to change that up this year by looking for and fishing new piles. Heck, there's a lot of piles I have marked that iv never even put a jig in.
Iv been holding off letting those 2 lbers grow up for the tournament in August.

for crappie which is best.....south of the twin bridges or north of it.

I fished for blues on the north end this winter and did ok in the timber, and luckily didnt tear my boat up. I was told blues werent in the south end so I didnt go there

Crappie can be caught all over the lake, no specific area.

Short time I have visited TFF, I have appreciated the willingness of others to share. Baits, depths, temps, pics of graphs, etc, I have used it all to increase my knowledge of crappie fishing. I agree jig master.

Well, I am heading back out Sunday morning. Going out with a friend & his son, 1st time we have fished together, so I am hoping that all of this info will help me put us on some fish. I told him how generous you all have been sharing information & that I feel confident we will catch something. Ive got a plan & will stick to it going over some of the areas ya'll have offered & techniques of not daisy chaining. So far looks like the wind is going to be out of the North(my grandfather & father always have said that fishing during a strong North wind is not the best conditions) but looks like its not gonna be as strong as last weekend. I know of some of the areas ya'll have offered will put us out of the wind tho, so will definitely hit those up. I will update next week & let you guys know what happened. Thanks again to all ya'll & HAPPY FISHING!!!

if you are talking about blue cats, I caught quite a few channels & blues, including a 34 lb blue in the mid bosque last spring during that 2 week period where the water got out of banks. I know there are blues on the south end, just hafta find the good holes, which I have no idea where they are in Waco, these were all caught in 18ft in the river while water level was up...