For the first time in my five year career as a guide, I kept record of every fish that was harvested on my boat, starting January 1, 2014, and ending on December 31, 2014. I did this for a couple of reasons. For starters, I was curious as to how many fish I actually take out personally. Secondly, I wanted to get an idea of how many fish BigCrappie.com catches as a whole. Lastly, I wanted to see the trends that take place throughout the entire season.

Factors that affect these numbers are weather, number of trips ran, skill of fishermen and overall health of the lake. When looking back at these numbers, my two biggest surprises came from the month of March and the summer months. I concluded that March's numbers were low because of how long winter stuck around last year, ultimately making for a less consistent spawn. The summer of 2014 treated us much better than usual, at least in my mind, due to how mild the temperatures were.

In the list below, the numbers in the left column represent how many crappie were kept on my boat. The number on the right indicates how many white bass were harvested. The two figures at the very bottom of the list are calculated by multiplying my totals by 4.5, to get an average idea of how many fish we as a company catch in a year. The 4.5 is derived from BigCrappie.com having four full time guides and one part time guide. After you read through the numbers and see the totals, I have a list of what I learned from each season, which I hope will be helpful to somebody who plans on chasing crappie throughout 2015.



January (CR) 0 (WB) 103

February (CR) 15 (WB) 240

March (CR) 327 (WB) 959

April (CR) 1062 (WB) 242

May (CR) 494 (WB) 1002

June (CR) 243 (WB) 692

July (CR) 147 (WB) 612

August (CR) 138 (WB) 150

September (CR) 113 (WB) 20

October (CR) 604 (WB) 43

November (CR) 401 (WB) 19

December (CR) 82 (WB) 80


Personal total (CR) 3626 (WB) 4162

BigCrappie total (CR) 16,317 (WB) 18,729


What I learned:


Winter
The crappie are humbling, but catchable at times. Most are found relating very closely to the bottom, near drop offs and creek channels.

Spring
Do not stop moving until fish are found. Color and style of jig make absolutely no difference, as fish are very hormonal and will attack practically anything that is presented correctly. Fish will start to move shallow in 56-58 degree water. If you want to catch real big fish, use a creature bait. As soon as the fish stop spawning in an area, check nearby shallow brush piles. There's a good chance you'll find some big females.

Summer
Fish a smaller bait to match both the shad fry and the crappie's appetite. A live minnow won't hurt either.

Fall
Bigger baits and shallow brush are tough to beat. As the water drops back down into the sixties, fish begin to feed very heavily, making limits much more obtainable. Most of our fish come from 8-15ft at this time.


Habitat and Numbers of Fish Harvested
We have somewhere between 2100-2200 different pieces of structure throughout Cedar Creek Lake in our logbooks. This figure does not include bridges, docks, or any other commonly visible structure. After thinking about how many pieces of structure we fish on a regular basis, the number dips below a thousand. The point I am trying to make is that the more structure you add to a lake, assuming the baitfish population is healthy, the more fishing pressure a lake can withstand. The spawn is a perfect example of this. Cedar Creek has a few really major spawning areas that get a lot of pressure. The more shallow structure that we have away from these areas, the more fish can spawn and thrive.

Another point I would like to make about structure is how many brush piles we very seldom fish. I think we can easily see that if we have an abundance of structure piles, too many for the professional and recreational crappie fishermen to regularly fish, then we should naturally see a growing number of healthy fish in our lakes.

Some very good info Lane!! Thanks for the effort!!!

Excellent Info, Sir! That will be printed and put in the 'fishing binder' I keep in my boat. Thanks!!

Thank Lane I will print this out to keep in my boat.

Got this un added to my watch list... Thanks man, good info!

good information Lane
good numbers as well
and for sure
K A B O O M

Lane,

Excellent report and info! Thanks for sharing.

Great info Lane. Thank you for sharing.

It amazes me how cedar creek is still an excellent fishery with that many fish coming out of it year round! Not only by the BigCrappie staff but the weekend fisherman etc. This is some great information Lane thanks.

Thanks, Lane!

Great report! Ur evaluation notes the experience of the angler still a factor.

Thanks for sharing....

Thanks Lane helps me understand my lake better.Darrell

Great info and a good year

Very good information.

+1!!

Thanks a lot Laner.