That's true Aggie. At the top of Neely Slough I caught shad in water that looked like pea soup. At the cliffs marina though, you can see trash on the bottom ( someones lawn chair) in 20+ feet.

How about up around Caddo at the State Park? Used to catch a bunch from the old pier that crossed over the cove. We could see fish come up out of 40' water under the lights at night. There were some big crappie and pound size gills.

I've heard that Caddo is a good place for crappie. Caught one up there with Brazo Tom once. It's a little far from where I normally put in so I don't go up there much.

Question: Made my first trip to PK last week. Fished with Dean Hefner and caught 46 stripers. Great guide! Didn't crappie fish, but sunk some PVC balls with various wood with leaves tie-wrapped to the PVC by host's dock in 25 feet of water. This is back in a cove on the lower end of the lake. Please educate me about this lake: Are the crappie still back in the coves this time of year? Do they make a move out of the coves about now, or will some still be back in there and hang around our brush piles? (Never knew mesquite limbs would sink when you threw them in!)

Tony: I am no crappie expert but I have fished this lake heavily since 2011. Every year it has fished differently. lately, I have been catching all my crappie under docks in 60+ feet of water. The key is shade + structure to hide from the big bass and stripers. I hung a huge striper last week fishing for crappie and it broke my jig hook after a 5 minute fight in the middle of a dock. Those people who advised me to get that Pro Angler rod did me a favor, as I bent that thing double trying to keep that fish from tangling me on the dock. Unlike the wally Marshal poles it has not broken.

The best bait I have found has been the Giltmore white jig.

http://www.gilmoretackle.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=56

Jiggin Jerry makes a good jig too but it's Yellow and I prefer white, as the fish like that color when the water is gin clear.

I pitch the jig out about 15 feet or so and let it fall slowly in a natural arc back to me then let it sit still for 10 seconds or so. Just dropping a jig stationary has not worked as well for me.

Minnows have worked me me as well, with dead ones better than live. The live ones tangle the line up trying to avoid the crappie. The crappie will come up to the minnow and unlike a bass will just harass the minnow rather than eat it right away. If it's wounded or dead, they eat it. When fishing a dead minnow fish it just like the jig or drop it to the bottom and reel up a couple cranks, then hold it for a few seconds then bring it up a crank. Usually you get bit when it moves.

I've caught more crappie this year at PK then ever before. As for Dean, I fished with him in 2008 and we only caught one striper. The lake was in bad shape back then.

Good luck.

Thanks! I forwarded your advice to the property owner. News at 10!