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Why Do Crappie Turn On & Off #12507736 11/18/17 11:03 AM
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Rod737 Offline OP
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I fish mostly in Lake Houston mainly cause its in my backyard. Lake Houston is a very hard lake to fish in but I catch more than I can eat so I'm good with it. One thing that baffles me is take for instance yesterday morning, We pull up to one of our spots and catch a fish as soon as we start. I literally mean first jig in the water and then for next little bit we catch 7 fish one right after another.
Then it's over in maybe 20 minutes. This is about 7 AM. We fish till Noon several spots and not a bite for 5 hours. A lot of the time it happens on the other end of the time frame. we will fish for hours without a bite then we'll pull up on last spot and bam, bam, bam we'll catch a mess of fish. Im perplexed because this happens all the time. Does this happen to you? Do you have any explanation why.

Last edited by Rod737; 11/18/17 11:12 AM.

Rst737
Re: Why Do Crappie Turn On & Off [Re: Rod737] #12507737 11/18/17 11:11 AM
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If they aint there, they dont bite?


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I have a short attention spa
Re: Why Do Crappie Turn On & Off [Re: Rod737] #12507766 11/18/17 12:14 PM
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Happens daily to me. If they aren't there, then they don't bite. It also could be that the fish that are still there aren't active and you caught the active ones. Most people think that when they find a school of fish and they stop biting that something has caused this (whether it be air pressure, etc) when it is most likely that the active fish have been caught.

Re: Why Do Crappie Turn On & Off [Re: Rod737] #12507890 11/18/17 02:46 PM
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Happened to us on Sunday. Only caught a few active fish and nothing on the deeper brushpiles but I did see fish on sonar just not active I'm guessing. Just when I think I have a good pattern down they make you think twice.


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Re: Why Do Crappie Turn On & Off [Re: Rod737] #12508133 11/18/17 06:10 PM
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If you are with your friends and some of them are Hungry does it mean you are as well?If you run into a Crappie infestation Not all the fish are Hungry at the same time. I agree with the above statements 100%!! I have literally seen fish on my HDS unit hanging out on a tree and thought I would really clean up only to catch a few of them after several presentations and baits.True if they aint there you get no bites but if they are there don`t mean they all do.


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Re: Why Do Crappie Turn On & Off [Re: Rod737] #12508278 11/18/17 08:27 PM
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Rod737 Offline OP
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Ok thanks for the information. What do yall think about this. The fish are communicating somehow maybe sight, maybe thoughts, like telepathy. Like a heard of deer that sense or see danger / Predator. They will flick their tail white flags straight up, stomp and snort. Then high tail it with that white flag straight up. A flock of birds or school of fish will whirl and turn all at exactly the same time in the same direction without bumping into each other. They must be communicating with each other somehow really fast. the central nervous system can not react that fast off of visual or auditory signals; hence the mental connection or by way of a herd, flock, or school connection. Any way I drifted off a little.


Rst737
Re: Why Do Crappie Turn On & Off [Re: Rod737] #12508300 11/18/17 08:46 PM
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I don't think I buy into the some are hungry and some are not. Maybe some of them are asleep and some are awake. I guess that would be the same as some of the fish are active and some are not. I sure spend a lot of time thinking about it.


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Re: Why Do Crappie Turn On & Off [Re: Rod737] #12508312 11/18/17 09:05 PM
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I don't know what to say about your last two posts, but I agree with the replies suggesting a location change. This is my opinion (maybe) shared by other:

Fish suspend 99% of the time in line with the conservation of energy theory for wild animals regardless aquatic or land. I've watched so many videos over the years, some by Doug Hannon and Glen Lau. In all cases all fish species, salt water and fresh, were gliding along minding their own business letting bait fish swim unharmed nearby. I've seen this in my own pond when the water is moderately clear: bass swimming with the fishes but not in a bad way.

Now when it comes to provoking a fish to strike, IMO none of it has to do with what a fish thinks a lure is. It instinctively knows the difference between real prey and a fake but has no clue what the fake is.

I say fish are provoked rather than fooled into believing a lure is one thing or another from the simple reason: most lures look and act like nothing in nature. So why do they strike them anyway?

It starts with the lure's splash as it hits the water. That lure just interrupted that fish's peaceful trance and started doing things fish are forced to pay attention to. As long as the lure action's keeps that fish's attention, the better the chances the fish will attack. As we all know, lures that are of the wrong design or action are ignored, but those that are of the right specs (along with the presentation of course), [censored] off more fish than many other lures that just don't have it for the day. That's not to say they never work, but just not on that day.

Lure design and size do make all the difference in what we catch and how big the fish. What you used may have been too large for the current mood regardless the sizes of fish near the lure. At times a larger size lure is hit by fish of different sizes; at other times downsizing lures that go slower is the key.

I found that out recently: I started using smaller lures, though of the same design, on 1/32 oz jigheads rather than 1/16 oz that had worked all year. Even in 42 degree water the hits were HARD !! But 1/16 oz - far fewer hook sets and strikes. Don't tell me about the lower *metabolism of fish as it relates to fish activity - there's no correlation IMO. Fish can be provoked at any water temperature if they will. If not, find an area containing those that can be provoked.

Day before yesterday I scouted areas I caught many fish during a downpour. Yesterday a few of those same areas held no fish that would bite the same lures, but other areas I had caught fish before yesterday - did! The only difference was that the fish were actually shallower than 5' whereas those before that were in 5-6' though near the same shoreline.

* Note: The rate of metabolism relates to biological functions of digestion and oxygen use, not activity level. What really affects a fish's activity level is the spawn where it is very irritable and susceptible to many lure designs and presentations.

Consider the above from a diehard multi-species angler that rarely catches below 20 fish per outing but averages 40 to over 100 fish most warm water days of the year - and at times through the ice if I'm really lucky.

Last edited by SenkoSam; 11/18/17 09:34 PM.
Re: Why Do Crappie Turn On & Off [Re: Rod737] #12508356 11/18/17 09:59 PM
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Hooked fish react in a fright mode. Nothing relaxed about how a fish swims when hooked and fighting. Other fish instinctively know something is wrong and the fish is fighting to get away. Other fish in the school will soon stop feeding even if they stay in the same location. About 50% of the time the fish scatter or change depth after a few are caught. If the fish are in a feeding frenzy, no too much seems to hinder them.
Other species like bass, will chase a hooked fish looking for a meal. White bass quite often. I've never caught a crappie and seen other crappie follow it up. One reason I like fishing top down. Reeling 2-3 hooked fish up through a school will usually stop the bite.


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Re: Why Do Crappie Turn On & Off [Re: Rod737] #12508369 11/18/17 10:10 PM
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Originally Posted By: Rod737
I don't think I buy into the some are hungry and some are not. Maybe some of them are asleep and some are awake. I guess that would be the same as some of the fish are active and some are not. I sure spend a lot of time thinking about it.
Just an opinion based on my experience boss. It aint a hard fast rule


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Re: Why Do Crappie Turn On & Off [Re: Ken Gaby] #12508384 11/18/17 10:29 PM
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Originally Posted By: Ken Gaby
Hooked fish react in a fright mode. Nothing relaxed about how a fish swims when hooked and fighting. Other fish instinctively know something is wrong and the fish is fighting to get away. Other fish in the school will soon stop feeding even if they stay in the same location. About 50% of the time the fish scatter or change depth after a few are caught. If the fish are in a feeding frenzy, no too much seems to hinder them.
Other species like bass, will chase a hooked fish looking for a meal. White bass quite often. I've never caught a crappie and seen other crappie follow it up. One reason I like fishing top down. Reeling 2-3 hooked fish up through a school will usually stop the bite.


I have heard this to be the case as well but have never been able to link catching a fish and bringing it up through the school and the bite dying. I have also heard that if you are releasing a fish and it goes back to the school, it kills the bite. I have caught fish and watched them go right back to the pile and proceed to catch another right away and this happens numerous times. I truly don't believe crappie are intellectual (instead are reactive and instinctive) and cant connect the dots to biting a green thing and being caught.

Re: Why Do Crappie Turn On & Off [Re: Rod737] #12508582 11/19/17 12:44 AM
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Sometimes they just fish bite during the major and minor fishing times roflmao

Re: Why Do Crappie Turn On & Off [Re: Rod737] #12508585 11/19/17 12:46 AM
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Sometimes changing the color of your jig will trigger strikes. You just have to put in work and figure them out. Everyday is different.

Re: Why Do Crappie Turn On & Off [Re: Ken Gaby] #12508617 11/19/17 01:07 AM
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Originally Posted By: Ken Gaby
Hooked fish react in a fright mode. Nothing relaxed about how a fish swims when hooked and fighting. Other fish instinctively know something is wrong and the fish is fighting to get away. Other fish in the school will soon stop feeding even if they stay in the same location. About 50% of the time the fish scatter or change depth after a few are caught. If the fish are in a feeding frenzy, no too much seems to hinder them.
Other species like bass, will chase a hooked fish looking for a meal. White bass quite often. I've never caught a crappie and seen other crappie follow it up. One reason I like fishing top down. Reeling 2-3 hooked fish up through a school will usually stop the bite.


I would agree with this. I've had situations where I've caught several fish off a brush pile vertical jigging, then not a bite. So, I started "fan" pitching away from the pile and letting the jig fall to the desired depth and letting it swing back to me maintaining that depth. By doing this I've been able to catch several more active fish from that location.

>E


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Re: Why Do Crappie Turn On & Off [Re: KidKrappie] #12508624 11/19/17 01:14 AM
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Originally Posted By: fishin'aholic2
Originally Posted By: Ken Gaby
Hooked fish react in a fright mode. Nothing relaxed about how a fish swims when hooked and fighting. Other fish instinctively know something is wrong and the fish is fighting to get away. Other fish in the school will soon stop feeding even if they stay in the same location. About 50% of the time the fish scatter or change depth after a few are caught. If the fish are in a feeding frenzy, no too much seems to hinder them.
Other species like bass, will chase a hooked fish looking for a meal. White bass quite often. I've never caught a crappie and seen other crappie follow it up. One reason I like fishing top down. Reeling 2-3 hooked fish up through a school will usually stop the bite.


I have heard this to be the case as well but have never been able to link catching a fish and bringing it up through the school and the bite dying. I have also heard that if you are releasing a fish and it goes back to the school, it kills the bite. I have caught fish and watched them go right back to the pile and proceed to catch another right away and this happens numerous times. I truly don't believe crappie are intellectual (instead are reactive and instinctive) and cant connect the dots to biting a green thing and being caught.

May be true Anthony; I have no concrete evidence, just experience. I do know when the bite has stopped, I've dropped a different color, or size or style jig and immediately caught more fish. So it seemed to me they were smart enough to not bite the previous one and dumb enough to bite the new one.
But I'm not going to get a headache trying to figure out crappie. I'm just going fishing.

Good fishin y'all fish


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http://www.crazyanglertackle.com Premium crappie baits and jig tying accessories
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