Hi all,

First post. So I bought a place on Cedar Creek and just got the boat. My general question is - now what for catching whites?

I've read through the posts on Cedar Creek, particularly the posts by Dennis Christian, downloaded his map, and have a few "getting started questions."

1. When you go to one of the spots talked about like Pitts Point, Dam Drop-off, Tennis Courts, etc, are you going to a very specific GPS coordinate or just a general location above some sort of underwater structure? If not a specific GPS coordinate, if you are following Dennis map, do you need to spend some time at each one cruising back and forth with sonar to figure out where the structure is actually located?

2. When you get to the spot in # 1 above, are you using sonar to see if fish are located on the structure and if so, then stop and fish? Or do you stop and fish regardless of what you see on sonar?

Sorry if my questions seem pretty basic, but most of my fishing has been in Alaska or offshore around rigs. Any helpful "getting started ideas" would be welcome.

Thanks in advance!

Hope you enjoy your time on TFF, some folks will help but when it comes to specific spots they get a little tight lipped. If you know where the places are you mentioned, idle over them with your sonar and if the baitfish are there so will the fish. Good luck.

+1

Sandman - welcome!!

All the way from Alaska, huh? Long way. You've found yourself on a mighty fine crappie fishing lake! How did you wind up there?

I know that you asked about white bass - but I want to make sure you also conside the other species. Assuming you have fishing graphs that include some kind of sidescan technology, you will be able to find the fish, and structure in that lake. This technology will allow you to see the fish out to the sides of your boat. When you see them, you can target them - hopefully without scaring them.

And, for crappie - assuming you have a trolling motor with some kind of "anchor" feature, then you will be able stop over the structure and fish it. Yes, stop over, near, or to the side of any structure and try to catch them! It may be fun, or infuriating, but the time spent on the water with others is priceless!.

Keep hanging in there, and posting your questions and I am sure you will get lots of help on the TFF. There's a lot of great fisherman - for many species- willing to help you, you just have to "hang in there" and ask questions.

Again, welcome!

Welcome Sandman!

The "spots" are just general areas, not specific coordinates. Once you get to the general area, it's all about being able to find fish with your electronics. You'll want to buy the best electronics you can afford, and learn to use them.

Hiring a guide would be money well spent, it would shorten your learning curve tremendously. On CC I would recommend bigcrappie.com, and tell them that you want to learn the lake and electronics.

Mr. Christian's Mepps technique is what really sparked my fascination with whites/hybrids, there's time when the Mepps outfishes the other common lure 10:1

Another piece of equipment I wouldn't be without is a GPS trollling motor, such as the Minnkota Terrova, it will keep you basically in one spot at the push of a button.

Good luck and enjoy

Welcome to CC. We have been on the lake for 10years but don�t fish it near as much as I would like to. Definitely worth while to book a trip with bigcrappie.com. They are all great and you will catch fish as well as learn. Right now is a great time to learn to shoot docks for crappie. I too have followed Dennis map and tips and that has been a huge help in finding / catching whites. Per his tilps, we locate the spots and move around looking for fish. Don�t fish unless there is a good concentration of them on the graph.
We spent Saturday afternoon with Derick from bigcrappie and caught 150+ on the south end of the lake but most were small. Been a lot of reports this spring talking about the number of small fish. Also keep reading. Lots of good posts on here.
Good luck!

Sandman, welcome to the forum! Re your questions: Each spot is a type of structure (hump, point, drop-off). You need a high definition topo map on your Depth Finder (a chip ordered from the depth finder manufacturer), so when you get to a spot you can see the structure and where your boat is relative to it on your screen. .Then start looking around the structure criss-crossing it while looking at your electronics. I use sonar and side-scan (split screen) and occasionally switch back to the topo map display to keep track of where I am. I don't stop to fish unless I find them with the electronics. Sometimes bait and fish are hard to distinguish on sonar and switching to down scan can help. Better depth finders have quick-set buttons that you can preset to particular screen displays. That's a big help when switching back and forth between screens. It is critical to know what fish look like on sonar, side-scan and down-scan, so, spend the time to learn this - either by hiring a guide for a teaching trip or noting when you are on fish what they look like on each of the screens. Good luck and welcome to Cedar Creek Lake! Dennis

Welcome! Cedar Creek is a great lake choice and fantastic all around fishery. If you ever jigged up Alaskan black rockfish you'll be right at home jigging white bass. I was there last summer and used the same lures. Amazing place!

You are in good hands on the forum with many knowledgeable CC fishermen and several reputable guide services for white bass.

Try not to get caught up in specific GPS locations. Understand the general structure then use your electronics to dial in on the school. Dennis's map is more than enough to keep you on fish just about year around.

If you get bored with the whites and want to target hybrids give me a shout!

All,

Thank you so much for your replies. Your answers definitely will help get me within the ball park on where to go and what to do when I get there. I hope to be posting info to help y'all on where I am catching them soon!

Thanks again.

Bought a place here 5 years ago, and all the advice here is spot on. Best GPS/fishfinder you can afford. I live and die by my side imaging when fishing humps. Best thing I did besides that, (at my age, at least) was buying a GPS trolling motor with enough "umph" to hold you in place in a bit of wind. Saved me from marking fish, dropping a buoy, fish move, so pull up buoy, repeat, all day. Of course, watch Mr. Christian's reports and buy a couple dozen Mepp's. His advice is what changed my whole fishing style for whites. Where are you on the lake?

Took first trip out with boat and followed Dennis Christian's advice to the letter. Caught 32 at Pitts Point on Saturday from 9-10:30. Then went scouting for some of the other spots on his map. I think I found several more. Discovered I have a split screen that shows sonar and lake topo. Really helped see where I was relative to the dot on the map.

Thanks again for getting me started

@Rob4
I bought a place in Star Harbor