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Night fishing for crappie? #13600310 06/19/20 01:05 AM
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Flyingjoe Offline OP
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I am addicted to the thump and the temperature is warming up, so I want to try to fish at night. I have never fished much at night, so if anyone has had success, could you please tell me some pointers?
So just a few questions,
1. Jigs or minnows, or both?
2. Is a submerged light necessary, if so, what color?
3. What about a floating light?
4. What about a lantern/light on the boat to attract bugs for the fish?
5. LED boat lights on the side of the boat?
6. Deep or shallow in the middle of the summer?
7. Just after sundown, middle of the night, or before sunup? (I know, if I am there just before sunup, I should just fish till it starts to get too hot.) Lol

I just don't want to spend a lot of money on things that aren't necessary.
Thank you in advance.


big un's or lil' un's as long as I'm catching someting
Re: Night fishing for crappie? [Re: Flyingjoe] #13600327 06/19/20 01:26 AM
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Night fishing for crappie is hit or miss, they spread out at night to feed. Might find a few fishing minnows under some lights but the best time to go is when it’s blistering hot outside and the sun is shining in the afternoon.

Re: Night fishing for crappie? [Re: Mckinneycrappiecatcher] #13600481 06/19/20 03:52 AM
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Originally Posted by Mckinneycrappiecatcher
Night fishing for crappie is hit or miss, they spread out at night to feed. Might find a few fishing minnows under some lights but the best time to go is when it’s blistering hot outside and the sun is shining in the afternoon.


Unfortunately true.

If you have some tops gps'd that usually hold Crappie, then you can catch them at night. I guess one reason to fish at night is to avoid wake boats and jet skis and some of the heat,

I always used small minnows. We used rosy reds a lot fishing at night or day time.


The Truth is six of the seven Dwarfs are not Happy!
Re: Night fishing for crappie? [Re: Flyingjoe] #13600845 06/19/20 02:37 PM
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Look for places they will normally frequent at night, gas docks with bright lights, docks with mercury lights close to the water. The docks at PK and Texoma I have fished at night usually are deep. What you want to see is ghost minnows or shad all over the surface and a fish finder chock full of fish. I have docks at PK like this and crappie come to them nightly, but tend to stay just outside the light. Unfortunately, hundreds of huge perch also come to the light, so I use a no 6 hook and put them in the cooler too. The docks around Eisenhower park at Texoma have some places that hold night crappie. You'll also catch everything but crappie at these spots.

As for jigs or minnows, I have caught them on jigs at night but minnows work better.

Don't use a green light. I use green lights at PK and have NEVER caught a crappie in them. I usually have a huge swirl of ghost minnows and shad going around the light and lots of sand bass, big LM Bass and stripers under that along with an occasional big catfish. Any Crappie that has lived long enough to be 10 inches knows this is no place to be.

Forget the Lantern. Back in the 80's I used them fishing from the bank. Still cant see to tie a line and bugs will eat you alive. Get an led headset. It will put the light right where you need it and you can turn it off when done.

I guess this depends of the lake you fish. I think fork is much better in the day, as the mosquitoes will carry you away in the evening. Most lakes east of Fort Worth are going to be mosquito world at dusk.


John 21:3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee.
Re: Night fishing for crappie? [Re: Flyingjoe] #13600953 06/19/20 04:13 PM
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The few times I've tried to catch crappies after dark on RR have only produced catfish...

Re: Night fishing for crappie? [Re: Flyingjoe] #13601001 06/19/20 05:19 PM
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Just bring a thermocell or battery powered fan to keep the bugs away.

bridges will produce as the concrete holds heat from the day and the baitfish will stay close at night when temps drop.


**Professional amateur crappie fisherman**

1997 Nitro Savage 896, 200 HP Mercury EFI, Garmin Force, Garmin GPSMAP 1022 w/ Livescope, Garmin Ultra 122sv, Garmin 93
Re: Night fishing for crappie? [Re: Flyingjoe] #13601672 06/20/20 03:00 AM
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Flyingjoe Offline OP
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Thanks for the tips y'all. I will try the bridges and lighted boat docks. If they bite better in the heat of the day, at least I can sleep in a little. Also I guess it's good that I made umbrella mounts for my boat. Last time I was out, it made a HUGE difference. I know they look kinda cheesy but hey, they give me shade.

Attached Files 20200603_151046.jpg

big un's or lil' un's as long as I'm catching someting
Re: Night fishing for crappie? [Re: Flyingjoe] #13601689 06/20/20 03:27 AM
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Originally Posted by Flyingjoe
Thanks for the tips y'all. I will try the bridges and lighted boat docks. If they bite better in the heat of the day, at least I can sleep in a little. Also I guess it's good that I made umbrella mounts for my boat. Last time I was out, it made a HUGE difference. I know they look kinda cheesy but hey, they give me shade.

I haven’t gotten on the water before 1 pm once in May or June this year. Sunshine bunches them up on the brush piles and structure. I don’t even go out on cloudy days anymore. The bite usually shuts down at sunset and traditionally I don’t start getting good bites until around 10 am.

Re: Night fishing for crappie? [Re: Flyingjoe] #13601962 06/20/20 03:05 PM
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I like the umbrellas. Where did you get them and how do they work in wind? Anything to lessen the impact of the direct sunlight and lessen the heat is a good thing.

A close up photo of your mount would be appreciated.

Re: Night fishing for crappie? [Re: Flyingjoe] #13602173 06/20/20 07:45 PM
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Man I primarily fished at night most of my life!! No crowds...just find some fish, put out a surface light and a light a few feet down....turn on music, pop a minnow or jig down where you graphed them, and chill....always caught tons.


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Re: Night fishing for crappie? [Re: Flyingjoe] #13602392 06/21/20 12:44 AM
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Flyingjoe Offline OP
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Buckchaser, I will post some pictures and details in a couple days, super busy with work and will be free after Monday.


big un's or lil' un's as long as I'm catching someting
Re: Night fishing for crappie? [Re: Flyingjoe] #13602501 06/21/20 03:18 AM
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Thanks!

Re: Night fishing for crappie? [Re: Flyingjoe] #13605968 06/24/20 12:51 AM
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Flyingjoe Offline OP
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Here's the mounts for the umbrellas.
I saw some pictures of them online so I decided to make some. I got the umbrellas for free from a friend that was moving. They are 8ft and you can buy them relatively cheap at the end off the summer when Wally world puts them on clearance.
Making the mounts was pretty straight forward. I just found some T's that would fit over the seat post and the umbrella post. However the umbrella post was slightly larger so you can see in one of the pictures that I had to use a reducer. Luckily Home depot had them. I made the post for the umbrella longer to give it some more support. And I drilled a hole straight through it and put a bolt in it so that the wind wouldn't pull it up and out. I also made sure to make them wide enough so that my seat could spin all the way around. You can see that in one of the pictures also.

Couple notes;
I take them down while trailering the boat.
I close the umbrellas if I am going to drive around on the lake unless I am idling.
The tear on my carpet is not from the umbrella however I am cautious when positioning them so that they aren't scraping the carpet every time I move them. (Hopefully I can recarpet my boat soon)
I did glue all the connections and that was challenging to get them to all line up. I put it all together first and laid it flat on the concrete to get it all straight and then began glueing the connections.
I know they look cheesy but it really does help.

If you make some, let me know how they came out and if anyone has some tips, please share.

Attached Files 20200623_193100.jpg20200623_193203.jpg20200623_193258.jpg
Last edited by Flyingjoe; 06/24/20 12:52 AM.

big un's or lil' un's as long as I'm catching someting
Re: Night fishing for crappie? [Re: Flyingjoe] #13606036 06/24/20 02:07 AM
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JIM SR. Offline
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I use these, I've had them on boat 3-4 years. Much more sturdy than those above,..I know. There's a couple tricks in making
them,..PM if interested. jim

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