If you can’t talk fishing with us at the 2021 Crappie Expo in Shreveport this weekend (booth 67), here is how we’ve been catching fish the last couple of weeks, and what we’ll do to ensure our customer’s success in the upcoming months.
 
Attacking the Fall Brawl - 2021
 
My favorite time of year to be a guide is finally here.  If I’m not on the water, I’m in the woods, and that to me is heaven on earth.  When late September rolls around, there’s a difference in the dry, cool air that signals a change inside of me and the way I start to think.  My instincts start to beckon for fur, as opposed to fins.  That being said, October and November are without a doubt my favorite two months to be a guide.  Below is how RD Myers and I have successfully put our customers on fish the last few days now that we’re home from the coast, followed by our plan of attack for putting fish in the boat during the Fall Brawl.
 
Lakes We Guide On: Cedar Creek, Aquila, Weatherford, Whitney, and Eagle Mountain. It’s looking like we will also be adding Richland Chambers to our list here shortly.

Water Temps: low 80s

Water Condition: lightly stained

Water levels: down a foot or two

Best Depth: 8-15ft main lake structure

Preferred Rod: Huckabee 8ft Epic or 7ft Dingo

Preferred Reel: Pflueger President or Shimano Sahara and or/Sienna

Preferred Line: Mr .Crappie Hi-Vis mono

Best Bait: Slab Syndicate’s Palmer Pile Driver and minnows
 





Here lately, the fish have been unusually shallow and very active compared to what we’ve seen the last several years.  Obviously, that’s making our jobs a whole lot more fun!  I will say though, that in most cases, the number of fish I’m seeing on a spot versus how many are coming in the boat, is still making us move quite a bit.  If you take nothing else from this scouting report, remember that no matter how many fish you might see, focus on the aggressive ones and move quickly once they stop biting.

Since the fish have been holding very shallow, we’re approaching our brush piles in a very stealthy manner, as many of the piles we’re hitting are only 8-10ft deep, and usually have a few fish suspended above them.  How do we approach such a situation without spooking them off?  It’s simple.  We will have our customers either pitch their jig and/or minnow over the top of the pile, trying to entice a reaction, or we will employ the use of a bobber.

 The more I target shallow crappie on Livescope, the more I’ve come to lean on slip bobbers.  They are very nonintrusive, they are easier to cast, and quite frankly, getting to watch them go under makes everyone feel like a kid again.  After what I’ve seen this year, I truly believe bobbers don’t get used as much as they should.  Think about it, you can easily cast a 1/32 or 1/16 ounce jig 20-30ft, and those fish you’re targeting never have a clue what’s going on, until it’s too late.





Once we’ve pulled off the crappie holding shallow, or simply swimming around the brush, we will then get more aggressive and vertically jig our target area.  At this point, we are trying to get fish that have themselves deep in the cover to come out and play.  Typically, we can accomplish that by fishing right above the structure, or eye level with the fish if they don’t want to come up and aggressively take the bait.  The point is, get the fish that will spook easily first, then try to pick off anything else that may be hiding.  After 2-3 minutes of trying, I will leave if I can’t get any more crappie to cooperate.

I mentioned earlier how much I enjoy the cool fronts that come in during the fall.  Although I typically don’t enjoy a blue bird sky, post front situation, we don’t get to pick the weather as guides, and I still must put the odds of catching a nice mess in our favor.  Planning and foresight is a big part of fall fishing, or at least it is in my book.  

Let’s say that it’s the third week of October, and I’m booked every day of that week.  I look at the ten day forecast, and I see very low south winds Monday and Tuesday, a strong prefrontal south wind on Wednesday, and then 20+mph NNW winds on Thursday and Friday.  That’s a pretty typical third week of October here in Texas.  On Monday and Tuesday, I’m going to fish the most unprotected and middle of the lake spots that I have.  The kind of spots we usually can’t fish if the wind is blowing.  However, even though I can fish my north wind-block stuff on those two calm days, I know what lies in store for the end of the week, and I don’t want to burn those spots protected from a hard northwest wind, knowing I’ll need them on Thursday and Friday.  It’s kind of like playing pool; you know you can make that easy first shot, but more importantly, where will that ball go afterwards, and then what shot will you have?

Another change I’ll be making as the water cools down is my tackle.  As of the last week or two, live minnows and tiny hand tied jigs from www.sscrappiejigs.com, have been the ticket.  I don’t get focused too much on the color of jigs, but I’m very picky about the overall size.  The Palmer Pile Driver is a little over and inch, and is very easy for even the pickiest of fish to bite.  This jig comes with a #6 hook, which I like to open up just a tad so that I get a better hook up ration.  As far as weight goes, we’re strictly using 1/16 ounce head sizes.  If I have someone who is learning to use jigs, or perhaps the wind gets up, I’m apt to putting a small split-shot weight about 12” above the jig.

As water temps drop, our need for live minnows will start to diminish, and the fish will be feeding more aggressively.  At this time, I will be using soft plastics from Constant Pursuit Outfitters.  I will still try to get away with 1/16 ounce heads if the weather permits, but will switch to an 1/8 ounce head if need be.  In either case, I use unpainted jig heads.


One point of interest that we’re seeing this time of year is how shallow the fish are holding.  We usually don’t see this until later in October, but fish do what they want to do.  If I had to suggest a “magic” depth from here until sometime in November, it would be 8-15ft.  That range seems to treat me the best for most of fall.  Now, if a hard northeastern front rolls through and that barometric pressure really climbs, I’ll look for ledges and spots next to deeper water, which ideally are in that 18-24ft range.

I truly hope this helps someone enjoy more success on their home lake, as I feel that is my ultimate job as a guide.  Should you find yourself needing to fine tune your skills, or maybe you just want to take a day off from baiting hooks yourself, come fishing with us!  We can be reached by call/text at 817-266-9811, or you can see our openings online at www.ftworthfishing.com

We currently have both Saturday 10/9 and Saturday 10/16 wide open on Cedar Creek!

There’s no way we would be where we are without the awesome sponsors below.  I truly can’t thank them enough!
 
Slab Syndicate Jigs – www.sscrappiejigs.com

Shut-Up-and-Fish –
www.shut-up-and-fish.com

Blue Wave Boats -www.bluewaveboats.com

Reames Custom Creations

Constant Pursuit Outfitters – www.constantpursuitoutfitters.com

Huckabee Rods –
www.toddhuckabeerods.com

Great post, thank you sir!

Awesome post!

Wow!

Very nice

It’s always a pleasure to read your posts. Thanks for the update.

Awesome post as usual!

You need a bigger tailgate,...

Looks like some good trips. Great post.

Awesome

I'm happy to help, y'all. It's the least I can do after all the support the TFF has given me over the last 11 years.



Is anyone interested in fishing Cedar Creek this Saturday (10/9) or next Saturday (10/16)? Holler at me if you want to get in on the action. 817-266-9811