Let me start by apologizing right away for not disclosing which lake we fished yesterday afternoon. But I was given some insider information and I promised not to tell. Even though I ended up finding the fish in other locations on this particular body of water. Maybe this pre spawn info will help someone next year.

There were rumors of fish biting shallow, a jig 8" under a float. We saw evidence of this from the fishing lines decorating tree limbs and bobbers generously scattered amongst the flotsam and jetsam. Chinquapin navigated us through the debris and we did our best not to add to it. I even used a ten foot pole! You must have one to catch crappie, or so I am told. And it must be true because we did catch a few but not in shallow water.

With the cold front in its waning stages and winter clinging to the bitter end the water temperature had dropped below sixty degrees. The fish that had been shallow retreated to deeper water. We worked the shoreline for a couple of hours only catching two fish and only one was a keeper.


I was worried because this would make the fourth trip in a row that I had tried working shallow water and ending up without fish. As we pulled out of the cove I glanced at the old Garmin 2-D graph and noticed a drop off (from 9' - 15') and it was holding fish. I stopped the boat and asked Chinquapin if he was ok with catching some sand bass instead of crappie. He said, "catching fish is better than not catching fish" or something like that.

The light and variable winds gave us about a half a mile an hour drift so I dismantled the 10' pole and deployed the buggy whips. It didn't look good, we were almost half way across the lake and still hadn't found a fish that would bite, crappie or otherwise. Finally, in open water that was 22' deep, Chinquapin hooked a crappie. I immediately dropped a buoy and then I hooked a crappie. The wind shifted and our drift changed from south to east. We caught a couple more before we reached the end of the deep water.


We repeated this drift from the buoy to the shallows and back numerous times and the ice chest was starting to get full. We found that the fish wanted the bait moving, if we held still we didn't get a bite. I was fishing from 14' to 17' down in 22 FOW. A slow, slow drift in open water with scattered and suspended fish produced 35 crappie. Most fish were caught on minnows but I managed to put a dozen in the box using a "blink" 1/16 oz roadrunner.


As with all good things, the bite ended and I was happy and ready to go home. Chinquapin said that we should try and finish the two man limit. So we headed to the dam where I'd seen a pontoon boat parked for a little while but not catching much. We set up a drift in 16' FOW and started catching fish 12' down. We caught a couple here and there drifting along the dam until it darkness stole the bite and it was time to go. Throughout the day we had thrown back several fish that were 10 1/4" not realizing we would end up needing just one more to complete the two man limit. We ended up with 49, one shy of a limit.

Persistance pays off!! Great Job man!

About time. Congrats.

Great Story
I would take 2 short of a limit any day
NICE JOB

Awesome P! Good job!

Nicely done and a great tell of huntin'em down!

WTGpnsp!!!

Most of the fish were females and full of eggs. My guess is that they'll be back in the shallows real soon and spawning.

Way to go Piscatur and Chinquapin. I am glad everything worked out right...great pics...better story! What about the part where you had never fished that lake before? I seem to recall you saying something about that when you called and gave me grief about being to sick to go....

Aww shucks, like Ketchn, I thoroughly enjoy working over a new lake. One day, if I ever figure those crappie out, it may not take so many trips to find some.

i so should a went that way yesterday when you said it was ON ..... !
i thunk i could pull the same pattern on another closer spot
thats what i get for thinkin .....ding dong
.....good job guys ...
thank goodness i didnt have to give all them fish away ...
and or clean em ....ha

I kept a dozen and made Chinquapin keep and clean the rest for wanting to stay and catch so many!

and i would a gave them ALL ...away
i so so try to let my knife get rusty between cleanenz

Almost forgot to mention a huge thank you to the nice people at Olsen's Pro Am Fishing Shop. The minnows were the ticket but the 12 pack jig bodies are going to be put to good use soon.

Count correction. After all cleaned and counted, unless a couple got eaten in the cooler, we ended up with 47. Not bad for first time on the lake! To recall a better day white perch fishing I have to go back to the late 60's early 70's fishing with my dad in Mississippi. If he's up there watching I know what he'd be thinking, "sure wish I'd had one of those fancy TV screen fish finders to locate fish"
PS
They really do help.

Thanks Piscator for a great day on the lake.