MrGiggles

I'm right there with you. Crappie on Pomme have been cooperating so I'm not itching that bad to get bit, but I wouldn't mind getting into some Walleyes again. This is the last walleye I caught, on Pomme, ate my crappie jig...

You guys seem anxious, like you can't hardly wait.....

After the thump I will pull just a little tension, if the fish is there set the hook. Many times bluegills will just peck (try not to jerk if no weight is felt, or they will pull your plastic off), a crappie will bite and hang on for a bit. The real tricky part for me is when they hit it on the fall, that's when line watching pays off. If your line suddenly goes slack and starts piling up on the surface, set the hook fast. They can bite and swim up with it too. I don't use minnows very often but I hook them through the nostrils with a fine wire hook. Try to keep the presentation as natural as possible. I enjoy Crappie fishing quite a bit. Figuring them out in the off season is equal parts challenging and rewarding. Could take or leave bass fishing, not sure why but the spark just isn't there for me.

Yer' gonna need a bigger boat for that kind of work.

By the end of February the chances of the lake being frozen and unfishable is slim to none. I get minners from Bait masters in Aldrich, but that's a long ways from Orleans Trail.

Tried to send you PM, won't let me for some reason. I'd like to know what you want to get for it, been looking for a bigger boat, don't want to give a low ball offer. Maybe you can send me a PM or email me at atimm693@gmail.com.

I swung through with my brother about a month ago. I agree that 40 dollars was pretty steep. It was worth it but I won't go again unless tickets go on sale. We went through at a steady pace, didn't stop in any of the theaters, and we were still there for an hour and a half. I was a little disappointed about the lack of freshwater fish.. There was just a few tanks like what you see in the Cabelas stores up north.

Find the deep river channels (50-60ft) and you'll find the shad. Whites, crappie, and other predators will be with them. Caught 7 keepers and a dozen or more shorts last night in 2 hours fishing timber near a river channel. Most of the keepers were just barely legal, but two were around 12".

I always unlock my outboard near timber so that if I do hit a tree with the skeg or lower unit it will just trim up instead of trying to rip off the transom. Only applicable on tiller motors though.

Good read, thanks. Shows that crappie net catch rates are up 5x what they were in 2014, although 50-70% are between 5 and 8 inches. Means good things for the years to come.

It's pretty clear.

The lake was surprisingly busy today. Put in at Cedar ridge and there was probably a dozen trucks there. I was out Thursday and didn't have any luck. Even bought minnows for today but it was the same story. They're tight lipped. Saw quite a few fish on the graph. Talked to a guy at the ramp that said he caught some bass. Talked to a couple on the water that were also crappie fishing, they weren't having any luck either. Sure was a pretty sunset though. Breeze calmed down around 4PM and the water was like glass.

I fished Thursday night and also got skunked.... Marked a lot of crappie on bridge pilings, but couldn't coax them to bite, tried everything I had.

Yeah, just south of Collins where St. Clair, Cedar, Hickory and Polk counties meet.

I live right next to the area where there were three positive cases found in the mandatory testing this season. MDC has been in contact with the landowners in the area and are planning on doing some culling. The numbers seem to depend on owners discretion, and they have the option of doing the culling themselves or allowing MDC to step in. From what I understand, the deer are to be field dressed if harvested by landowner, and MDC will pick them up, process and test them, and then return the meat or donate it if the owner chooses, provided that it is free of CWD. They are allowing bait and spotlighting for the culling, which is supposed to start on the 1st. Don't quote me on that because I have not seen the regulations first hand. I'm not optimistic that it will do much aside from getting a better idea of how widespread it is, although it's possible that is the main goal.

Anyone make it out today? I would have been willing to give it a try but the boat is all torn apart to replace the transom wood, and I'm not even sure if any of the southern ramps are open. With the wind and warmth the past couple days, I couldn't imagine the ice sticking around long.

You use minners with that?

All ramps on the main lake should be clear.. From what I could see Master's and Cedar Ridge north and south were all open. No ice to be found. Fished last night but didn't have any luck. Marked lots of shad with fish under them in a 52' river channel swing, but was not successful in catching anything. They were very active and tough to stay on top of like you said. Talked to the only other guy at the ramp and he didn't have any luck either.

Thanks for the report. How is the ice situation? Hoping to be on the water Tuesday or Wednesday.

Ashes work just about as good as anything, if you have a fireplace or wood furnace.

Cedar Ridge South is pretty steep. Master's is not bad.

I've found it strange that these reservoirs don't have much for weeds. Maybe because of the fluctuating water levels? I'm from Minnesota and the lakes up there have tons of weed growth.

The bite was good yesterday. Caught 8 crappie with 4 keepers in about 2 hours. I'm not complaining. I don't think I'll be able to make it back until Thursday.

I was out on Sunday. Water temps were 47-48. Big shad schools in deep water with fish under them. Not sure what they were because I didn't catch any. Tried a spoon in different places with no luck, but it was an off day all around for me.

I've seen yaks around quite a bit, even on windy days. There is always an area of the lake that will be sheltered from the wind. You'll have to plan your launch carefully and take wind direction into consideration. I would stay off of the north main lake and fish the southern end in the Mutton Creek and Aldrich areas.