straw hat

Do I know what you mean Dutch. I have a pontoon boat and the wind just kills me.

The wife and I have made quite a few small bank fishing trips over the last 3 weeks. While the crappie fishing has not been record breaking it has been fairly decent. We have been catching 8 to 15 crappie per trip. Not bad for bank fishing. In addition, we went to one of our best channel cat over wintering holes yesterday. We caught 15 channels with only one a small one. They ranged from 1 1/2 lbs to 8 pounds. Our best cat day in several years. Most places had 3 to 5 ft visibility, good stain to the water and a fairly constant water temperature around 50 to 54. Great weather to be out on the lake. I hope all had a good and safe Thanksgiving. Good fishing to all.

I agree with MrGiggles. It all depends also on the weather. If things get particularly cold between now and when you come down it is very likely the fish will be deeper the even the 30' mark.

I sure wouldn't worry about having enough shorts. My records show the wife and I went crappie fishing many times this summer, caught 625 crappie and only had 10 keepers.

I also think there is a couple missing year classes. I know that last year there was a poor spawn in general and a lot of eggs were reabsorbed.

The wife and I took a quick bank fishing trip today. Only one crappie but the wife did catch a nice bass. Exactly 5 lbs and 22 1/2". It was 25 ft deep and caught on a large minnow. This is the 5th bass between 5 and 7 lbs that we have caught over the years between mid Oct and mid Nov. All were taken 25 ft deep on rocky bluffs. Usually the water temps are 52 to 56.

Some species of fish can contain 1 to 3 years of eggs, at various stages of development, year round. After spawning the egg sacs may still contain thousands of very small eggs which will develop into mature eggs the following year. Also, there is a small percentage of white bass, crappie and trout that can produce mature eggs and even spawn in the fall. The numbers I have seen on research usually runs around 1%+/- for these species depending on the genetics of a local population. There is probably other species that fall in this category as well.

The wife and I took the boat out Suday, a beautiful day. Lots of other boats out enjoying the day as well. Water 85F, nearly 6' clarity and stained. Caught the usual jillion of small crappie but did manage 7 keepers this trip. Most came of bluffs arouns 13 ft deep. The wife also caught a 4 lb channel and I got a 10 lb flathead. All in all not a bad day.

Thanks for the clarification. Fishing 15 to 20'. they were all associated with balls of shad.

That is interesting Sam. Most of the crappie we caught were white crappie and around 6 to 7 inches. When you say in the brush are you referring to the flooded brush along the back?

The wife and i took the boat out in the Shaw's bluff area Fri and Monday. Water temps 80 and 82 respectively. About 3' visibility and fairly stained. A fair amount os small fish (eg. 6" crappie,etc.). A total of keepers for both trips were 3 White bass and 3 crappie. Not good but the weather was nice. There were only a small number of fish in the timber, most were caught out in open water at 15 to 18', presumably chasing shad.

I used a slip bobber and a 12 foot rod. The rod is marked in 2 foot increments. So the length of linbe hanging from the tip to the butt of the real is 12' and then just count the marks from the tip down through the eyes until I reach the bobber stop. Pretty simple.

This was bank fishing from a bluff.

The wife and I made a quick trip this morning along one of Stockton's bluffs. Pretty slow. Water temp 86, 8' visibility, water greener than 2 weeks ago. We caught 2 flatheads and two largemouths. One largemouth was 16" and one was 17 1/2". Both were released. All fish were caught in the 20 to 22' range.

Hit a bluff a little north of the Mile Long bridge this morning. Water was 86F, 10' visibility and slightly stained. I managed to catch 2 nice cats, 2 keeper walleye and a small but spunky smallmouth. All were taken at 18 to 22 feet on minnows.

HAHA, I thought it might stand for bank fisherman. Makes sense. That history lesson is so true. Time will tell how things things turn out.

ColdWaterFshr - Global warming could certainly contribute but there are so many other things as well. How muddy was the water and for how long (muddy water is darker and heats more), how much algae in the water (it also is daarker), how much wind (during summer wind helps cool a lake), and many more variables. Mitch f - More cow poop more algae and darker the water as well as lower oxygen especially in the summer. MrGiggles - I have always (even now) measured water temperature using a submersible thermometer at a depth of 5'. These black transducers on a summer day can read several degrees high in the afternoon due to sun absorption. "They say that global warming is only like a third of a degree per year, hard to imagine it would cause such an increase in water temps, but I'm no scientist." That number is in line with what I have heard. A third of a degree/yr in 21 years is a 7 degree rise in temperature. Most algae will double its growth rate every 10 to 20 degree rise in temperature depending on the species. This means that all things being equal algae growth would increase by 33 to 70%, this would darken the water more and further raise temperatures. It also doesn't allow for the increase in lake fertility due to any increase in livestock waste coming in the lake. "Climate change is no big hoax, just seems that people don't seem to understand it is simply a trend over a long period, and that instead just causing warmer temperatures across the board, it causes more extreme swings in all types of inclement weather, drought, floods, heat waves, cold spells, etc." You hit on a sore point for me. What you said is very very true. When I was in Graduate school we studies the first scientist (I think his name was greenberg or somethingh like that) who wrote a paper on "ecological warming" in the early 70's? He stated just what you stated above. The government came down on him hard for such a theory as ridiculous and a scare tactics. The governemnt even put out a paper rebuting his theory and banned him from government symposiums on the environment. Pressure by other scientists and the government caused him to loose his job. Within 10 years all the scientists and the government were using the term global warming but it was too late for him. The damage had been done to his life. I don't know what ever happened to him. MoCarp - OK MoCarp, internet illiterate here. What is a BFer? lol

Well, I hope I don't stir up anyone but just a list of stuff that may or may not indicate what some of the issues may be. High water temps. As many know I keep detailed records of my fishing trips. Some data from these records. 1985 to 2002 - Highest temperature readings during the summer months - 77F 2002 to 2017 - Summer high temperatures steaily increasing from 77F to 79F 2017 - 80F for first time. 2018 to 2020 - Steady rise from 80F to 83F 2021 so far - 83F and this is only mid-June Lethal Temperture limit for black crappie is 82F and white crappie 85F (these numbers vary by a degree or two depending on the research you read). I also seem to remember that the numbers for Largemouths are similar. Smallmouths and Walleye are a bit more sensative. Temperature avoidance for crappie peaks around 80F. Crappie will typically begin actively searching for cooler water at 80F and may leave an area all together if necessary. During 1985 to 2002 we routinely caught 15 to 30 crappie on most summer trips. 2003 to current the number of keeper crappie have steadily decreased with an average of 1 to 2 keeper crappie a trip currently. Some clarification. All the data is based on fishing from CC to Shaw's bluff during June - August. That area averages shallower than main lake areas and therefore would heat faster. Water quality in general has decreased during the last 15 years with more livestock waste washing in, matts of floating algae as well as filamentous algae (even in the main lake) however the increase in rainfall the last few years has helped offset any low oxygen levels by organic material. There have been several research articles by various agencies on the link beetween increased temperatures and decreased size of things like fox, rabbits, squirrels and other mammals. I am sure that as water temperatures rise above 80F fish will probably feed less and grow slower. Interested in everyones feed back.

Well the water is really warming up but not the fishing. Still CC area all the way to Shaws bluff. Water much clearer with 5' visibility. Water temp was 82 first thing in the morning. Seldom marked any fish. I only had one bite and the wife caught 3 but all were very short. Last weekend was about the same. So far this year I have only caught one keeper crappie. Maybe time to sell the boat. Not worth it in 90F weather for 7 hours.

I think you are right Dutch. The same applies to the crappie.

Well, the wife and I went again on Saturday. Tough day. Water temperature up to 73F and the water was getting pretty green. Crappie seemed to be on vacation. Caught a handful of small crappie (8 to 15' deep). The wife and I caught 3 channels with the wife's 7 lber the biggest. She had fun with that one!! I also caught one short walleye.

I would say possibly. Can't be sure though.

The wife and i took the boat out at CC yesterday. Caught around 20 crappie, only 2 keepers. Fish were very widely scattered at 8 to 18 ft. Did not mark any on main channels. Only caught them in the mouth of coves. Also caught 2 channels that were around 2 lbs each. Both were females full of eggs. I would say they were a good 2 to 3 weeks from spawning. Water was slightly dingy with 2 ft visibility. Water temperature was a fairly constant 63F all day. Some debri on surface but the wind blew most of it onto shore as the day progressed.

I have been fishing Stockton since 1987.

Research https://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/fishing/species/crappie/crappie-tips-fishing#:~:text=Crappie%20may%20spawn%20as%20early%20as%20mid-March%20in,spawn%20as%20shallow%20as%201%20or%202%20feet. Missouri Conservation Department The spawn generally occurs when water temperatures reach 55F. Siefert, R. E. 1968. Reproductive behavior, incubation and mortality of eggs, and post-larval food selection in white crappie. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 97:3. Spawning begins when water temperature reaches 13–14 C (55-57F), with peak spawning occurring at 16–20 C (61-68F) (Siefert 1968). My records The water temperature I got last Saturday was 65F in the twin bridges area. The records that I have kept over the last 35 years show that I catch most spawners at 56 to 64F. My records show that anytime the water temperature drops more than 5 degrees during the spawn a significant number of eggs are reabsorbed and a poor spawn occurs. From April 9th this year to April 23rd the water temperature appearred to drop 7 degrees in the CC area (61F to 54F). I certainly hope that reabsorption of eggs do not occur.