Trolling After Dark

[Whack'emGood]

Bigfish,

You can tie up to bridge pillars. Look for pillars that have a rope already tied around them. If there is a rope, you can bet a brush pile has been dropped right next to the pillar. Also, there doesn't necessarily need to be brush next to a pillar for it to hold fish. Sometimes the pillar alone is enough to hold a nice school of crappie. I haven't been this year yet, so I don't know if guys have set up new ropes though-- with the high water, the old ropes are way underwater. If there is not already one, you can tie your own rope to it, but it aint easy. It is much easier if you have two boats to set up the tie-on ropes originally. When there is a rope to tie to onto on the pillar-- just tie the front of the boat to the pillar, and then anchor the back so it doesn't swing. Also, there are some creek channel ledges that don't necessarily have to have brush that hold alot of crappie. Just study a good topo map and look for these channel ledges. The best ones are usually on an outside channel swing. Just look for places where the creek channel runs up relatively close to the bank and turns away quickly and runs back out into the middle of the lake. Fish can be positioned anywhere on the outside turn, but sometimes you can find a subtle irregularity in the curve that will be the sweet spot-- maybe a small drainage ditch or depression that runs off the ledge, a rockpile, brush, or a small part of the ledge that sticks out or cuts in. Sometimes these subtleties show up on the map, and sometimes you just have to find them with your electronics. It will take some exploration to find these spots-- but once you do, you have found a spot that you will be able to use regularly for years to catch them-- the work to find them is worth it. Don't forget also-- the depth that the fish are holding at is always a key. Find the depth that a majority of the fish are holding, and find good spots at or near that depth and your chances are pretty good. Usually if you anchor (1 anchor in front, 1 in back to keep from spinning) right on top of the ledge, near the dropoff you can get into them. If you are fishing at night with crappie lights (I like the old fashioned lights-- the spotlight type set in styrofoam-- i don't care for the submergible glow lights), all you have to do is get somewhere in the neighborhood of the fish-- once you bring in all of the shad with your lights, the fish will come to you. I hope this info. helps. Good luck.

Whack'em

[Whack'emGood]

You're welcome. Just remember... when you put your lights down, sometimes it takes an hour or so for the shad to start circling good. When they do, you will be able to not only see them on your graph, but you will see them circling as you look down into the water. They will circle around the light continuously. You have to stay stationary and not move or the microorganisms that they feed on will lose the light and you will lose your shad. When they get packed in there circling, the fish will set up right below the deepest shad. When this happens, you should be able to drop your minnow, jig, spoon, or whatever lure you choose down to that depth and catch'em. Once you get the right dept, just fish that depth everytime. If they are relatively near the bottom of the water column, I like to drop my bait all the way to the bottom and then count the number of reel turns up from the bottom. When you get bit, note how many reel turns you made from the bottom-- this is easy to replicate, and then you know exactly how many turns up from the bottom the fish are and are always fishing where you can get bit. If you are catching them, then they stop-- adjust your depth because they may have moved up or down. Also, if you are catching fish but they are small, the bigger fish may be just below them. I have experienced this alot. When you really get the shad going, you can really clean up. I have had plenty of nights when two guys can catch over 100 fish (mostly crappie, but also walleye, white bass, and even a cat or two). Oh, and another thing... If you're using minnows, make sure you are always using a good, alive and lively minnow. They won't touch it if it is dead. Use a little ice in your minnow bucket to keep them going strong. Too much will put them into shock, but a little works like a charm.

Good luck!

Whack'em

P.S. I oughta be shot for giving out this much information, but as much help as I have received from this forum-- I want to try to help guys when I can.

[Whodat]

Bigfish,take a ton anchor with you to secure the back of the boat.Next,chum with about 10 dozen minnows. let set for about 30 minutes.Take the cherry bombs we got and light toss in the lake and get the net ready. I have a C-4 Permit!

[Whack'emGood]

That may work too Whodat, but you wouldn't get nice clean filets out of your fish if you did that. You could throw all of the pieces-parts together though and mold it into fish sticks. I'll bring the ketchup!

[Whack'emGood]

Good luck! Post a report to let us know how you did.

[bigredbirdfan]

Bigfish,take a ton anchor with you to secure the back of the boat.Next,chum with about 10 dozen minnows. let set for about 30 minutes.Take the cherry bombs we got and light toss in the lake and get the net ready. I have a C-4 Permit!

Whodat,

Maybe you and I can go fish the tournament against? I want to watch this entertainment. Do they make waterproof sleeping bags I can pass out in on the boat ?

[bigredbirdfan]

Bigfish,

I think under most circumstances you won't have to worry about bigredbirdfan or whodat fishing at night. Maybe talking about fishing at OMalleys at best.

[Whodat]

Got the caps today,ready for the tourney! Just think of it a pre-4th of July celebration. Bring a big butt net. We need to get the hell out of dodge when we set them off!