Long creek

[denjac]

Fished today down in long creek. No bites for us on pea gravel. Went to bluff cuts and coves off bluffs and ended up with 22 nice keepers. 3 of us fishing. All males except 1. Two or three fish from a spot, really scattered. 6- 12 ft deep. My pea gravel fish vanished on me. Even tried deep. Know they were there but woildn't bite.

[denjac]

Fished today and 1 14"slab and a small channel cat. It was tough! wind wasa problem also. Maybe tommorow?

[Champ]

We're also having trouble finding a lot of crappie, but the bass are hitting great.

[Sam]

I've found big female crappie with eggs my last two trips to Long Creek, but not where I expected them.

They're suspended in 45 to 75 foot water, about 14 feet down! If you 'scope in the main lake off points and cove entrances, near flooded trees, in deep water - you'll see them. Those are crappie, but they're biting slow and seldom. Casting or trolling a 1/8 oz. swimming minnow will get you near a limit in a day, but it's only one bite every half hour or so.

The females are still full of eggs, but I don't know if they're going to spawn this year. I've read that if conditions aren't right, they can just re-absorb the eggs.

It's a strange year for crappie. I've never fished for them in water that deep before.

[Forsythian]

Dang! I graphed those fish yesterday, but when I didn't get bit I gave up on 'em. I wasn't confident they were crappie I was looking at. I worked hard to catch the odd couple of fish that were suspended in tight to the trees.

In retrospect I shoulda went bass fishing...

[Phil Lilley]

What about night fishing under lights in that area or an area like that- bluuf, deep water and standing timber?

I was going last night until my son came home from a weekend jaunt with his girlfriend and we watched "Crash" / Clean Flicks version. I wish I'd gone, although the movie was interesting.

I plan on going tonight.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Maybe there is a hint in the tree blossoms. They virtually all bloomed within a week, which is very unusual, if not unheard of. While the light didn't change, the Temperature average did and it affected the water. I have read that some biologist believe that fish eggs are protected from spoilage only when deposited in a certain temperature range.

Low water, high temperatures, low flows, and the list goes on????

[Sam]

Night fishing under lights for those deep-water suspended crappie might be just the thing. I haven't tried it.

I know that the only time they're getting a little aggressive is late in the day. Both trips, I found the big females suspended and not biting during the day. They're just laying there, and you're lucky if you can get a bite in two hours.

But about 5 p.m. they turned on better. Strangely, they then wanted to come up and bite shallow - and I found I was going under them with a 1/8 oz. jig. I started slow-trolling a 1/16 oz. jig (running maybe 7 feet deep in 60 feet of water!!!), and started catching fish.

So with the way they're acting, I think fishing at night in those places, with a light, might be the ticket.

That's the fun of fishing, for me. Figuring out what the fish want, and trying not to have pre-conceived ideas of that I think they OUGHT to want. Sometimes the solution is pretty strange, and it feels good when you finally hit on it.

[vacation]

i know what you mean, the pea gravel bite was off. I caught 1 nice LM and 1 nice kentucky, that was about it. Sat. was a different story, lots of fish in shallows