Crappie Tuesday 28Feb17 - Season Finale

[Johnsfolly]

With the warm weather and the unusually spring like bite we were getting here in Feb, that made the last day of Feb into a frenetic fishing day for me to try to finish out my goals for the 2016-2017 Missouri fishing season. Of all of the goals that I had made one that still remained was catching 100 crappie. I also had to complete a fishing challenge that I had with my daughter.

So here is how the day went. I usually get after crappie in the traditional spring bite and often again in the fall if there is mild weather. Usually by October and some years by November I no longer actively pursue crappie. I know that there are guys on this forum that have success throughout the year on crappie. Most if not all of them fish for crappie in a boat and not the shore like I do. As of this November I had caught only 51 crappie, a mix of white and black crappie, and had resigned to not meeting my goal of catching 100. Then I fished below Truman dam back in Jan and caught a couple of whites. Still not very likely to catch 47 more fish before the end of Feb.

That was before this unnaturally warm Feb occurred. So I started catching crappie again and with enough numbers to warrant trying to complete my goal. So that led up to yesterday. After fishing with my daughter on the 23rd and again on the 27th, I was just 17 fish shy of my goal. My daughter and I had already agreed that we would fish in the afternoon to finish our ongoing bet for largest and most fish. We also agreed that any fish that I caught while fishing without her would not count in my total. Knowing that there would only be a short window in the afternoon/evening to catch more crappie, I decided to head out to the lake in the morning. I got on the water around 6:20 and fished until 7:40 am The wind was coming from the southwest and picked up the longer I stayed at the lake. I caught one bluegill (confirmed that this was not a redear sunfish) and 8 crappie. All were caught on 1/64 oz jigs of various colors. Now I had to work through the day with the idea that I only needed 9 more crappie by the end of the day. I had a major birdnest on my reel as I left the lake and called my betterhalf to bring over another reel or a couple of spools of 4# P-Line fluoroclear line so that I could replace my reel or re-spool my line. Oh and I needed her to bring them to my work before lunch. She granted my request and I was off to the lake again at lunch to fish for 25-30 minutes and get a few more crappie. The wind was really picking up with gusts of 20 to 25 miles per hour. So I had to fish a tightline from the dock and dock ramp and no float to keep my jigs in the right spot. Again a variety of colors worked with the same 1/64 jig head. I was getting bit, but it was one bluegill after another. I was running out of time. I dropped my jig closer to the bottom and have a heavy thump on the line. I set the hook and landed my 9th crappie for the day. I got a couple of more bluegill and four more crappie before I had to quit and head back to work.

After tallying up the crappie and my bluegill catch, I was just four crappie shy of my goal and had caught 699 total fish since the 1st of March 2016. I also had a plan to target a pond that I knew had hybrid sunfish to try to catch my 50th different species for the year (I do count hybrids and subspecies in my tally). I was getting more anxious as the day drug by. Finally I was headed out to the pond. First cast and I had a sunfish blew up on my float, I gave it a twitch and I set the hook. I landed my first hybrid sunfish. Based upon the size of the mouth and the coloration of its fins suggested a bluegill and green sunfish cross.

So now it was off to get Livie and head back to the lake for the continuation of our fishing challenge and hopefully the completion of my crappie goal. I mentioned at least six times in the 12 minutes that it takes to get to the lake from my house that I will be agitated and anxious until I catch that fourth crappie. We headed down the dam and the wind is from the west/south west and the brush pile is northeast of me. I make my first cast and get hung in some unseen brush. I opened the bail in hope that the wind would blow the bait off the branches and it did, but now my bait is behind the pile. Then I get a strike, but I don't set the hook to prevent from getting hung again. I let the bait drift around the back of the pile and I get it back. Ok now for the second cast. I get bit on that cast and reel in the first crappie of the evening. Next cast I'm hung again, but this time the hook is stuck in the wood. Meanwhile Livie has casted a couple of times without any action and now just missed her first strike. Her casts start near the pile but they get blown too far off the brush to a spot where there just aren't many fish. We are both frustrated and we move further down the dam.

Livie is seeing small fish and one or two crayfish and really wants to try to catch them with her hands. She is a very good hand fisher, but WE ARE HERE to CATCH CRAPPIE! Livie and I both switch colors. Livie gets three strikes but can't get a good hook set. I missed two myself and then get my second crappie of the evening. I see that she is really frustrated and scared to get her bait hung in the brush while casting due to the constant wind. Also she is now three fish behind in our contest and has not yet landed a fish. Also she really wants to hand catch one. So we agreed that if she were to catch a fish with her hands that she would win all bets. She tries, but the water is too cold for her to be patient enough for a fish to swim near her hands. I suggest that we go to one of the docks and tightline the baits. So we practically run to the dock. Did I mention that I was getting anxious and possibly running out of daylight.

Once at the dock Livie is getting bites, but still hasn't got a fish then she lands a small bluegill. I follow that with my 99th crappie of the year and then I got another thump and set the hook on this small crappie, Number 100! Pressure's off. Now it's fun to fish again.

I mention that these two crappie were right near the bottom to Livie. Livie drops her bait lower and misses a strike and then thump - thump we have a crappie double.

After this point Livie caught one more crappie and I ended the night with 7 total and 103 for the year. Though it was great to meet this goal. It really was the memories of this trip and the time I got to spend fishing with my daughter that I will remember most.

It's been a long way from catching one of her first crappies on this lake to now.

[JestersHK]

Awesome report buddy, and I'm stoked for you that you hit your goals my friend!  Even better you got the share it with your kiddo.

Congrats!

[Johnsfolly]

Thanks buddy. Now there is that Taneycomo brown waiting to be caught .

[JestersHK]

Hopefully we'll get a crack at em soon!