9/2/18 Crappie

[straw hat]

Fished CC area. Water temp 80F. Fairly "green" water. Visibility 3 ft.. The wife and I caught 21 keeper crappie. Most 4 to 6' deep in standing timber on windy bank. Real shallow. A few vey small white bass. Caught 5 channels including a 4 lb and 6 1/2 lber.  All in all not a bad idea although did have to fight the wind a lot but at least it wasn't too hot out.

[Kramr]

Just wondering how you found them. Did they show up on side scan or did your past experience tell you they might be there? Reason I'm asking is I would likely pass on such a spot thinking they would be on deeper structure or even out in the open water by this time of year.

[straw hat]

Past experience. Back in the 80's my wife and I used to limit out on black nose crappie (a subspecies of black crappie in 2 to 5' of water all summer long. Black nose crappie are very aggressive and are easily over fished. I haven't caught one since probably 1995. During those later years we noticed we could still catch regular black crappie at the same depth during summer but only at certain locations. Spots that produce seem to produce constantly. Places that don't produce usually suck constantly.  lol

The wife and I put out small brush piles in places that looked good in order to have more places to hit and it has really helped. What is amazing is that things are most productive on very hot sunny days as the fish will collect against big rocks, stumps and small brush piles in order to get in to any shade that is available. We will tie up or anchor and flip small slip bobbers out to these locations. A slip bobber gets caught up less. We ill pick up 2 or 3 and move to the next spot. If it is a windy day then you will also catch white crappie with the blacks in windy locations. I think that part of the reason they pick this shallow location is increased oxygen content in the shallow water especially when windy. Normally we notice that this pattern starts when the water temperature reaches around 71 or 72 and will last until water temps fall back down below this level.

You do have a point about the open water. Many many white crappie are caught in summer trolling or drifting the open water chasing shad. Find the shad, find the crappie.

I hope this helps.

 

 

[MrGiggles]

1 hour ago, straw hat said:

Past experience. Back in the 80's my wife and I used to limit out on black nose crappie (a subspecies of black crappie in 2 to 5' of water all summer long. Black nose crappie are very aggressive and are easily over fished. I haven't caught one since probably 1995. During those later years we noticed we could still catch regular black crappie at the same depth during summer but only at certain locations. Spots that produce seem to produce constantly. Places that don't produce usually suck constantly.  lol

The wife and I put out small brush piles in places that looked good in order to have more places to hit and it has really helped. What is amazing is that things are most productive on very hot sunny days as the fish will collect against big rocks, stumps and small brush piles in order to get in to any shade that is available. We will tie up or anchor and flip small slip bobbers out to these locations. A slip bobber gets caught up less. We ill pick up 2 or 3 and move to the next spot. If it is a windy day then you will also catch white crappie with the blacks in windy locations. I think that part of the reason they pick this shallow location is increased oxygen content in the shallow water especially when windy. Normally we notice that this pattern starts when the water temperature reaches around 71 or 72 and will last until water temps fall back down below this level.

You do have a point about the open water. Many many white crappie are caught in summer trolling or drifting the open water chasing shad. Find the shad, find the crappie.

I hope this helps.

 

 

I caught one on Pomme a few weeks ago. Looked like someone drew a line all the way down his back with a sharpie.

[straw hat]

That's them!!

[dan hufferd]

Outstanding !

[Sam]

On 9/6/2018 at 11:52 AM, MrGiggles said:

Black nose crappie are very aggressive and are easily over fished. I haven't caught one since probably 1995.

They're still around and not so rare.  My partner and I have been fishing Stockton Lake brush piles all summer and we catch a black nose crappie or two on most of our outings.  We limited out last Tuesday and caught one real nice black-nose that day, a 12.5" male.  Those are about my favorite fish - as you say, they're aggressive and they put up a good fight.  Also, they're built heavy for their length and make some real nice thick filets.

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

Up James river or Flat creek on Table Rock it seems like i catch mainly black nose crappie