Didn't Wade Water

[oghfm]

today cause I left the Super Guide in the garage and took ye olde  Arkansas Traveler,  it'll float in a ditch.  Same pattern except they refused all colors but firetiger.  8 caught, 7 keepers, avg 23 fow and 1.7 mph.  Seen a lot of shad just off the bottom in 20-23 fow.  Me thinks the eyes are hanging out in the trees (shade) during the day and easing out for those shad as the sun sets,  but I'm wrong more  often than right.   14 fillets will  be released to the grease at a later date.

[liphunter]

1 hour ago, oghfm said:

today cause I left the Super Guide in the garage and took ye olde  Arkansas Traveler,  it'll float in a ditch.  Same pattern except they refused all colors but firetiger.  8 caught, 7 keepers, avg 23 fow and 1.7 mph.  Seen a lot of shad just off the bottom in 20-23 fow.  Me thinks the eyes are hanging out in the trees (shade) during the day and easing out for those shad as the sun sets,  but I'm wrong more  often than right.   14 fillets will  be released to the grease at a later date.

What size flicker shad does one use for crappie trolling?

[oghfm]

4 hours ago, liphunter said:

What size flicker shad does one use for crappie trolling?

I use number 7, and the  Pro model worked better than the original today

[Smithvillesteve]

oghfm: What depth of water are you targeting? Are you trolling in the middle cuts of the coves? I am taking a buddy down there next week and he doesnt fish much. I try to put him on some walleyes trolling a crankbait. But last year i did finally get him to try bottom bouncing a jig/crawler or drifting one if the winds were right. With the walleye bite difficult right now i thought maybe i could try and put him on some crappies. Any advice would be deeply appreciated. thanks.

[oghfm]

1 hour ago, Smithvillesteve said:

oghfm: What depth of water are you targeting? Are you trolling in the middle cuts of the coves? I am taking a buddy down there next week and he doesnt fish much. I try to put him on some walleyes trolling a crankbait. But last year i did finally get him to try bottom bouncing a jig/crawler or drifting one if the winds were right. With the walleye bite difficult right now i thought maybe i could try and put him on some crappies. Any advice would be deeply appreciated. thanks.

Steve, I'm not really a cove fisherman.  I would call these flats, but where on a normal year these would be too shallow , they are now 20-25 fow.  Deeper water is near and some stumps near also.  Not a brush pile fisherman either, although Stockton is a brushpile lake.  There are a lot of fry near the banks, in the trees right now, but I did see shad just off the bottom in 20-23 fow.  That 1.5 mph is probably the key.   Did make a run around deeper trees in 40 or so fow but no luck, didn't even see anything interesting.  The graph on that boat isn't high tech, a Lowrance dsi4,  purely down imaging black and white, w/ gps, and crappie show up on it as dots. Those small shad piles might be interesting to drag your bottom bouncer thru.  Stockton is known for a NOON bite.  Hope you find some, OGHFM

[Smithvillesteve]

Thanks for the info Oghtm. I fish for crappies in late winter and early spring at LOZ. And i"ll continue to fish for them thru the spawn at Pomme, Truman and up here at Smithville lake. After that i dont fish for them much. Like to bass fish Table Rock, Stockton and again up here at Smithville. Love to chase some eyes around Stockton and i am beginning to learn the bottom bouncing technique some from Lmtout and others on this website. From the sound of things on here the walleye bite has been very difficult down there and some guys have posted they have been catching crappies trolling deep water. So i appreciate your advice very much and will give it a try. 

[MrGiggles]

On 6/21/2019 at 12:10 AM, oghfm said:

I use number 7, and the  Pro model worked better than the original today

Ditto. I have some 6s as well, but the majority of my baits are 7s. I have some 9s too.

[dan hufferd]

Don't tell him about the blue tiger #7. Then he will know the magic one😁

[MoCarp]

Walleyes should be on flats about now, I’m told a bazillion baby shad atm, should have a heck of a fish boom after this years spawn and less pressure, fish put on a heck of a lot of growth now till sept

[MrGiggles]

2 hours ago, MoCarp said:

Walleyes should be on flats about now, I’m told a bazillion baby shad atm, should have a heck of a fish boom after this years spawn and less pressure, fish put on a heck of a lot of growth now till sept

The flats and humps that we know and love are 40+ feet deep right now. Not sure if that makes a difference, or if I should be focusing on depths closer to where they should be, which is about the old shoreline.