Crappie Sunday 4-26-20

[Lance34]

Got out Sunday about 10:30 and fished till 4.  Marked fish about 15 feet down over 21 fow.  I was rigging along a hump and knew I was moving too fast due to a tailwind.  Once I got to the other end of the hump I flipped it around and place my boat right on the edge.  Bite picked up really quickly rigging along the edge with baits down at 12 feet down.   Had 11 pretty steady and then the last 4 took took forever it seemed.  They just shut off.  I decided to change up bait size and go to a smaller minnows.  It picked back then but not mad.   Ended with 14 females and 1 male.  All females still had eggs.  Some looked close, some didn’t and some looked like they dropped some but not all. 

Water temp 61-65 and green clarity.   Couple more weeks probably.  Good fishing and God bless Lance 

[Notropis]

21 hours ago, Lance34 said:

 Ended with 14 females and 1 male.  All females still had eggs.  Some looked close, some didn’t and some looked like they dropped some but not all. 

Looks like the crappie are very close to spawning. I remember talking to a person who did behavioral studies on spawning crappie and he indicated the males would move shallow and prepare for the spawn while the female would suspend out in groups in deeper water, usually associated with some type of structure or topography (humps).  The females would wait until the conditions were right, usually water temperature, then move shallow to pair up with the males. As most anglers know, this is fairly typical for a lot sunfish species including bass.   

Another interesting behavior he detected was the effect on water clarity to the depth the fish would spawn. There was evidence the fish were looking for a certain light intensity level to choose the depth they would make their nest and spawn. In other words, they would typically spawn shallower when the water was muddy (less light penetration) and deeper when the water was clearer.  He even developed a formula (which I can't remember) that utilized measured water clarity to predict the depth that spawning would occur. 

I think you're right Lance, we're right on the edge of the spawn and some fish may be already starting. Looks like I need to dust off the old boat and get on the water soon!

Cheers!

 

[Greg B.]

Glad you got em again Lance.  The fish I found Sunday were also at about the same depth.  I also found some even deeper on brush, like 23’ in 30 fow but moved on to shallower fish.  Made a pretty picture on the down scan but logistics made shallower fish easier to target that day.  
 

I’m learning more every time I go.  Learning the lake, the fish, and various ways of catching them.  I’m already finding a few patterns, though I’m not just catching the fire out of them yet, either.  For me, I’m finding that these fish, on the edge of spawning, are on flats adjacent to deeper water but close to spawning areas as well.  I’m also finding color patterns that work better with muddy water, stained water, full sun, overcast, etc.  I’m having a ball.  

[Lance34]

@Greg B. awesome man!  Time on the water.  That’s all it takes.  All those bells and whistles out there  don’t beat time

[Greg B.]

I think half the fun is figuring them out.  The other half may be eating them.  Catching is just a plus that leads to eating them!  I may have that backwards but you get the picture.