Summer Crappie

[Greg B.]

Sorry for my absence lately.  This summer has really kicked my rear end and I've not had a lot of time to get online.  Just wanted to post a bit about my crappie experiences on Beaver for the last few months.  

 

I long line troll jigs mostly up the white river arm.  Last summer I found some large schools and stayed with them a while, but this summer has been different.  I've located some large schools but getting them to bite has been difficult.  Most of my trips have been between the 412 bridge and War Eagle Marina.  I'm currently finding crappie suspended at different depths in 13-20 FOW.  Most fish are between 7-10 feet deep of late.  

I'm reaching them with 1/16, 3/32, or 1/8 jigs trolled at about 1mph.  I find that they like the jigs a bit faster in the summer so I'll often vary speeds up to about 1.4 to see what kind of mood they are in.  

My son and I have had a few good trips and several slower than average trips, but I think we are about to settle into a decent pattern and hope to move things in the right direction.  Good luck out there!  

 

[Ruger5555]

How much line are you letting out? What makes you troll jigs over cranks or just personal preference? On LOZ it seems like it's bandit 300s or bust and trolling quite a bit faster at 1.5 to 2mph.

[Greg B.]

6 hours ago, Ruger5555 said:

How much line are you letting out? What makes you troll jigs over cranks or just personal preference? On LOZ it seems like it's bandit 300s or bust and trolling quite a bit faster at 1.5 to 2mph.

One long cast plus a few pulls of 6 lb test gets my jigs where I need them.  1/16 run 5 feet or so at my speed.  1/8 down to 8-10 depending on speed.  I try to stay at or above the level of the fish on my sonar.  
 

I also pull cranks and should have made the switch by now.  It’s hard to switch because I troll jigs all year and have confidence in them.  I do find that bandits and picos catch bigger crappie on beaver once the weather gets hot.  
 

hope that helps!  

[Ruger5555]

8 hours ago, Greg B. said:

One long cast plus a few pulls of 6 lb test gets my jigs where I need them.  1/16 run 5 feet or so at my speed.  1/8 down to 8-10 depending on speed.  I try to stay at or above the level of the fish on my sonar.  
 

I also pull cranks and should have made the switch by now.  It’s hard to switch because I troll jigs all year and have confidence in them.  I do find that bandits and picos catch bigger crappie on beaver once the weather gets hot.  
 

hope that helps!  

Thanks for the response. I've never fished Beaver but it's a beautiful lake. A few years ago I stayed up by Starkey so we made a trip all the way down the lake to War Eagle and back. I definitely liked it down around War Eagle. 

 

I only troll cranks so now you have me curious on jigs. 

[Ozark Flyer]

Good report, thanks.  I have been struggling to find quality fish.  I switched from jigs to cranks some time ago.  Catching a ton of dinks this year and like you, it’s been a lot of work to get bit at all.  I’ve had some luck up War Eagle and N of HC.  Same story as you.  Fish hanging about 10-12 ft deep in 20 fow.  Pulling Pico INT or 300’s just over their heads.  
 

Good luck to you.  

Dan

[Greg B.]

8 hours ago, Ruger5555 said:

Thanks for the response. I've never fished Beaver but it's a beautiful lake. A few years ago I stayed up by Starkey so we made a trip all the way down the lake to War Eagle and back. I definitely liked it down around War Eagle. 

 

I only troll cranks so now you have me curious on jigs. 

I live very close to the white river so that’s why I do most of my fishing there.  I do prefer jigs most of the year but I’m sure they can be caught on cranks many times as well.  For one, it’s much cheaper when you drag across a tree :).  I find that they will inhale a jig in the hottest part of the summer down to the gills.  When that starts happening I know they are aggressive and I’ll then switch to cranks to coax a few of the bigger fish.  In September when the water starts cooling I go back to jigs and stay with them all year until next summer.  Probably mostly personal preference.  
 

 

[Greg B.]

2 minutes ago, Ozark Flyer said:

Good report, thanks.  I have been struggling to find quality fish.  I switched from jigs to cranks some time ago.  Catching a ton of dinks this year and like you, it’s been a lot of work to get bit at all.  I’ve had some luck up War Eagle and N of HC.  Same story as you.  Fish hanging about 10-12 ft deep in 20 fow.  Pulling Pico INT or 300’s just over their heads.  
 

Good luck to you.  

Dan

I feel ya.  I’ve located a TON of small fish.  The larger fish seem to bite in the first and last hour of the day so I know they are there.  It’s just hard to find a good pattern this time of year.  If I do I’ve lucked into it usually.  

[Ozark Flyer]

Well, small fish grow up to make big fish….maybe next year.  Neighbor wants some Flatheads so I’m going to be pulling for Cats for a while.  Probably put a couple long rods out the sides with blue/chrome 300’s as locators for some bigger crappie.