4/3 crappie

[Fish24/7]

 

Fished from 1-6

No electronics today so I dont know the water temperature. I caught 8 big ones 😊 average size was big!  but, I broke off  6 I never saw and were just as heavy 😣.  .  Lost a personal best 3+ pound crappie when it got hung up in the anchor rope. 😡 Biggest crappie I've ever seen in 40+ years of fishing Bull.🤬

 I need to beef up my crappie gear.  I was using ultra light and didn't have the rod or line power to turn these fish away from snags. Next time I'm using a medium power rod with 6 or 8lb braided line.  

Fish were buried up in the brush and you had to go in after them with your jig. It was bad, 6 times I  got bit and they would just pull like a train and instantly wrap me up or I'd  break my line just trying to to turn their head away from the cover. Makes me sick losing so many big fish ..The ones I got in the net were all males like these , no females. 

At times the wind was almost too strong. The fish were pretty deep still 10-15',and  I could only get bit on a 1/24oz jig . Tried a 3/32 and 1/8 but they wouldn't eat em. 

 

This one measured 16 1/4" but looks shorter because of the camera angle makes his tail look stubby .⬇️

[Phil Lilley]

That sounds challenging.  Fun too.  Hope the water level stays decent for you guys down there this spring! 

Thanks for posting the report!!

[Johnsfolly]

11 hours ago, Fish24/7 said:

 

Fished from 1-6

No electronics today so I dont know the water temperature. I caught 8 big ones 😊 average size was big!  but, I broke off  6 I never saw and were just as heavy 😣.  .  Lost a personal best 3+ pound crappie when it got hung up in the anchor rope. 😡 Biggest crappie I've ever seen in 40+ years of fishing Bull.🤬

 I need to beef up my crappie gear.  I was using ultra light and didn't have the rod or line power to turn these fish away from snags. Next time I'm using a medium power rod with 6 or 8lb braided line.  

Fish were buried up in the brush and you had to go in after them with your jig. It was bad, 6 times I  got bit and they would just pull like a train and instantly wrap me up or I'd  break my line just trying to to turn their head away from the cover. Makes me sick losing so many big fish ..The ones I got in the net were all males like these , no females. 

At times the wind was almost too strong. The fish were pretty deep still 10-15',and  I could only get bit on a 1/24oz jig . Tried a 3/32 and 1/8 but they wouldn't eat em. 

 

This one measured 16 1/4" but looks shorter because of the camera angle makes his tail look stubby .⬇️

Sounds like a lot of fun mixed in with that frustration. Congrats on landing that great looking crappie! Can't wait to see some more.

[Devan S.]

16 1/4 is getting awfully close to 3lb anyways.

[Fish24/7]

1 hour ago, Johnsfolly said:

Sounds like a lot of fun mixed in with that frustration. Congrats on landing that great looking crappie! Can't wait to see some more.

It was very frustrating. Especially losing that one in the anchor rope it was way over 3 lbs because 3 years ago or so I got a 3lb crappie and the one I lost was a Lot Lot bigger. That 7' micro light rod I had with me just wasn't strong enough to handle it.  I wasn't expecting to be fishing right in the thickest stuff I could find , I was planning on trolling the entire time but the wind wouldn't let me so I had to anchor up and fish in the junk.

[Fish24/7]

12 hours ago, Phil Lilley said:

That sounds challenging.  Fun too.  Hope the water level stays decent for you guys down there this spring! 

Thanks for posting the report!!

They are trying to keep it down so far. Generation has been heavy around the clock for weeks .

[Fish24/7]

1 hour ago, Devan S. said:

16 1/4 is getting awfully close to 3lb anyways.

Yep, I've caught 1 3lb crappie ,and it was a 19" male. So a 16 1/4" female full of eggs would be pretty close.

[Bill Jr.]

That is an absolute toad!  Sorry you missed out on a fish of a lifetime but for sure you know they are there. Can’t wait to get back and try my luck again with the crappie as well. 

[Bassin4fun]

I may have to try for some crappie this weekend!