Hogs rolling around in a mud pit…. Crappie

[Lance34]

First week/weekend in March on Beaver Lake has never failed. For the past several years that week has always been a big fish week.  It didn’t let me down this year either.  From the big fish day with Brad to a guide trip a couple days later.  Several 1.5’s and 1.6’s a 1.7, a 1.8 and one bumping 2 pounds has seen the end of a BnM BGJP and a Vanguard Tackle size 2 gold aberdreen hook this week.   God is good…

I say all that about the first week of March and been counting the days.  It gets here and so does the rain.  I had my doubts.  With about every inch of rain we get is a foot rise.  It seems to be worst now though.  I don’t know maybe not but with all the dang concrete now around Northwest Arkansas it seems to flood more.   I’m tell ya it’s all those roundabouts! lol! 

Ok Rant over

Saturday I had a trip with a gentleman that has experience rigging.  He told me while out there he was just wanting to see how I pattern fish this time of year.  Wants to gain knowledge for when his son gets older to take him and doesn’t care about catching many fish.  Yeah the pressure was off after that.  That made my day.  See…. When a father comes to me at the boat ramp, a store, a trip, whatever I know he’s out there trying to build or save his relationship with his son or daughter and not loose them to all the junk kids are exposed to these days.  Knowledgeable anglers out there should do the same.

Alright…. Got of tangent again there 

Ok…. We got 4 or so inches of rain and had the lake rise about 3 feet in 24 hours. Had the lake looking like a mud pit.  I didn’t know what to expect but it was gonna be mid 60’s, sunny and hardly no wind.  The gentleman I had and I both would rather be fishing than wishing we were fishing.

Dumped the boat in at 6am and was set up fishing around 7am.  WT was 48, water clarity was mud , lake elevation was 1123.3 and rising.  Fished a creek I don’t fish much.  Maybe 10 or so times.  With others more but by myself rigging not much.  It’s it hit or miss for me.  The times it’s a hit has been some of the best rememberable days.  This day is now one of them.  I knew where I wanted to start.  Dropped the trolling, turned on the map, pointed at the map and told him you see that orange.  That’s what I want to fish.  Right a long a ledge.  Got on it and there they were…Mondo’s in 8-10 fow… Some just off the bottom and some up high in the column.  Stuck a few on our first run.  Told him it’s gonna be slow catching these fish shallow but every fish is gonna be a toad…. I remember one catch.  Watching that fish swim through pressing itself in the mud.  I panned over to the outside rod to where it raised it’s nose up to look at the minnow.  It slowly eased up and that pole got a little extra weight added to it.  Stick em bud… Man that’s a drug.  We kept at it.  Rigged shallow and then a little deeper like 15-18 fow.  Seemed like I would push them deep to shallow.  Back and forth.  We ended the day with his limit of several around 1.5’s and 1.6’s a 1.7 male and a 1.8 female.  

Same setup still…. Rigging 16ft BnM BGJP’s with 1/2oz C&C rigs I’m tying with Pico Lures/Vanguard Tackle.  I’ve gone out of my norm the past several months using these stiffer gold hooks they provide me but they sure stick a fish and don’t come off often.  Gonna take Ronnie Capps advice and step down to a lighter rig weight when conditions are right rigging shallow again.

Back at next week…. We’ll see what the weather throws at us

Good Fishing and God Bless

Lance Hughey Crappie Guide Service 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Quillback]

That's pretty neat.  My SE MO grandad used gold Aberdeen hooks for his minnows when he crappie fished.   Fly rod, cork, split shot and a minnow about 2-3 feet under the cork.  He'd dip and drag that rig around trees and cypress knees.  I did it too when fishing with him, except I had a cane pole.  It was so much fun as a 10 year old seeing that cork get pulled down.  

[netboy]

Those are some nice ones.... looks like you got it figured out.

[Lance34]

49 minutes ago, Quillback said:

That's pretty neat.  My SE MO grandad used gold Aberdeen hooks for his minnows when he crappie fished.   Fly rod, cork, split shot and a minnow about 2-3 feet under the cork.  He'd dip and drag that rig around trees and cypress knees.  I did it too when fishing with him, except I had a cane pole.  It was so much fun as a 10 year old seeing that cork get pulled down.  

Absolutely!  Same way my dad and I use to fish the Mississippi River oxbows in Northeast Arkansas