This is virgin territory to me. Went last week and found a ton of fish. Got there late -9am or so and the 1st hour was in fire. Caught our limit pretty easily. Found a bunch more on way out. Tuesday is looking cold and perfectly still. But cold. Low around 25, high about 50. I plan to be on the water at 8 and i dont think i will need long. Should be about 30 when i take the water. Anyone ever have luck at temps that low? Any issue with reels freezing? Motor is 4 stroke so im not worried about the motor starting. Spots are very close to boat ramp. I have never fished below freezing in my life. The fish will be there i am confident
Cold weather crappie….
- Thread starter redblood
- Start date
Freezeing reel and rod eyes can be a problem. Quick dip in the lake will do the trick.
fish dont care about air temps only how cold it makes the water. lake temps her is right at 50 deg, still feeding good at those temps. even in high 30's and low 40's theyll still bite but not as often and youll need to bump their noses with baits.
i spray eyelets and line with reel conditioner to keep them from freezing up.
i spray eyelets and line with reel conditioner to keep them from freezing up.
I fished one morning till about 1:00 pm on KY Lake when it was 17 degrees when I got there. I didn't have to fight for a parking spot at the ramp. Stiff north wind to boot. Caught several that trip.
Only problem fishing out of a boat when it's below freezing is the ramp freezing over. Good thing about backing in on ice is your vehicle will stop when the tires hit the water. Been there to many times. Like Tn Joe said dip off in water clears the ice out of eyelets.
Does not get to cold to catch fish.
Does not get to cold to catch fish.
Urban_Hunter
Well-Known Member
I went to priest today. Was feeling pretty confident based on last few trips, even though they were weeks ago. Didn't get a bite. Checked standing timber in 10'-70' feet of water. Checked rock piles in 10-30' fow. Couldn't find them. Not the typical "couldn't get them to bite" or all yellow bass… couldn't find them. Watched some other guys also not catch anything. Extremely defeated today. Saw on FB some guys the last few days been killing them. I just couldn't find them. Feel like I'm back to square 1
It sure helps if everyone using the ramp takes a extra minute after launching the boat to pull up just enough to get to trailer out of the water and let it drain off some before pulling on up the ramp
Should be a learning experience. Looking forward to it. Just curious if i can get em
To nibble
Yeah, slow and light baits. I caught a 15" black crappie over 2 pounds last week and i could barely feel the bite.
I put some bodock bushes out in 2010, I had'em waypointed on my old unit but forgot to pull the cards when I sold the boat
Since our dux hunting sucks I'm gonna go look for them with my new garmin.
Since our dux hunting sucks I'm gonna go look for them with my new garmin.I have put a ton out, but that was this summer. Now that draw down has occurred, they are too shallowI put some bodock bushes out in 2010, I had'em waypointed on my old unit but forgot to pull the cards when I sold the boat
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megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
Back when I used to only crappie fish on Ross Barnett, I absolutely wore out the crappie in below freezing air temps. Like TnJoe said, just have to keep dipping the rod eye in the water to thaw it out. The last time my wife ever fished with me was a 25 degree morning. After an hour and 15 big slabs in the boat, she informed me she was too cold and couldn't stay out any longer. It was HARD to leave them biting.
Biggun4214
Well-Known Member
At one time on Douglas there was probably 2-3X as many crappie caught from December-March than the rest of the year. It was nothing for there to be 4-500 boats on the lake during that time. Plus 1-200 bank fishermen.
Wooden Arrow
Well-Known Member
i catch crappie out of Douglas in cold weather out of 8 to 12 inches of water at times. when you set the hook, mud boils to the surface.
Biggun4214
Well-Known Member
Sounds like Nina Creek.
Wooden Arrow
Well-Known Member
it does, doesn't it?
Biggun4214
Well-Known Member
I've counted thousands of crappie that were caught there. Even caught a few dozen crappie snaggers there.it does, doesn't it?
Wooden Arrow
Well-Known Member
used to know the warden down there until he retired. when water was really low, he'd catch folks snagging largemouth in the curl where Nina creek mixed with the river. Wayne was his first name. snaggers aint hard to spot. he saw my brother and i so often that he quit asking to see our licenses.
Biggun4214
Well-Known Member
I've heard lots of stories about him.
A lot of the time he would lie in the bushes and watch them through binoculars before he would show up.
At least once he had plain clothes officers fishing and came in and checked licenses. After he left some of the fishermen he checked thought the coast was clear and started snagging. They were surprised when the plain clothes officers identified theirselves.
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Wooden Arrow
Well-Known Member
he was always plain clothes and carrying a rod when we saw him. if he'd actually cast every now and then, his disguise would have worked better...
Biggun4214
Well-Known Member
Weather like we're in right is good crappie catching time on Douglas. I've saw fishermen out in -5 weather. I watched 2 guys a few years ago fishing a hole in the ice around a bridge pylon, the lake was froze over. They would cast out and reel back to the hole. The float usually followed the fly after the fly hit the water and begin to sink.
Wooden Arrow
Well-Known Member
someone mentioned "slowing down" for crappie in cold weather. i fish (very) tiny flies under tiny floats, and don't move them at all. best if there is a bit of "crappie chop" on the water. if the float leans over a bit, many times that's all you'll see. set it or forget it...
