I'm home from my world travels... I had one more vacation day so Wednesday I decided to battle my jet lag checking on the pre-spawn crappie.
For those who haven't seen my reports before, this time of year I love long-line trolling for pre-spawners moving up creeks before they go shallow to spawn. It took me an hour or so but I finally found one area where the fish were hanging. It was a flat, only about 7 feet deep... there was no discernable structure. They just decided that area was where they wanted to be.
Lure of choice... always my "go to" color... red & chartreuse tube jig. I always use a GPS to insure a constant trolling speed and lure depth. The speed might vary anywhere from 0.6 mph up 1.2 mph, depending upon line size, lure size and water depth. But once you find the right combination in the right place... you can "smack 'em!" It's a fantastic method for kids... or even adults who may not have developed the skills and "touch" often required when casting for crappie.
Once I got in that zone, I put a limit in the boat in relatively short order... and even culled a couple of smaller fish before pulling up stakes. I caught a mix of black and white crappie (kept 9 blacks and 6 whites). I had a couple of whites over 14-inches... one of them pushing 15. It was interesting to note that nearly all the white crappie were females... nearly all the blacks were males. My father-in-law was a very happy man when I handed him a ziplock bag full of filets to spread among his neighbors.
I took Pollyanna on her very first fishing trip. She enjoyed the boat ride and the sunshine... but she could really care less about the fish.
For those who haven't seen my reports before, this time of year I love long-line trolling for pre-spawners moving up creeks before they go shallow to spawn. It took me an hour or so but I finally found one area where the fish were hanging. It was a flat, only about 7 feet deep... there was no discernable structure. They just decided that area was where they wanted to be.
Lure of choice... always my "go to" color... red & chartreuse tube jig. I always use a GPS to insure a constant trolling speed and lure depth. The speed might vary anywhere from 0.6 mph up 1.2 mph, depending upon line size, lure size and water depth. But once you find the right combination in the right place... you can "smack 'em!" It's a fantastic method for kids... or even adults who may not have developed the skills and "touch" often required when casting for crappie.
Once I got in that zone, I put a limit in the boat in relatively short order... and even culled a couple of smaller fish before pulling up stakes. I caught a mix of black and white crappie (kept 9 blacks and 6 whites). I had a couple of whites over 14-inches... one of them pushing 15. It was interesting to note that nearly all the white crappie were females... nearly all the blacks were males. My father-in-law was a very happy man when I handed him a ziplock bag full of filets to spread among his neighbors.
I took Pollyanna on her very first fishing trip. She enjoyed the boat ride and the sunshine... but she could really care less about the fish.
