Thread: What would you have done......

I probably would have done much the same as you. I might have tried some different colors in cranks or RR's ... I might have waited much longer to come back to that spot ... and I might have moved off a ways and trolled over that section a few times with cranks or RR's.

Yes, sometimes there are only a few fish hanging around a piece of cover, a ball of baitfish, or just a section of bank ... or even a fairly large area of water. Crappie don't always travel or "hang out" in large schools. And sometimes catching a few out of a small group will cause the remaining ones to move off.

The one "important" thing that I would have taken away from an experience like that, would be that the colors, size, shape, action, etc. of the baits being used ... was getting hit !! That info would be used in other areas (if I knew of any) where the conditions were the same or very similar. And if there weren't any ... at least I would know that the baits being used may well work in other places, since they were being seen & hit by the fish encountered at that spot.

You felt like you got your fish in approximately the same location from the bank, which implies the same DEPTH. Your crankbait runs at a certain depth, as well. When you see fishing reports here, you will see guys reporting they caught fish. They will say they caught fish at so many feet down in so many feet of water. So if you check where you got your bites and find that it is 15' deep and you were pulling a bandit 300 at 1.8 mph, the crank was at about 10'. So you should try going parallel to the bank and stay at the 15' depth and at the same speed. Crappies all over your lake may be holding at about 10'. Then you will be able to report that you caught fish 10' deep in 15' of water.

Thanks guys.
I wish I would have trolled over where I thought I had actually got the bites. Where I was sitting was over some brush but didn't really think they were coming from it. Also I am still learning to understand what depth i'm actually retrieving the lures at. Even using the count down method.
i was thinking I was missing something. Meaning I used two completely different lures and got some bites. And if I would have dialed in what they really wanted could have had several more.
Thanks a lot for the feedback. I'll be putting this info down in the log.

Originally Posted by vic n

You felt like you got your fish in approximately the same location from the bank, which implies the same DEPTH. Your crankbait runs at a certain depth, as well. When you see fishing reports here, you will see guys reporting they caught fish. They will say they caught fish at so many feet down in so many feet of water. So if you check where you got your bites and find that it is 15' deep and you were pulling a bandit 300 at 1.8 mph, the crank was at about 10'. So you should try going parallel to the bank and stay at the 15' depth and at the same speed. Crappies all over your lake may be holding at about 10'. Then you will be able to report that you caught fish 10' deep in 15' of water.

What he said ^ When I'm trolling and hit that first crappie, I look to see the depth and speed on my finder. As you troll around the lake try and duplicate those numbers. If your crank bait pulls at 10' and your marking fish at 8' or 14', try using a 3oz weight to put your bait just above them. I use a 3oz weight then about 4-5' leader before my crank bait. Good luck.

I think I would have switched to jigs on a different rod before moving away from fish.