Thread: I Am Frustrated. Can’t Find, Much Less, Catch Crappie

Originally Posted by river scum

POST A CONTOUR MAP AND YOULL GET THE ANSWERS YOU SEEK.

OK River Scum, here is a picture of the part of the lake that I have access to. Granted, it's a very small segment of a huge lake, but with only an electric trollling motor and a 15 foot "Scanoe" (a canoe with a square transom where a small motor can be mounted) this is about as far as I feel comfortable going. I would hate to get too far and run out of "juice." Believe it or not, this picture is of the enlarged segment of the lake where I am located. This part, on the main map, is much smaller. We live right where the black line pointing to "Barton's Mill" boat ramp crosses the blue line that indicates our street. We live at the corner of Tugaloo Shores and Lake Point Rd. The black line cross right over that intersection. I keep my boat chained to a tree in the cove marked as "T 60." It's on Corps Of Engineers property. From there, across the lake to the Tugaloo Campground on the Georgia side it is about 3/4 of a mile at least, if not a mile. That's from T 60 to T 59. That will give you persepective on distance. The brush piles that I fished the other day are just out from the "Port Bass" boat ramp and to the right in that cove in about 20 feet of water. I hope I have jumped through all the hoops to insert the picture into this replyGF

I used to fish many SC lakes and will say the best bite on most is right from sun up until 9am. I used to go home by 930-1000am as there was no use once the heat kicked in. I would also try fishing those brushpiles with just a #4 red hook, minnow (hooked in the back), and split shot. That is also the most inexpensive way to fish brush and not worry about breaking off, just tie a new hook on. I also spent hundreds of hours on nearby lakes where i lived. No doubt you will learn the pattern if you put in the time. Don't get discouraged, good fisherman struggle crappie fishing that lake because its so big. I would first try fishing them earlier with minnows. You will need a bait bucket with aerator this time of year.

sun up when they come in from roaming is for sure a good tip and right when they get active in the afternoon , and on big lakes they are often in one area of the lake better than others because of the bait concentrations .
google map your lake and look for the Greenest coves and try to hit them ,algae blooms attract bait and bait attracts crappie .

Crappie also move alot, I also learned stained water will also attract a good number of crappie. No stained water? They will be tight on structure. You will be losing jigs getting into the brush to get them, better to use live bait and hooks.

Gill Fisher, I'm not the guy to answer your fishing questions. But please please make sure you're wearing a life jacket when you're in that canoe. Congrats on retirement.

wow that's a big water all rite. your spawn is probably over so your looking in deeper water by now(im assuming) look for wood cover next to shore in areas where the water is deep. a channel sweeping by a shoreline can make some great places for crappie. they can also roam open water in schools chasing shad in summer. below the word Tugaloo looks like a prime example of crappie hangouts. if there are trees falling in ater there probe them with a jig verticaly deep in the brush. it takes some practice to keep from getting hung and spooking them but when you get in tune to the wood feel and have light upswings, your snags will be less of a problem.

t56
t58
t54
t63
t65 all could be gold mines if timber is present.

I have found on my reservoir that the hog crappie are more like bass. they can hold on a stump on the channel edge just like a bass does.
the bait connection is a great point too. they will hold in sections were there is more food. I can run up my small river and watch sonar for bait schools. then fish the deep cover in that area to find fish. current is another big deal in a res. checkout the dam releases before and after you go and get to know what the current is like. they can turn on like a switch from the current changes! use 2" power grubs also. res. and river crappie like bigger baits. jump from brush pile to brush pile till you connect. that's how I do it every time out with a milk run of spots learned over the many years. jig softly in the wood so you don't hang and spook them.

I hope you find this helpful down there brother.

Gill Fisher .... you get over one of those brush piles, a stand of submerged trees, or any kind of vertical structure that you can stay close to, then you might want to try this : Crappie Pappy Article

Thanks Crappie Pappy, that’s a great idea. Now, to make sure I’ve got this right, the transducer for my fish finder is mounted to the bottom of my trolling motor, and the motor is mounted to the back of the boat. So, as soon as the structure barely begins to show up on the right side of my screen in sonar or the top of my screen in side view or side image, that means the structure is under the back of the boat or just behind the boat. If I drop a marker buoy as soon as I begin to see structure on the screen, that buoy should be somewhere close to the structure. I saw on a video that the cone of the sonar’s signal on the lake bottom can be as large as a circle 10 feet in diameter, but the buoy should be close to the structure. Is that correct?

Thanks

GF