Cotaco Creek, 15 November 16...pleasant morning

[Spaceman]

Had the privilege to go fishing early this morning until noon. Water was 64 degrees. Still no current. Water keeps dropping...it's really low. 10 keepers...10-12 inches. Big fish was 12 inches. Shorts to keepers were 3 to 1...once I was lucky enough to figure out they wanted BG Blue Ice and nothing else. As always, shorts released. Bite was very subtle, but once hooked the crappie were full of energy.

Arrived at Triana to launch before sunrise. Was able to watch the super moon for a few minutes. Picture is terrible, but the actual moon was fantastic. Was able to watch another beautiful sunrise. Arrived at Cotaco just at sunrise, and had the whole creek to myself. Bite was very slow. Again, once I discovered Blue Ice was the bait, the bite improved. It was slow but steady. Came across 4 other boaters. 3 were fishing minnows, no luck. One was catching catfish and no crappie. The other fisherman was fishing jigs under a float and wasn't having any luck.

The best fisherman of the day was the Great Blue Heron. He was one for one. I had the blessing to watch him at work. He pecked a 10-ish inch crappie, put it on the bank to die, and guarded the crappie carefully. I trolled up to the Heron for a closer look and he was not leaving. I was fortunate to get an okay picture.

On the way out, the gentleman catching catfish with minnows was happy to have the 10 crappie. I was pleased...saved me from cleaning

What another blessed day: super moon; a beautiful sunrise, lucky to make a decent catch number wise; and the privilege to see a Great Blue Heron on the hunt.

[Prater4586]

Another Great report Spaceman, Thanks!

[John Doe]

Keep on reporting Spaceman - enjoy them immensely!

[TNriveriscrappie]

Great report thanks for the info! If you dont mind me asking, what depths were you fishing and did you spider rig?

[Spaceman]

TNriveriscrappie: I fished several different techniques today depending on the structure. I did some vertical jigging; flipping; and, cast and retrieve. Depth varied depending on the structure. I used a 1/24oz jig with a loop knot. Some bites today were not detectable. I had to watch the line...and, on occasion the line was slowly moving away.

Cotaco Creek is not conducive for spider rigging. I am set up for spider rigging, but do not. I prefer to single pole. Reality is my spider rig set up is a rod holder with rods baited differently for quick exchange. Although while trolling along the creek, I will sometimes set one or two rods out the side of the boat with a different bait to see if I can tease an opportunity bite. I had one today. It was a stripe.

[Slabprowler]

Great report! Glad you figured em out ! Nice mess

[Ditch Basser]

Great report and thanks for sharing! I'm glad you're back to chasing the specks on a regular bases.

[flintcreek]

Thanks for sharing your technique for catching, enjoy the reports.

[Spaceman]

Flintcreek: The goodness of this site is the willingness of members to share information/techniques that are helpful, including what works and what doesn't. For me, I learned some time ago fishing and being on the water is a privilege and has to be fun. Fishing is fun. Catching is a bonus. There are days, the catch just isn't there. There are days a big fish comes off at the boat. It's all good. It is still fun being outdoors.
Most of my fishing is catch and release. If I do keep some, most of the time it is to give them away. One of my best days was about 5 years ago. My son and I had the honor to catch and deliver a dozen or so crappie to my sons scout leader's father who was too elderly to fish anymore. Seeing the joy in my son and this gentleman made my day. Happy to share anytime.

[TNriveriscrappie]

Thank you for sharing spaceman. I am a single pole fisherman myself. I have yet to make the switch to spider rigging but It seems to have its advantages in the summer for sure! I typically use either a 1/16 or 1/32 jig for the majority of my fishing. I know what you mean on the undetectable bites. Ill cast 1/8th oz jigs and let them sink down to 30 ft at times, those bites are RARELY felt. Its all about watching that line jump . Keep up the good work!