Winter Crappie Tips?

[Zippy]

Here is a video (kinda boring) that I shot this weekend for a friend down in Florida. Im set up just off a shallow flat 2-4 feet deep to my left and am casting parallel and into the deep side 10-15 feet deep. Just letting it sink and slowly retrieving. My retrieval speed is actually faster than normal since th fish were really active and bringing it in a little faster seemed to trigger them on this trip. Pay no mind to my droopy pants, lol. Winter Crappie Fishing - YouTube .

[mijsivad]

Thanks for sharing the video.

I have never watched my fish finder to see how the fish reacted to my bait. I just use it to find them.

I see you have a hummingbird fish finder. It looks similar to mine, I have a helix 5 si. Which mode do you use when you're watching fish movement?

[doggone]

here's one technique you can try.Once you have had some success with it you may want to put it in your bag of tricks along with some other methods.

Try fishing on the warmer sunnier days in the middle of the day. After the sun has had a chance to warm the water a bit.If there is a wind look for banks that the wind is blowing in to. If the water is a little murkier than the main body even better,if it has additional cover like rock and wood even better! If it has weeds or grass like milfoil or pondweed and its close to deep water bingo! Cast your jig ( try a bobber and try without) and switch your jigs around until you get bit a couple times good. For gosh sakes whatever you do don't tip it with a crappie nibble them things don't work.

You see...by this time of year the water is very nearly the same temp at different levels. The reason fish like the deeper water many times is not because its warmer....it's because it does not change temp fast,they like the stability.But when that shallow water warms some during the day,they will move up...why? Because the oxygen level is better many times....and the baitfish have moved up there and they want to catch them and eat them. Later they will probably move back to the deeper water...why? Because the shallow water will cool fast and may get colder than the deep water overnight.

Now the good part is...these fish that have made the move....they are there to feed...that's what we want right? Their are always some fish deep.And sometimes the crappie don't always move up as fast as the bass and bluegill. But hey...fishing shallow with a search and destroy attitude sure chases away the cabin fever.

Our lakes just iced out about a week ago. I went fishing Saturday and the water temp was 42 degrees when I got there at 10:30. The air temp got in the 60's though with some sun and wind. I fished wind blown banks with grass on them. I caught 10 crappie 10 to 12" and about thirty bass...the biggest was 20". And a few bluegill. I was casting into about 2 to 5 ft of water and reeling it,and not just too awful slow,the fish hit it HARD...and fought pretty hard too.

That will give you something to focus on.Watch the weather,pick your spots,adjust your presentation and baits,and go catch some fish! They ain't near as sluggish as you might think. Watch for shad to flip on the surface,that's a sign your in the right spot.And yes sir,they will flip on top even in water that cold.

Even if you become a deep water expert later...why sometimes...fishin' shallow is just....fun.

[Zippy]

Its a helix 10 si. I watch the realtime window in jigging mode. Its like a video game watching them react. They can be sitting there right under the jig perfectly still, then a little hop and they will come right up and strike, its awesome.

It is true especially on lakes and ponds that a shallow cove with the wind blowwing into it on a sunny day will bring fish shallow so its worth a try. I had a day in January of this year that the deep bite pretty much sucked but the shallow bite was going nuts, problem was a few days later they were back in their deep holes. I have just found, this early until the water warms up into the upper 40s and even then after a cold front or cold snap the more consistent action will be in deeper water with easy access to the shallows. Even as the water warms the bigger females will be hanging off these ledges waiting to go in and drop their eggs.

[mijsivad]

Awesome Thanks for the input!

[scrat]

Wow! Thanks Zippy, for making and sharing the video. I would have liked to have seen some of your sonar pictures also when you were finding and catching those fish.

[Zippy]

Scrat, I'll try to get a video of the sonar next time out. Its the best way to check the fishes attitude on a particular day. It also reasures you that the fish are down there. Seeing them down there and moving can give you a lot of confidence on a cold winter day and keep you at it and teying to figure them out. Before I started using the real time sonar i would give up early lots of time because I wasnt sure the fish were there. Now I realize they are always there you just have to work at getting them to bite.

[mijsivad]

Zippy..you are talking about the " swithfire" real time mode ...right?

[Zippy]

Its the bar on the right side of the screen. They have full color, a black and white, and the Helix 10 has something called m-scope I think. I choose the full color, wide window, and up my chart speed to 6 or 7 and turn off the color bar. It might be under the sonar menu and is called RTS (real time sonar).

[NIMROD]

I look for fish holding on deep cover on my electronics . Sometimes behind extreme cold fronts they hold just off the bottom tight to cover . Other times they can pull up high above deep cover on sunny afternoons . Remember to fish at depth fish are showing on electronics and fish slow . i use heavier jigs like 1/8 or 1/4 jig heads on Southern Pro Umbrella tubes. This helps get jigs down fast and detect bites much better on a taut line verses light jigs on a slack line .