Dirty Fishing Done Dirt Cheap by Brad Wiegmann

Every spring it happens. Heavy spring rains fall and your favorite lake, river or pond water clarity changes from gin clear to downright muddy. So muddy you don’t even want to put your boat in the water, but crappie catching is far from over once the water clarity is limited.

Sure enough, dirty fishing is just something crappie anglers have to learn how to do. The best part about limited water clarity is crappie will move to obvious locations making them easier to target and catch. Depending on the body of water you are fishing these locations have wave action, current and water temperatures that will influence how quickly mud lines move or water clarity changes.



Arkie Lures pro staffer Payton A. Usrey knows all too well how muddy water clarity changes where and how crappie will be located or bite. “What I like to do is fish shallow brush or shoot boat docks when the water clarity turns to mud from the spring rains. Once the water gets muddy the crappie will move up again making them easier to target,” said Usrey.



Usrey likes to fish Arkie Lures Shineee Hineees or Sexy Tail Shad which Usrey uses because they are affordable and catch crappie. “We’ll just take our Shinee Hinees or Sexy Tail Shad and cast them right around the wood or boat dock floats. If the crappie are there they will bite,” said Usrey.

When the water starts warming up in the spring, Usrey follows the crappie migration from deep water habitat to prespawn areas. However, if spring rains turn Beaver Lake into a mud pit, Usrey has to adjust and fish for crappie accordingly. Shallow water prespawn areas or around boat docks provides the perfect place for crappie to feed and incubate their eggs. “Oxygen levels also get low when the water gets muddy so crappie will move shallow for better oxygen,” said Usrey.

Time of year for shooting docks is February to June, crappie will move up on docks staging to spawn and wait around docks when the water temperature gets in the 50s and stay there till the temperature is just right before heading to shallow water to spawn. An angler can go to docks and catch them every day during this time of year.

“Crappie also move to docks because they offer cover to nose up too. Our boat docks on Beaver Lake have black encapsulated floats, boat lifts or even boats and when the sun hits them the water temperature will warm up a degree or two. Crappie just love that during spring on cold days,” said Usrey.

Amazingly, Usrey loves to fish docks on windy days. “On windy days docks are great to fish and catch crappie although it can be challenging. It pushes baitfish right to them and crappie will suspend around boat docks and ambush them coming by,” said Usrey.

The size of the jig head matters when fishing around wood or shooting boat docks. Usrey uses 1/16-ounce Arkie Lures Shineee Hineees or Arkie Lures Sexy Tail Shad. The lighter head allows it to fall just right giving the crappie time to grab hold of it especially around boat docks where it’s a reaction bite.

As for color, Usrey likes chartreuse/chartreuse when fishing with a Shineee Hineee. When fishing with a Sexy Tail Shad combined with an Arkie Walleye Jig Head, Usrey has been fishing with a Cajun colored Sexy Tail Shad with a lime/chartreuse 1/16-ounce jig head.

When shooting boat docks, Usrey uses B’n’M Rods SharpShooter Deluxe Six. “It’s a six foot rod that’s stiff enough to set the hook yet sensitive enough to feel a bite,” said Usrey.

B’n’M Poles SharpShooter Deluxe 6 (www.bnmpoles.com) is a one piece rod designed with 98% graphite blank for a longer more accurate cast even with jigs as light as 1/64-ounce. The rods feature a micro tip eyelet, Dyna Flo guides, hook keeper, Portuguese cork and fixed reel seat and touch system.

Dirty crappie fishing isn’t for everyone, however, sometime when the spring rains come and muddy up the water you just have to fish. Of course it doesn’t hurt that you can crappie fish in the mud with just a couple lures. All you have to look for is shallow wood or boat docks and fish around to be successful in muddy water.