Article: Crappie Fishing 101 ~ For Newbies (Cont) ~ Reason # 9

[Special K]

You can view the page at http://www.crappie.com/crappie/conte...Cont)-Reason-9

[mermentau]

Such good stuff and enjoyable reading. I'm ready for number 10 already.

Edit for a quick question. When folks talk of water temp are they talking surface or bottom? I used to carry a thermometer and found it's quite a difference at times.

[Special K]

Thanks for the response and the good question bumpaw. Generally, I think folks are talking about surface water temps when giving any types of fishing reports. You're right when you say you have noticed a lot of difference in surface and bottom temps because these differences can be huge at certain times of the year. I don't pay water temperature a whole lot of attention except during the pre-spawn and active spawn. During these times of the year I do pay much more attention to water temps... and what I am interested in most is when those temps approach 60 - 65 degrees around the Littoral Zone that I mentioned in my article well into the shallows. The temps in the shallows tend to be far more consistent than they are in the deeper waters that you tend to concentrate on during other times of the fishing year. I hope this has answered your question. Thanks again and Good luck to you.

[get the grease hot]

Just started with Crappie.com. Really enjoy your articles!!! I would like to have access to the "Top Ten Reasons Why You Don't Catch More Fish". I have read 8 and 9 but can't find 1-7. Are these available?
Thanks a Bunch!

[ccm]

Special K,
I have really enjoyed your articles and would appreciate your expanding the definition of your term "confined open water". I am still not sure what this term means.

Thanks

[Special K]

Just started with Crappie.com. Really enjoy your articles!!! I would like to have access to the "Top Ten Reasons Why You Don't Catch More Fish". I have read 8 and 9 but can't find 1-7. Are these available?
Thanks a Bunch!

Thanks for the response and the kind words brother. You can access Reasons 1 thru 7 by clicking on the HOME tab; when the HOME page opens you will see ARTICLES in the top left hand corner of the window. You will see all of the articles posted by year. Click on 2012 Articles; once it opens go back through the pages one at a time until you locate all of the articles that you are looking for in the Crappie Fishing 101 Series. The first article is entitled, "As Promised ~ Here's Crappie Fishing 101 ~ For Newbies ~ Reason #1"; then of course you can find Reasons 2 - 7 as you go through the pages. You can also find another interesting article entitled, "What Happened to the Bite at my Favorite Lake" which is also a good read. These articles are designed in such a way that they will take you through the entire year of crappie fishing. Please let me know what you think. Thanks again for the support.

[Special K]

Special K,
I have really enjoyed your articles and would appreciate your expanding the definition of your term "confined open water". I am still not sure what this term means.

Thanks

Thank you for the response and your words of support for the Crappie Fishing 101 Series of Articles. Here is a quote from Reason # 2: "Successful anglers have known for a long time that most fish species like to relate to what is known as “confined open water”— the places or interfaces between the open waters of the main-lake basin, and the lakes’ structure features such as underwater points, bars, shoals and reefs. These confined open water areas provide a myriad of benefits for crappies by offering everything from soft silt bottoms that harbor food to other structures such as ledges, cuts, roadbeds, railway beds, creek channels, river channels, underwater saddles and humps, (just to name a few), along which crappies tend to hold, suspend, travel and forage. Areas of such confined open water (structure features) are usually easily seen on structure maps and are very important because these areas actually make up (only) approximately 20% of total main lake open waters. Hopefully, you are starting to see how things are beginning to narrow down considerably, as to the areas on which you should concentrate your year-around efforts when fishing for crappies?

The importance of such areas really becomes more obvious when you view it in the context that crappies are migratory school fish that are most at home in large lakes, rivers and reservoirs where they have lots of room to roam and can freely forage. Schools of crappies (however seasonal) can cover several miles a day back and forth when on the move or could hold in an area and be quite content for some periods. Schooling crappies will usually tend to use the same migration routes along these structure features day after day and year-after-year no matter what time of the year it is. That’s right, crappies only school at certain times of the year and where you find schooling crappies this fall and winter, you will very likely find them in the same place next year and the year after, at about the same time.

Crappies whether schooling or scattered will be found mostly on submerged creek channels, drop-offs, and submerged river channels, stretches of sunken timber or stumps, rock formations, shoal edges and even featureless flats that are at the proper depths for the time of year that you are fishing. (See the Pattern Fishing Series for more on structure). Learning to rely on these very fundamental migratory instincts and understanding where and at what depth to look for crappies at certain times of the year can easily set the stage for year after year of crappie fishing success more than any other one thing that you can do to consistently find, pattern and catch crappies."

I hope this clears things up for you as to what I mean by "Confined Open Water of the Main Lake". Areas with connective underwater structure features.
Thanks again and best of luck to you, Wayne

[haysc]

did i miss reason # 10? thanks for the articles.. its been fun reading

[Special K]

did i miss reason # 10? thanks for the articles.. its been fun reading

No, you didn't miss Reason # 10. Because of a more hectic work schedule than I thought... I have been somewhat delayed and I am still working on it and I hope to have it completed very soon.
Reason # 10 is going to deal with the post spawn period which is already upon us. I apologize for the delay... but these articles take a whole lot of time and I refuse to rush them in any way shape or form... and will hold out as long as it takes to make the article all that it needs to be. Thanks for the support and the kind words.

[haysc]

Sweet.just making sure I didn't somehow miss it!

Sent from TapaTalk 2