T-Ville

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Originally Posted by danrclem

Do any of you crappie experts have any tips for fishing Taylorsville for crappie? I'm am very crappie illiterate. I've been fishing for them at Taylorsville for several years but usually don't get to go that much. I go to Taylorsville because it's only about 15 miles from my house to Settlers Trace and very seldom go anywhere else. I've only had one good year catching crappie at Taylorsville and that was a couple years or so ago. Pappy might have given me a clue about early May because I figured the crappie spawned earllier up there and early May I've usually given up on the crappie.
I was laid off last week and netted one crappie a little less than 12" long in two outings of about 3 hours each. I threw it back because it was the only one that I caught so I don't know if it had eggs or not. We caught a couple cats, a nice bluegill and a 10" bass too. The surface water was a little over 67 degrees. I'm going to be laid off again this week so I think I'll try it again even though I have a long honeydo list.

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The best tips I can give, come from many years past ... so I don't know if they're relevant nowadays. In any event, here's how I've had the best success :

Fish the pockets off the main lake, but only if they have at least 10+ fow at the outside, and they have standing tree hulks from front to back. Look for fallen trees coming off the bank, out into those pockets.

Fish ANY fallen tree that sticks out into the water, whether it's on the main lake or in a pocket, or in a creek. Those that are large & stick out into deeper water (>12ft) are better than the shallower ones, normally ... but, don't pass up a chance to try at the tip ends of even the shallower ones.

While there are some fish that can be caught in a couple of feet of water, most of my "spawning" fish were caught around 6-8ft deep ... and almost always relating to wood. Banks that are shaded for the most part of the early part of the day, seemed to always produce better for me than those exposed to direct sunlight from the early morning hours on. This seemed to be the case, even into the Summer months, well after the post spawn period.

Good places (downed trees, brushpiles) come & go, from year to year ... mostly due to the flooding that takes place. This can make T-ville a little bit of a daunting task to pattern. It can also make or break a bank, pocket, or a spot where you've had previous success. Always keep searching for new spots, even while moving from one previously successful spot to another, on your "milk run".

Keep these words in the back of your mind, at all times, when fishing T-ville :

8ft deep (most often found depth of suspended fish, & spawning fish)
wood (standing in 8fow or more, or lying down & sticking out into >15fow)
slow retrieve (self explanatory)

Try Vertical Casting* around standing trees & down into fallen trees ... even if you've cast to these trees without success. Keep track of how deep your jig is, if/when the hit comes ... it'll give you a good idea of the depth the fish are suspending at, whether they're down in the heart of the tree/limbs or suspending above them, and how aggressively they're feeding (what mood they're in).
* Crappie.com - Crappie Fishing Information and Adventure - Vertical Casting

... cp :cool:

Thanks for the quick replys and tips JC and Pappy. I'll probably go Wednesday and try it again. I think what you two guys told me will help. I usually don't fish the main bodies of the lake but I'm definitely going to try and I know I stick around too long trying to catch another fish. I use minnows because I haven't ever caught anything with a jig. I need to start thinking different. If I do any good I'll let you guys know.

CP,

I read your entire article on vertical casting. I luv it. I have fished in a similar mannor but always moved the jig way to much now that I think about it. This would be a great way to fish T-Ville and will try it when I get back from KY Lake. I have a funeral to attend up in WI and then fly back in Saturday morning for an almost week long trip to Blood River and Malcolm Creek. Never fished Malcolm Creek but looking forward to it. I will let you know how I do and will keep you posted on my vertical casting.

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Originally Posted by Jigboy

CP,

I read your entire article on vertical casting. I luv it. I have fished in a similar mannor but always moved the jig way to much now that I think about it. This would be a great way to fish T-Ville and will try it when I get back from KY Lake. I have a funeral to attend up in WI and then fly back in Saturday morning for an almost week long trip to Blood River and Malcolm Creek. Never fished Malcolm Creek but looking forward to it. I will let you know how I do and will keep you posted on my vertical casting.

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... at T-ville, and at Watts Bar .. but, I probably started doing it at Herrington Lake, some 35-40 years ago :eek:

Back then, I used a regular 1/16oz marabou tail/chenille body jig ... straight off the shelf el cheapo jigs from Wal-Mart :p I wasn't into using jigs as much as I was minnows, back then ... but, I learned the trick from a good (late) friend of mine, that used to live on Herrington. Another (late) good fishing buddy of mine, brought it back into my mind, when he started doing it on a Watts Bar trip we took ... maybe 15-20yrs ago. It worked way back then ... and it works now ;)

Like I said in the article ... I didn't "invent" it ... I just gave it a name. I not only use it, because it works, but because it reminds me of two of my past fishing partners. Just paying it forward ... to all my "new" fishing friends !!

Enjoy !!

... cp :cool:

I went to Taylorsville and just got home. We caught 3 bass and none of them were keepers and no crappie. I'm going back tomorrow and try again. I didn't try the vertical casting today but will tomorrow if I don't have any luck fishing other ways.

I did have a good day just being out on the lake. Catching some keeper crappie would even make it better.

I just got back a little while ago from Taylorsville. My wife and I caught 5 black crappie and 4 were keepers. The biggest one was a little over 12 inches and the other three were about 9 1/2 inches. The one we threw back was 8". We caught them about 5 to 7 ft. deep over and around what I believe is a brush pile.

CP, two of them didn't have eggs and the 12 incher had mushy yellow eggs and the smaller female had mushy eggs that didn't look very yellow. Does this mean that they're getting ready to spawn?

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Originally Posted by danrclem

I just got back a little while ago from Taylorsville. My wife and I caught 5 black crappie and 4 were keepers. The biggest one was a little over 12 inches and the other three were about 9 1/2 inches. The one we threw back was 8". We caught them about 5 to 7 ft. deep over and around what I believe is a brush pile.

CP, two of them didn't have eggs and the 12 incher had mushy yellow eggs and the smaller female had mushy eggs that didn't look very yellow. Does this mean that they're getting ready to spawn?

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I would say that they're probably "trying hard" to find a spawning bed. I just hope this rain event doesn't flood'em out AGAIN, like it has so many of the previous years. :o

If the eggs were a light yellow, I think that indicates they're "almost" ready .... if they were a light yellow/orange color, I think that means they're ready & mature enough to drop. The "mushy" consistancy usually means they're close to being dropped ... and it makes me nervous if the eggs are still bright yellow AND mushy, since that might indicate that the eggs aren't ready - but the water temps are getting close to the maximum upper level.

IF you caught these fish in the 5-7ft range, over/around brush (wood) .... that tells me they're "trying" to spawn. This yo-yo weather (temp changes) has everything bamboozled :p .... from plants to animals, and even the fish. We get a week of warm, stable weather, and we might see the banks full of various species of fish trying to spawn :eek: :D

Remember that spot ;) .... and if you get a chance to return to T-ville, thru the next month or so, hit it as early as you can (while it's still got shade over it) and you might find them still hanging around it ;)

Oh, and don't make the mistake I see so many T-ville anglers make, when fishing a large blowdown : DON'T pull up on it & tie up :eek: .... start fishing well out from it (whether using minnows OR jigs) and work your way in closer. ;) I've always found Crappie that hang around these fallen trees, after the spawn, to normally be out around the tops/tips that extend into the deeper water. This is true whether it's shaded or not, in most cases. They may not be as deep as the branches go, but suspended about 6-8ft deep over top of those end branches. They "will" go deeper into the deep branches, when the shade leaves ... and may even leave the tree, altogether ... but, I've rarely found them to be up close to the bank & trunk of the tree, except when good spawning conditions are in place & they're well into the spawn.

... luck2ya ... cp :cool:

CP, thanks for your knowledge, insight and willingness to share it. I have to go back to work next week so I'll try to go back next weekend if the weather is right. Maybe I should try and get a week of vacation this week. :D

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Originally Posted by danrclem

CP, thanks for your knowledge, insight and willingness to share it. I have to go back to work next week so I'll try to go back next weekend if the weather is right. Maybe I should try and get a week of vacation this week. :D

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I don't know as I'd waste a whole week's vacation :D

After this rain, I'd keep track of this : Louisville District Daily Lake Report and see how the rain affects the water levels.

You can click on the blue highlighted number, under Todays Pool Feet, and it will show you a chart that lists how much rain they got (Precip) ... what the water level is (Elev) ... and how much/fast they're letting it out (Flow). (you can also see how the rains have affected the water levels for the past year)

I've got a hunch that it's going to rise several feet, after this frog choker of a rain we're going to get ... so it could be a week or more before things are stable & settled. THEN is when I'd normally be going down there, being there at first light, and checking out the shady bank blowdowns ;) ... and heading home around noonish (unless I stayed & played with the Hybrids :p )

... cp :cool:

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Originally Posted by crappiepappy

I don't know as I'd waste a whole week's vacation :D

After this rain, I'd keep track of this : Louisville District Daily Lake Report and see how the rain affects the water levels.

You can click on the blue highlighted number, under Todays Pool Feet, and it will show you a chart that lists how much rain they got (Precip) ... what the water level is (Elev) ... and how much/fast they're letting it out (Flow). (you can also see how the rains have affected the water levels for the past year)

I've got a hunch that it's going to rise several feet, after this frog choker of a rain we're going to get ... so it could be a week or more before things are stable & settled. THEN is when I'd normally be going down there, being there at first light, and checking out the shady bank blowdowns ;) ... and heading home around noonish (unless I stayed & played with the Hybrids :p )

... cp :cool:

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I think you're right. ;) When I posted my last post I didn't realize that we were going to get this much rain. It's been raining for some time here and is still coming down. Our whole area is under a flood watch advisory and that includes the lake. I think I'll take the sit back, wait and watch approach.