Thread: Cranking up the filets

Me and a buddy decided to brave the heat and the weekend boat traffic yesterday and try to pull some cranks for crappie. Water temp was 87 when we started at 7:30 and reached 89.6 when we stopped at 3:30. Boat traffic didn't get bad til about 11:00, then it was awful. Big speed boats, pontoons, and jet skis everywhere. Fished in 4-5 ft waves from noon on. Boat would ride one wave up, then fall down in the valley between waves, only to have the next wave hit and wash over the bow of the boat. Kept the bilge pump busy. It was hot outside, at least it kept my feet and legs cooled off. What's crazy, it the midst of all this chaos we kept plugging along catching fish. I'm sure the people around us thought we were crazy trying to fish in that, but we ended up pulling 34 good crappie out of it. My buddy ended up with big fish of the day, a 13" slab that hung out the end of the checker. He caught it early, before the crowds hit. 1.3-1.4 mph early, 1.6-1.7 later in day. Flicker shads and bandits.