Alrighty then .... here's the scoop :

Headed out early Fri AM and got on the lake around 9AM (after the obligatory stop at Wallace World for licenses & food). Lake appeared to be down about a foot from Summer pool, and fairly clear (vis about 2ft to almost 4ft, in places). Sorry, no water temps, but it was reported to be around 60deg.
Lake was calm and the sky was sunny. We stayed at Arrowhead Resort, and fished mostly in that creek (Rector Branch), never getting any farther away from there, than Half Moon Island (mouth of Whites Creek). When we started, we were shooting docks. But, that soon proved to be mostly a mistake. As it turned out, the Black Crappie were not at home. We then went to deeper brush, as had been the report from some of my local contacts/site members. Bingo ... fish on. Friday's tally was a limit apiece, for my partner and myself. Brought 22 of the bigger fish in, and cleaned 'em.

The Haul ... (crushed beer can for measuring scale ... LOL !! )


Partner Paul with a nice one :


Saturday ... awoke to interrmittant rain showers, but nothing heavy. Finally started to clear, and off we went. Fished thru our same "milk run" spots, in Rector Branch, and picked up a few. Wind got up a bit, so we looked for sheltered banks to fish. Ended up at a pea gravel bank, on Half Moon Island, and fished for awhile. Decided to head to another spot, when disaster struck. Battery wasn't up enough to start big motor ... hand cranking proved to be a lesson in futility, but along came our rescuer. Cell phone troubles kept us from contacting home base (Arrowhead), but a passing boat saw us trying to crank the motor, and offered a tow. After we got towed in, we put the battery back on charge. Just on a hunch, and because the battery was only two years old (and used little), I decided to check the water levels. Yep ... below the plates. Partner hadn't checked water levels :o during the monthly charge ups. OK ... another round trip to Wally World ... this time to get distilled water (several stops, along the way, proved fruitless). Back to the boat & charged up the battery ... and added the water. Then, a nagging thought crossed both our minds .... would it work, and not leave us stranded again ?? Not taking any chances, it's back to Wally World, and a new battery. Saturday is over and done. Tally for the day ... 13 fish to clean. Not "too bad" for a shortened day, post frontal conditions to boot.

Partner Paul with another nice one ..


Some of my better ones ...



(only 1 Black Crappie caught during the trip)


Sunday ... fished about half a day, caught and released 8 fish. Same depth, same techinques, just a little slower to bite. Packed up and headed home.

Ok, now for the "details" :
Depth : 14ft seemed to be the magic number
Baits : tube jigs, Whirley Bee, curly tail grub, Crappie Slug
Colors : (tubes) yellow/char, blk/char, blue/char, green/char -- (curly tail grub) orange -- (crappie slug) Popsicle, Firetiger
Jighead weight : 1/16oz weedless
Technique/methods : casting to submerged brush -- shooting docks
Tally for the trip : 55 keepers caught (in a somewhat shortened 2.5day trip) ... 40 fish kept to clean & bring home.

And so, another "adventure" ends, all too soon .... looking forward to the next one !!

... cp