Quick Report

Sat042009
"Raleigh Area Lake"
4:30pm
7:30pm
Water Temp: 67F
04 crappie
released
10.0-13.5"
4'-10' down in 7'-10'
#6 Vanish Transition


1/8oz chart-gold sparkle tube jig
*slip bobber/minnow

Sat042709
"Raleigh Area Lake"
4:30pm
7:30pm
Water Temp: 69F
03 crappie
released
10-11"
4'-10' down in 7'-10'
#6 Vanish Transition


1/8oz chart-gold sparkle tube jig
*slip bobber/minnow


Mehhh. I went fishing anyway:)

Sun050309
"Raleigh Area Lake"
6:45am
10:00am
Water Temp: 74F
04 crappie
released
10-15.25" (15.25"= 2.33 lbs
8-10' down in 8-10'
#6 Vanish Transition


slip bobber/minnow
*bare hook and weight


The fishing was slow, but I caught a decent one at the beginning (1.6 lbs) and again at the end (2.33 lbs). For the first time ever, I caught a fish without hooking it. It definately hit the bait, but missed. The hook went around the body of the fish and caught the line, lassoing the fish! My big fish swallowed the hook but since there was no blood, I cut the line. She had eggs coming out of her.
I missed two big ones today. One I speculate the first to have been around 2lbs, but the other may have been larger than the 2.33 lb fish. It was BIG. Oh well:)

In a few minutes I will post today's pot bellied Pomoxis in "big fish pics".

Jeremy

good job crat...you always seem to dial the big ones in..

Wed051309
Lake Shelbyville, Illinois
6:45am
5:00pm
Water Temp: 74F
20 crappie (est)
released
10-11.5"
8-10' down in 15-25'
#6 Fireline Crystal


*slip bobber/minnow



I went back to my old stomping grounds and fished with my dad on Lake Shelbeyville. Driving rain, high wind, constant lightning...hail. Just like old times. The lake was way up so I didn't have the chance to fish many of our most familiar spots. My dad got a new boat. It's an 18' Bass Tracker with a 150 saltwater motor. I wonder how many other saltwater motors there are in Illinois? Oh well, It goes a bit faster than the 1976 16' Glastron 115 evinrude. The storage is amazing, too!

Sun061409
"Raleigh Area Lake"
6:15am
10:50am
Water Temp: 86F
10 crappie
harvested
10-15.5" 15.5"=2.23 lbs
5-10' down in 7-10'
#6 Vanish Transition


*1/16 chart jig
split shot and #2 aberdeen



Would you believe it had been 5 weeks since I fished, and even longer since I launched the boat. This is fundamentally wrong. The crappie are really settling into their summer pattern as my largest fish was caught on the *you guessed it* midlake hump!

Tues061609
"Raleigh Area Lake"
3:15pm
8:30pm
Water Temp: 81F
13 crappie
harvested
10-14.5"
3-10' down in 10'
#6 Vanish Transition


*1/16 chart jig
split shot and #2 aberdeen



Encore!

Sat062009
"Raleigh Area Lake"
6:30am
10:30am
Water Temp: 85F
08 crappie
released
11.5-16" (16"=2.17 lbs; 15.25"=1.98 lbs)
3-10' down in 10'
#6 Vanish Transition


1/16 chart jig
*split shot and #2 aberdeen



Well I found them about 40' away from where I usually catch them. There were two layers of fish on the midlake hump today, but i didn't get a bite. Nevertheless, it won't be long! I lost a crappie that I believe to have been in excess of 3lb. When I am fighting a fish, I take a very long time to get it in. I set my drag extremely light when it is under the boat and a bit tighter when it swims towards the perifery. Unfortunately, after fighting the fish for what seemed like 3 minutes and getting one very good look at it about 10' from the boat, I failed to loosen my drag when it swam straight down. Hook popped out. Game over. I'll get it next time. Still, as I think back, there is only one or two notable fish that I may have landed if I furninshed a net--and that wasn't one of them.

Maybe it's just me, but I really enjoy lifting the fish in the boat by hand. I enjoy it as much as releasing the fish unharmed (and almost as much as eating them with a healthy coating of old bay seasoning). When a slab breaks the surface for the first time, I determine the quality and location of the hookset--and tailor a direction and aggression of pull that I believe gives me the best chance to get my thumb in its mouth. I've seen many fish get off the hook because of the chaos of blindly flailing for the net, and then coarsley pulling the fish towards it. In the end, I believe that just as many crappie can be landed without a net than with. Bold claim. Maybe I'm wrong. Let me know why.

Tues062309
"Raleigh Area Lake"
4:30pm
8:10pm
Water Temp: 86.6F
14 crappie
13 harvested 1 released
10.5-16" (16"=2.41 lbs)
3-9' down in 7-10'
#6 Vanish Transition


*1/16 glow ice fishing jig
split shot and #2 aberdeen
slip bobber and minnow

My midlake hump is officially open for the summer! 10 of 14 keepers were pulled off of it including the 9 largest. Again the fish were stacked on the hump...they weren't really interested in vertical minnow rigs--they preferred jigs...but a very strange and tiny solid body type. They would not touch the 1.5" gold/chart standby setup. Instead they went crazy for a glow-white 3/4" ice fishing plastic (Illinois leftovers) on a short shaft 1/16 oz chart head. I have had tournament success with this same plastic back in Illinois--but only once did it outperform the traditional tube. I'll take a picture of it soon.
I also had some success fishing the hump with a slip bobber and minnow pitched to wherever the boat hadn't cast its shadow yet. I hauled in a 1.78 lb crappie and a 1.67 lb crappie on that. But the jig caught more fish and big fish, including the 2.41 lb slab (which was released after a quick photo-op).

I had a great time with my coworker today. He fished with me about 10 months ago on the same spots...with similar results. We both had a great time...and he's got some good eating ahead of him.

great going crat. glad to hear "the hump" is back in business. man i wish i could find me one of those things.