Thread: Carl Blackwell archives

Woo Hoo! Been Waitin on this to happen! Thanks SC! See you Sunday !

CP...what have you been waiting on? The shad to move in? I am not sure if the crappie are on the rocks at the dam or not, I may find out before the weekend if we can get a day without much wind. I will let you know if I do any good if I make it out

Waitin for it to move OUT bro. Tired of puttin chap stick on my elbows! Lol been a good run but ready for the change. I'm game!

When I got there this morning there was 4 people inside and I was only one outside. It was nice.

Fished late afternoon. Shad were still very thick. Rosy reds were working very well for two young guys. Hand tied and plastic both working pretty well also. Inside was 4 cranks off the bottom. Outside was 4-6 inches off the bottom. Lots of small fish on the rocks. Let a young girl about 7-8 who had been having no luck use my rod. She got seven nice crappie. It was great to watch her having fun with them.

Yesterday was another good day of fishing. Of course any fishing day is a good day. Catching is a bonus. Dead sticking worked best for the crappie. Minnows were working well, especially for Joe. Switched to fishing cats with fresh shad and got about 45 bites (but only 6 cats) Felt more like small sand bass bites most of the time. Other guys caught the cats early in the morning, and Charles got a hybrid. The big excitement of the day came when a guy hooked a BIG saugeye that got tangled up with three other lines, which led to a very unhappy ending (except for the saugeye).
My wife says that the main reason I go fishing is to have someone to BS with, so that part of the day was very successful also. Met some very nice folks.

How deep are the Crappie being caught? Is the depth varying much from day to day and colder to warmer temps? Thanks.

16-18 feet worked for me. The minnows were working a little shallower. But the depths vary quite a bit. We had about two weeks where the afternoon bite was great at 2-6 feet, but it was no good yesterday. When it was warmer, the smaller crappie were right up against the rocks, feeding on the shad. Most days, dropping to the brush and reeling very slowly upward has been best, but lately dead-sticking has been better. The best advice I can give is to try different depths and techniques until you stimulate the bite. Colors make a difference, but not as much as technique. The best colors have been black/chartreuse, brown/orange, blue/silver, red/chartreuse, clown, and white w/a silver wrap arond the body.