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All were in current. Main channels on ledges. Depths varied but most were in 10-14'.
Secret? I think just too stupid to quit fishing is all :P
Didn't measure or weigh any and they all got sent home with Thumper. He might have some lengths and weights. They were standard early Eufaula crappie. Big-Boned as I'd call them ;) No monsters but still hefty.
Pictures not great as I left the camera at the house and took that with the Blackberry.
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...00228-1835.jpg
good fish!
Outstanding!!
sorry I need to change the date on the camera.was weekend.yes it was tuff.I did not measure or weigh any.as I usually dont.and yes they were all caught in the current.no secret.just luck.most caught in 10 fow.I kept trying to figure out why they were where they where . .one spot was a break line ajacent to a flat. on top of the break.near brush and stumps. the current hits all this and slows down.but but yet close enough that they can nab shad cruising by.so there are places were there appears to be current on top.but greatly reduced under water.without getting out of the chanel.eb Im still curious about your theory.
Nice catch, Thanks for posting the picture!!
LOL This is my theory, I had asked Huckabee if he could catch them in the creek with currrent and he said not very many. Out in the lake you could be catching crappie on structure one after another everyday then one day you drop down and catch a blue cat and then another. So I think to some degree that the blues run the crappie to different places, because the ones who have catfished any at all running water is fantastic when catfishing. Also the inability sometimes to fish places like they need to be fished, lets say that these crappie will go to every place to get out of the current, slack water, behind stumps ledges and so on keeping your boat there and bait down can be a task especially when you can't see the structure. Plus rising water makes them spread out. So you will catch one here and one there, many fisherman I know cover area when the fish are on a tough bite. Just a couple of theories,nothing proven yet. EB
Just returned from the Crowder/Rock Creek area.
I took in all the advice on the "Spring Spawn and Water Temps" thread as well as rereading SD West's and Thumpers report and devised a game plan for today (thanks everyone).
Instead of hitting water less than 10', I hit the channel drops out in front of the ramp at Crowder and up into Rock Creek past the bridge. We worked water that was 12 to 20 feet of water. We caught out fish in 10 to 15 feet of water.
We kept 21 today and probably threw back half that. We would have had more, but the wind bashed us and my trolling motor battery finally gave up around 2. We anchored up in several spots including the cove just before you get to the Hwy 69 bridge at Rock Creek. Water temp went from 53 to 57 in the two hours were were anchored around the rocks there. I actually saw small shad flipping around.
We spider rigged jigs and minnows. The best color was a Lime green head with a black and pink Yum Beavertails. We caught 90% of the fish on this combination. Other combination's didn't work as well, neither did minnows.
Another thing I tried is using 1/4 oz jig heads instead of 1/8th oz or even 1/16th. I also changed the line on a few reels from 10lb to 8lb. The reason is because I saw the side pulling episode on Midwest Crappie and Roger Gant said this is the combination he used because it got his bait down into the strike zone quicker and stayed there.
I reasoned that if the wind was blowing hard that the boat would be moving fast. Normally I have a hard time keeping my jigs down where I want them when the wind blows hard. However today, having two 1/4 oz jigs on 8lb test made it much, much easier and the results were some nice Crappie!
Don
I might also ad that I saw some people around the Crowder park catching Crappie from bank, especially around the brush markers.
Hope to get out one more time before that cooler weather gets here!
Thanks for all the good reports!:)
Guys it looks like a warm month so far down there. Question for you guys, will the spawn be early? With some of the water temps you guys are reporting looks as if you are one week away if you get warm weather.
Decided to head back down to Crowder today. The forecast was for highs in the 70's and partly cloudy with winds out of the South 10-20. :D A buddy of mine took off work and apparently he wasn't the only one. Saw lots of other people headed out so they must have been watching the forecast also!
We get on the water about 9:30 and headed to the bridge and it it first. Within minutes I caught the first Crappie, a big Sow of about 1.5 or so pounds on a 1/4 oz jig. The colors were Green head, Black and Pink beavertail.
We caught a few more there before the sky started getting dark. The wind really never let up and soon after we had the first of many rain showers. It did this on and off all day.
The weathermen couldn't have been further off if they'd tried! :mad:
The water temp was 54 when we arrived and by the time we left in the afternoon, it had dropped to 48 to 50 in most spots.
All our fish came by spider rigging the channel breaks in 12 to 20 fow. Every now and then we would break out the slip corks and try the shallows, but never found anything worth staying for.
The wind really caused havoc today. My TM battery ran down by 3 and it was pretty much the end of the catching for us, although we did anchor up in a few spots and caught more dinks. Boat control is everything and the last two trips out have shown that the old Motor Guide isn't going to cut it.
But that problem should be solved shortly. My 80lb thrust Terrova was waiting on me when I got home! :D Can't wait to try out the iPilot feature!
Ended the day with 16 nice keepers and probably threw back nearly that many dinks. Colors of the day were 1/4 oz Chart. Crappie Pro jig heads with either black and pink Garland Strollers or Yum Beavertails and Orange Crappie Pro head with Black and Blue Beavertails.
A few of the slabs came from Minnows, but not many. The dinks kept those hooks cleaned off.
On a side note, bought two GT Rods from Chicken George this morning and had two reels ready to go. At first, these rods seemed limber but I was happy to find out that they have some nice backbone and handled the slabs beautifully. And the price was right as well! (at least this was one of the bright spots of the day!)