Article: Crappie Fishing 101 (Cont.) ~ For Newbies ~ Reason # 3

You can view the page at http://www.crappie.com/crappie/conte...es-(Continued)

Hello Special K,

This series of articles are great. I am new to crappie fishing, and I really appreciate all the help. I have read #1 and #2, and #8 somewhere on this board, but I am having a hard time locating the other 7 reasons. Can you give me some advice on accessing the remainder?


Thank you,
Dean

I appreciate the response and the kind words about the "Crappie Fishing 101 For Newbies Series" of articles brother. All of these articles are scheduled to be published on the HOME PAGE ARTICLES SECTION in order... about one week apart. Currently, however, only articles 1 thru 3 have been published to the HOME PAGE. You can access the article that you haven't seen yet or review them as often as you like by going to the NC Board. Once you the NC Board opens look toward the top of the page and you will see "STICKY FOR ALL STICKYS" click on it; once it opens you will see "Crappie Fishing 101 by Special K." I hope these articles continue to help you find, pattern and catch more crappies.

Thanks for posting these articles. They are great!

I agree these are great KEEP THEM COMING:biggrin Thanks And GOOD FISHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I appreciate the encouraging words BTB and crappie chaser 1. I am very glad to hear how much you like the articles and I hope you are getting some useful information from them that you will find helpful to you. Wayne

Im not a pro here but I guess I just disagree. I fish A LOT and from what Im gathering from this article is that low pressure turns fish off. I catch more fish on rainy cloudy days than any other time. And if you have a nice cloudy day to fish and it clears up thats whey the fish start getting lock jaw for me.Am I just not reading something correctly.... What ive learned from watching professional bass fishing tournaments on tv is that bluebird high pressure days are like cryptonite to bass unless fishing in clear water for smallmouth. I know where talking about crappie here but its still the same principle. please correct me if Im looking at this incorrectly. My fishing experiences are always the EXACT opposite.

I agree 100% with your observations that low pressure, falling or rising barometer is the best time to catch fish. I had this question posed to me on the NC Board as well by a brother CDC'er out of Virginia. Please let me try to clarify my point in the article. First, I was limited by the CDC forum as to how many words I could post... so the explanation of this (sadly) had to be deleted (or edited) because of those space limitations. I think the specific object of your comments comes from the words, "In the summer months, up until early fall when crappies begin to look toward the shallow water they have the “maddening” habit of ‘suspending’ in relatively open water, without any regard or relationship to structure. They appear to just sit there and ‘sulk’, refusing to bite anything unless it is placed (nearly) directly in their mouths." And then again when I went on to say, "According to many studies and articles that I have read… crappies experience this discomfort or distress during any periods of low pressure, causing them to tend to lay low and limit activity until they find deeper water or until high pressure returns. I feel sure that you have read the reports and even noticed “first hand” for yourself that the “bite” drops off dramatically and immediately following sudden changes in barometric pressure and returns when pressure stabilizes again in the area." This behavior deals specifically with suspended crappies in the late summer and very early fall when crappies are limited to where they can exist comfortably in the water column due to the warm water temperatures and the poor oxygen levels of the deeper water. During this time higher pressure doesn't affect their swim bladders as much as lower pressure does. I should have been clearer about this point... I will agree... but that point being (only) that when crappies experience lower pressure during the late summer and early fall when they are suspended... "They usually relieve this discomfort by moving deeper in the water column (which increases the pressure on their bladders) or by absorbing extra gas into their bladders over time. Because of the anatomical and physiological stresses exerted on fish during these changes, they’re not nearly as worried about eating and are far less active or aggressive than normal. During this time of low air pressure, crappies are more concerned with trying to find a depth where they can stabilize their bladder pressure and find comfort… a “comfort zone” of sorts …where the pressure is reduced or more equalized." My point was simply that crappies cannot get relief (at least not in the Southeast) by going lower in the water column because of poor dissolved oxygen levels in the deeper water. Instead they can only wait until such a time as they can adjust to the falling barometric pressure by adjusting to the lower pressure by means of their own biology. I have found that this behavior is exactly the same for bass during the months that they tend to be suspending at shallower depths over deeper water. They too tend to react negatively to sudden drops in barometric pressure. I am sorry for the confusion and I appreciate you pointing this out. I am very seriously looking at changing some wording to make what you have pointed out a little clearer and less confusing. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

SpecialK, that makes total sense now. I actually thought about your article ALL DAY! Yeah yeah yeah, get a life right!! the more I thought about it the more I realized that you were talking about times when there was a thermocline... That was my mistake. I was just thinking about some of the fishing trips Ive had where the rain moves in and barometer are dropping like a rock and flat kick but on those days. I hope that I didnt offend you at all by questioning you. I LOVE reading your articles. Keep them coming!!!!I have learned something now that you clarified those few things. I was just having a hard time wrapping my mind around everything revolving around thermocline in this article.. I do believe that now that I understand what was clarified that this will in fact help me put more fish in the boat.... (Or just stay home!!!!) LOL I live in southern ohio so all of this definetly applies to the waters that I fish for there are thermoclines set up in summer/fall. Thanks again..

I admit I must take some of the blame though... because it is very clear how that point in the article seems to say something totally different other than what it was intended to say. I'm still looking at re-wording it somehow to make it more clear to everyone who reads it. Again, I really appreciate you bringing it up and I have no problem whatsoever with you voicing your opinion... in fact I respect you for having done so. I'm glad I was able to clarify things... at least so it would let you know that it this reference only applies to time when there is high temps and a thermocline. I wish you the best of luck and I appreciate the kind words about the articles.