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Observations On The Water/For Your Reading Pleasure
Observations On The Water
Are you an observant fisherman? I think we would all like to answer YES to that question. You know some of the best fisherman I know are the one’s able from the night before to observe weather patterns, wind direction, and time of year to know the where, how, and when to put fish in the boat. But you know… it goes much deeper than that. I think allot of times guys get TOO tuned into their depth finders and don’t pay enough attention on what’s going on around them, (I’m guilty of that I admit). The best anglers I know are able to look around as soon as they get to a lake and identify likely places to catch crappie. As they fish, you constantly see them looking around at their prey’s environment looking for clues on the why, where, and how of catching crappie. Here’s some good things to look for when your on the water.
As your fishing along a bank always look at what’s on the bank. More times than not if you see an irregular feature there is a good chance of crappie being around. Little cuts in the bank, small coves, shallow flat’s or points, lay downs or wood of any type are all likely spots where crappie could be holding.
I see it all the time while spider rigging close to a bank seems I always do better when I get around one of those irregular features as opposed to a straight bank
Baitfish... you should constantly be looking for bait fish movement on the water. By watching baitfish on the surface you may get a good clue where fish are holding. Always remember panic baitfish jumps on the surface are telling you that fish are feeding on them below. Those fish just might be big slab crappie.
Certain birds like cranes seagulls and coots feeding in an area can tell you where bait fish are thus showing you likely crappie holding spots. The one bird I run from is a cormorant or some call a water turkey. These birds hunt by the hundred’s and create a wave of destruction in their path feeding on everything and scare every fish in their path even the crappie will run from these birds, and so should you.
Wind direction and shade. You should always be looking at the way the wind is moving across the water and how shade my help you to catch fish. I love spots where the wind blows into a point creating a calm area on the other side where crappie gather to ambush prey and if that bank is shaded by a high bank you could be observing Silver Glory.
Watching other boats gathering up is always a dead give-away crappie are in an area. You may not want to charge into that crowd...but you still have a good idea where fish are being caught or may want to fish the outskirts of that area. An area with boats should be telling you HEY!!! There may be some fish being caught there and is always a good thing to put this into your memory banks for a later date.
Cover to me is always an important factor especially when I’m fishing shallower water. Crappie love cover and shade for this one important reason. They can see better…looking out from cover and the shade it provides, thus being able to ambush their prey better. You should always be very observant of the available cover you have in a certain area of the lake throughout your day of fishing and how the shade is relating to that cover.
These are a few things to look for while on the water. Please feel free to add some key observation you have made while fishing. I’m sure we would like to hear about them. I am always Leary when I fish with someone who is constantly looking around and keeping an eye on his depth finder at the same time. It’s these type of guys I’m Leary of because I know they are observant fisherman and I better put my game face on. Tight Lines…
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