Can't buy a crappie

Not sure what I am doing wrong/different but the crappie are not cooperating with me. Anybody else been getting wet and skunked?

My son and i fished in 14 fow 12 to 13 feet deep with bass minnows and kept 20 in the 10" range this afternoon

Congrats on the catch Smoker. Gonna try again Sunday morning for a short trip. Gonna take something for the gills in case the crappie don't cooperate.

I went out at halftime of missou game and fished a bit they were not biting but at halftime of ND game water had warmed p some and they started biting I like to fish late this time of year at least you will be warmer

both good answers!

i agree with dan on later in the day. spring and fall give us water temp changes over night. think of them as minni cold fronts.

also, what smokercraft said about depth. they were obviously shoved close to bottom by something. always fish top to bottom untill you find what your looking for. most days at my water, they hold 4-6dwn. when weather turns bad they can still be in the same area but hugging bottom. at times its even necessary to pound bottom with tiny jigs, and let it lay. when i have to work that hard though, i switch to cats or bass. lol

i havent made it out in a week or so. when i do im headed to wood on steep banks in deeper water. probe tight in the wood and bump cover with 1/8twistertail (with scent!) hopefully i find them at 4-6ft. they are much easier to fish shallower. when you get past the depth your pole can reach. you run the risk of having to break off on a snag. instead of quietly pushing jig free with rod tip. when you yank and raise ell down there they shut down. either sit and wait or come back and fish later. i spend about 5 min. probing a tree top, then i move on. i have a milk run of spots from 30yrs of fishing that water. cant make them feed when they arent hungry though. its still fishin :dono :scratchheadWhite Flag Icon

LOL. You got that right River Scum. Got back out and got the skunk out of the boat but still not the type of success as in years past. Caught 3 in the 12 in range from around 15-18 fow just outside the weedlines. Think I will try in the evening next week and see if that makes a difference. Thanks for the pointers. The lake I fish is super clear, not much wood, good weedlines and lots of deep water.

I'm the opposite, JP, I like it dirty. I'm out most weekends and the bite is getting better and better. Saturday morning they had tight lips, but by 11 am, they seemed to find their appetites once again. My water temps are hovering around 60 on the surface, and looks like turnover happened very quickly. I caught some good fish this past weekend and once they hit the top few feet of water they were like rocket ships! Hang on tight!

slid out yesterday. really had to work them slow. mostly dinks caught with 6 filleted for lunch here in a while. mite try again this afternoon.

No changes over here in W. central IN. Crappie bite has been good for the past 6 weeks. Picked up 60 this last Sunday. Everything on jigs. They are starting to scatter some, with fish to be had both shallow and deep right now. Move around until you find a good group of biters. Quality has been above average on my waters, also...a nice bonus. Keep at 'em. The bite should only get better over the next few weeks.

-T9

got out the other day with my cousin. we had to fish a bunch of spots to find decent fish. still didnt crack 12" though.