Spring cold fronts

Hello all,
I'm heading down to the Moors Resort on Kentucky Lake next weekend. I'm primarily going to be fishing Friday and Saturday the 27th & 28th. The weather forecast has taken the excitement for this trip away that has been building for weeks. If the forecast holds, which I'm hoping it does not, I'm looking at a bad spring cold front. I have found these conditions to be some of the most difficult to fish. Does anyone out there have any suggestions to put a few fish in the boat under these conditions? My trip is to Kentucky Lake, so any advice specific to that water would be great, but I'm interested in hearing from anyone about successful tactics they've used anywhere in a spring cold front.

-treeadem

Don't let the weather discourage you. Yes fishing behind a cold front is tough but you can still catch fish. The forecast for the first part of the week looks really good. The water here was really really cold until two weeks ago. I fished yesterday and saw surface temps between 55-58. The water should continue to warm this week and that means fish will move shallower. The cold front + rising pressure will drive the fish back into deeper water. I always try to slow down when fishing behind a front. This is a great time to vertical fish because fish will be deeper and holding to cover. Don't be afraid to drop your jig or minnow right down into the cover and work it up slowly in 6 inch increments. Overall fishing has been tough this march compared to past years. The cold weather in feb and early march has set things back a few weeks but the fish are bound to turn on any time. Good luck!

Thank you for the reply Slabhunter. The information you (and others on this site) provide is priceless. I will try vertical fishing in 6 inch increments a little deeper like you suggested. I usually catch some fish but I seem to miss more soft biters than I catch under cold front conditions. Do you have any suggestions on the soft biters? I really appreciate your response. Thanks again.

Do you normally fish with jigs or with minnows? I usually add a crappie nibble to my jig to give it a scent. That seems to help the fish hold onto the jig a little bit longer.

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Originally Posted by treeadem

Thank you for the reply Slabhunter. The information you (and others on this site) provide is priceless. I will try vertical fishing in 6 inch increments a little deeper like you suggested. I usually catch some fish but I seem to miss more soft biters than I catch under cold front conditions. Do you have any suggestions on the soft biters? I really appreciate your response. Thanks again.

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Give this a try : Crappie Pappy Article

The two most common types of bites that I've experienced when Vertical Casting is : #1 - the tic/thump (where it feels like your jig just bumped a branch on the way up) ... #2 - the slack line hit (where the fish's upward momentum keeps it coming up after it's hit the jig, causing the line to go slack).

I generally tend to get more of the #1 type of hits, some soft/lite & some hammer it ... but, by far my most favorite one is the #2 type !! When I get that slack line hit, I KNOW the fish can't feel any resistance from the rod tip, so they're less likely to let go or spit the jig out before I'm ramming the hook into their face. :woohoo

I've used this method with a 1/16oz jig in as little as 10 fow, and a 1/32oz jig in as much as 30 fow. If you have a sensitive tipped rod, you'll feel even the lite bites (or see them, as in the case of the slack line type of hit). I don't usually pay too much attention to lite pecks, but if I'm convinced they're coming from finicky Crappie ... I'll downsize my bait, or speed up/slow down my retrieve, or change colors, and possibly even all three.

... cp :kewl

Thanks so much for the replies fellas. I really appreciate all the help I can get. Both of you gave me some things to try. Slabhunter, I usually try both, a minnow under a slip-bobber on one rod and throw a small tube or grub on another, at least until I figure out which is better. I do most of my crappie fishing up in northern Wisconsin, but this will be my 4th spring trip down to Kentucky Lake. I really look forward to this trip every year after the long winters up here. I'll be fishing the creeks around the Moors Resort Thursday evening, all day Friday, and Saturday. I fish out of a white/red '76 Yar-Craft, so feel free to say "Hi" if you see me on the water (my name is Mike).

We'll be up there this week too. I shot you a pm.

We headed down Friday for the first time! Don't care if we catch a fish! I just want to get out of town where no one knows who the he k I am! We will be staying at Moores also! B-day party for me Sunday night after fishing!! Good luck mike and hope to see you on the water!!!
JD

Well Happy Birthday CW. Catch a bunch.

Thanks to all who replied to this thread and who messaged me. I don't think I saw 50 degrees the time I was there. The weather was miserable and the fishing was slow but we did manage to catch a few. In fact, I was probably more proud of the 4 keepers we boated in the wind, rain, hail, and snow flurries Friday evening than I have ever been on a perfect day when I killed them. Saturday was cold, but sunny and not as windy as Friday, so it was much more pleasant, though the fishing was still slow for us and those I talked to. In the end we only took 8 crappie home (not many for a 900-mile round trip) but I had a good time on the water. I'm not sure how helpful my report will be to others, since 8 fish isn't much of a pattern, but all of the fish we caught were on or near the bottom in about 12'. A dark grub fished slowly along the bottom outperformed minnows and other baits for us. Good luck to all, and thanks again!