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I am a novice to crappie fishing but have found them a blast to chase. Looking for some advice to catch them around raised docks that have large pilings. Probably about 3 to 8' of water and water is stained. I caught a couple accidently fishing for whatever was around the pilings. I believe it was end of may. Minnows, jigs, water temp? Will they spawn around them?
Crappie hold on some docks all year round. Lots of good information about it on you tube under dock shooting. Careful dock shooting is addictive.
docks are three to five feet above water. Should be pretty easy to cast right under. Last spring I found them directly out from dock in 30' of water and figured they wouldn't be under them because of the water temp. I never made it back in early summer to see but I will this year.
Yep .... Crappie like shade and will hold under docks at times. They may even spawn around them, especially if there are weeds or wood cover under the docks. The vertical poles of stationary docks will also collect algae, as they age, and Shad & other minnow species do occasionally feed on that algae. That gives the Crappie another reason to be there.
For that depth, I'd use a 1/32oz or 1/16oz marabou Roadrunner cast around the poles, or swim a jig along side of them. And as "Jack" has mentioned, you can always 'shoot' the dock. But, IMHO ... 3-8ft depths under a dock is pretty slim water, so the fish may only be there under specific circumstances. Now if you could find a dock that has 15ft of water under the front edge, then they're more likely to utilize that dock than the more shallower ones. And you always want to concentrate your fishing efforts towards the darkest part of the water that's under the dock. If it's got a pole close to that darkest/shaded water, all the better.
If you do have stationary docks with deep water under them, another method that works pretty well around those dock poles is explained in this article : Crappie Pappy Article
And here's a discussion on "dock shooting" that might give you some information on "how to" (or at least how I do it) : http://www.crappie.com/crappie/main-...ecnique-2.html .... but, mind you, this was 9yrs ago, and the equipment has changed, but the actual method of shooting a jig is still the same.
... cp :kewl
If they are close to deep water and offer shade the should hold fish.
Shooting docks is more about getting the jig as far under the dock as possible. Color doesn't matter as much when shooting docks. It takes a lot of practice to get good at it. In my option you really need to go with someone who is good at this tactic. It's very hard to learn on your own. I'm sure you will find someone on this site that will take you and teach you. I would be willing if you live close by.
Crappie will probably move in and out. Fish it a few times and you should be able to get some clues about what conditions will bring them there. For example, I fish a small harbor with as little as 3-4 feet of water around the slip docks. It's connected to the southwest corner of a 900 acre lake by a fairly long channel. In Spring and Fall north winds push warmer water into the harbor, get the whole food chain going and sometimes the crappie move in. In colder water they often suspend over the deepest part of the harbor (about 9 feet deep, a prop wash hole near the boat launch.) When they relate to the slip dock pilings, they tend to stick to the shade and to the leeward if there's enough wind to make a current.
Try dragging a jig down current as close as you can to pilings that have shade on the leeward side, either just casting or dragging it under a bobber. Crappie will be hiding there, waiting for the current to bring lunch.
Minnows will always do good! Use them anytime you can. Have jigs just in case they are not biting the minnows. The water temp should not matter right now with the spawn on as the fish are closer to shore anyway. The crappie do hold there most of the time but will forage out during different times of the day. Good luck!
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Originally Posted by finatick
I've had great luck with Berkely Gulp Alive Minnows. I've seen them out-fish live minnows more than once. Also the other small Gulp Alive baits, fry, leeches, etc. that come in the small jar. (Those jars are a pain. Once they're opened they will leak if they're not kept upright and the gravy has a powerful scent.) Curlytail jigs and tubes work well too. Try a variety of colors. In stained water I have good luck with chartreuse and white jigs and tubes with orange or red jig heads. Minnows are usually effective, and natural colors usually work well too.
Crappie will spawn around pilings if the other conditions suit them, protection from current, proper depth, a firm bottom (a little silt is no problem as long as there is gravel or a harder surface under it). In heavily stained water crappie will spawn pretty shallow, but that doesn't necessary mean they won't use those pilings.
Spawn depends on the lake they can spawn in inches of water to over 8'. They use what's available on different lakes. I see them spawn on wood , brush , gravel , and weeds.