Smithville Lake- 5/6/2016 Report*

Late report but the bite was on for a good 30 minute along with some white bass. Roughly around 7:30pm then it stopped. Alot of dinks thrown back. Ran out of minnows due to the dinks. Paps got a nice 11.5"crappie and almost the rest was right on 9". Fish south of the dam where there is grass. Do crappie still spawn and come up close to the bank when there are no brush piles? I would think they would find cover/brushes to spawn by. I didn't see any brush piles North or South of the dam on the map. I snagged alot though, there must be alot of rocks around/under the dam and less rocks at the W bridges where I usually fish. Not sure if the spawn started or possibly ended, any opinions? 13 total between me and my dad. 7 crappie and 6 white bass. Any advice/tips on fishing at the dam would be great, thanks! Pic below!
Attachment 238518

I was on the dam last night on the south end. I got 6 keepers and was given 4 by some folks that were leaving. I have always used slip bobber on the dam. I noticed one guy who had some keepers using jigs with no bobber.

If you are catching a lot of dinks I would try to fish deeper a little further from the bank. And of course bring more minnows! Thanks for report.

Thanks for the specific report. Nice to know exactly where to go to find them. I've done better with no bobber and just jigs or a roadrunner slowly reeled back. With all the dinks in that lake, you'll go broke buying minnows to feed them.

I keep trying to remember to ring my ultra light with just jigs and no bobber. But I never can remember.

nice! yeah, most guys I see at the dam are a fan of jigs. I do see them snag alot though :I I'd jig fish to but I feel like its a huge time consumption. Minnows are the way to go, sit back and watch that bobber! :fish

Thanks for the advice! I guess me and my paps couldn't resist the constant hits and hoping for a decent one. Man, I thought 3 dozen minnows was enough, them dinks proved me wrong.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by love2fish

If you are catching a lot of dinks I would try to fish deeper a little further from the bank. And of course bring more minnows! Thanks for report.

---

Yeah, give it a shot and post a report! Sadly, I'm not a fan of jigs but want to be. My previous experience with them was just constant snags and wasting time continuously rigging em. Haha I know right! But I feel minnows ensures fish in the bucket. You ain't lying about going broke!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cy912

Thanks for the specific report. Nice to know exactly where to go to find them. I've done better with no bobber and just jigs or a roadrunner slowly reeled back. With all the dinks in that lake, you'll go broke buying minnows to feed them.

---

Short ultra lite rods with decent reels and 8lb test line is my style. Recently adapted to slip bobbers rather than spring bobbers, they're awesome!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ridealong

I keep trying to remember to ring my ultra light with just jigs and no bobber. But I never can remember.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MustangJimmy816

Yeah, give it a shot and post a report! Sadly, I'm not a fan of jigs but want to be. My previous experience with them was just constant snags and wasting time continuously rigging em. Haha I know right! But I feel minnows ensures fish in the bucket. You ain't lying about going broke!

---

The better fish are deeper and further out from shore. The reason you don't use a bobber is so you can work the jig right off the bottom where the bigger fish are located. Once you get good at it you'll lose less jigs. I rarely have to retie once I figure out what depth the fish are at. I consider my first couple jigs "sacrifice" jigs, since they are used to find the right depth and bottom. Once I find that depth, I very rarely lose anymore jigs. And I almost always outfish the minnow guys with bigger and better fish. But it's an art....not everyone can do it.