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Earliest soft water crappie I've ever caught up north
Third week of February and the temps were a consistent sixty degrees for four days and the water temps rose pretty good. On the second day of the heat, I decided to do some shore fishing in one of my early iceout spots on my home lake. Had to walk thru the woods and down the shoreline to get to it. Took a bucket of minnows with me along with some hair jigs. Water is eight feet below summer pool so almost all of the dead falls are high and dry. Still tho, there were a few still submerged but they are very shallow. Casted a minnow under a small bobber set just over a foot deep into wood cover less than four feet deep and this is what I started catching.
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All in all I caught five and four more bit me off at the shoreline. None were legal size. Called it a day and headed home.
Next day temps were going to be in the seventies, so I headed back to the same area. Pike had moved out and the crappies moved in. Started catching some small ones on hair jigs under a bobber, same depth, same water. Caught and released around forty with twelve being over ten inches and one yellow perch that I kept for an early season fish fry.
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Third day I went back. The bite started pretty good but the wind picked up to over twenty and I had to get out of there. Caught a dozen but only six made the trip home with me.
Fronts came in and shut everything down. Seventy degrees on Friday and two inches of snow on Saturday. Snow melted by Monday so I headed back out Tuesday. Got the big skunk. I enjoyed my little stretch of Indian winter we had up here last week. Now winter is back and I'm looking forward to an early spring season. Heading south in three weeks for a nice spring break.
