Conroe Crappie Early Morning

Got out this morning to Conroe launched at Cagle and found some huge slabs! They were fond of Blue Ice and Black/chartreuse jigs. Double jig rig with 1/16 and 1/8 oz jigs in tandem. Crappie were holding tight to structure 8-10 down in 15-25 feet of water. Lots of brush piles to find them on. I use my Livescope so I don't waste my time dead sticking. Water temp 75. Winds 8-15 mph. Fished from 0400 to 0900. I actually caught 4 more but my fish bag had a tear in it and some got away. Very nice morning despite the wind.
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Nice haul! Do you anchor up on brush piles? Curious to know your strategy to combat wind and current in the kayak. I'm new to crappie fishing from the kayak (I have experience with bass and striper) and I have trouble locating them and staying on them so far.

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Most of the piles (submerged trees) are not visible above water but some are. I use Garmin Livescope that gives me detailed images of what is below. If fish are present I can see them swimming around at a certain depth and I can lower my jigs into the strike zone. I have a Hobie with the reversible mirage drive. It is difficult to stay on the pile with wind but since I have an image of where they are holding I can drop my line and usually get a hit right away then I jig a few more times and catch any stragglers and then move to next pile. If the tree is right at the surface I can clamp on to it with a brush anchor you can get from Academy.
With Livescope I can see a tree above water and get close and see that the fish are on a tree 10 feet away that is completely submerged and it has fish on it. That's the benefit of Livescope. Being able to know if there are any fish before wasting time jigging with no fish.
I also fished the small deep pond near the highway across from Cagle. It is a 10' deep area and the crappie were stacked up in there for the spawn. Some are still in there as I caught 4 in there alone. I scooted over to the 1375 bridge and talked to another angler fishing there and he said he was having no luck. I aimed my Livescope and told him where they were and how deep and he hooked up. I went to another pylon and picked another slab up there.
It is hard to fish in the wind but if you plan right you can make it a good outing by planning where to fish before you put in. PM me if you want more details or help. I would be glad to meet up and fish Cagle, Scott's Ridge/1097 bridge, or Stubblefield. All are good locations and I know them all very well.
Conroe winds are no joke though. You don't want to be in the middle of the lake with wind gusts as you can be capsized easily. I always check the winds before I go.
Check out some youtube videos on Conroe. Search "conroe crappie cagle stublefield" and you can see lots of videos of people catching on Conroe. This guy is a guide with Livescope to get an idea of what I see....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLbRcOo_AH8

Nice catches.... Those lil 10" fish really show how crappie bulk up when they hit 11 and up anches.....

Nice fish Slider! That's one heck of a yak setup you got there

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Originally Posted by SlabSlider

Most of the piles (submerged trees) are not visible above water but some are. I use Garmin Livescope that gives me detailed images of what is below. If fish are present I can see them swimming around at a certain depth and I can lower my jigs into the strike zone. I have a Hobie with the reversible mirage drive. It is difficult to stay on the pile with wind but since I have an image of where they are holding I can drop my line and usually get a hit right away then I jig a few more times and catch any stragglers and then move to next pile. If the tree is right at the surface I can clamp on to it with a brush anchor you can get from Academy.
With Livescope I can see a tree above water and get close and see that the fish are on a tree 10 feet away that is completely submerged and it has fish on it. That's the benefit of Livescope. Being able to know if there are any fish before wasting time jigging with no fish.
I also fished the small deep pond near the highway across from Cagle. It is a 10' deep area and the crappie were stacked up in there for the spawn. Some are still in there as I caught 4 in there alone. I scooted over to the 1375 bridge and talked to another angler fishing there and he said he was having no luck. I aimed my Livescope and told him where they were and how deep and he hooked up. I went to another pylon and picked another slab up there.
It is hard to fish in the wind but if you plan right you can make it a good outing by planning where to fish before you put in. PM me if you want more details or help. I would be glad to meet up and fish Cagle, Scott's Ridge/1097 bridge, or Stubblefield. All are good locations and I know them all very well.
Conroe winds are no joke though. You don't want to be in the middle of the lake with wind gusts as you can be capsized easily. I always check the winds before I go.
Check out some youtube videos on Conroe. Search "conroe crappie cagle stublefield" and you can see lots of videos of people catching on Conroe. This guy is a guide with Livescope to get an idea of what I see....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLbRcOo_AH8

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I appreciate that. Conroe is a ways away from me in North Dallas, but I appreciate the information!

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