Cold Front Crappie. 72419

Gary Fomby and I found cold front conditions this morning and the lake level about one foot above summer level and surface temp off over 2 degrees from yesterday morning. Plus TVA opening the flood gates on the Chickamauga dam. Flow rate up to 61,700 by 8 and 67,500 by nine.

But we managed to scratch out 5 keepers and several juvenile crappie. All fish released today. We each caught black crappie keeper and a White crappie keeper as well. My White crappie was a 14.0” tarp fish that looked like a razor blade with a big mouth. I’ll bet that it didn’t weigh 8 ozs.

Blue Ghost and Blue Ice Baby Shads caught fish. Only color that worked today. Fish were bumping bottom with their bellies. Grin. 20-25 feet deep mostly. 3/32 oz jigs. Wind from the NE at a pretty good clip. I’m thankful that I put a long sleeve shirt over my T-shirt.

First White Crappie I have seen from you in a while. Every now and then I will catch a large but skinny fish like that. When you fillet them the meat has a different consistency also as I usually remove those skinny (almost emaciated looking) ones from the Gene Pool. Lakes up here came up about 2 feet with the rains and I am sure they are muddy also. More water will be headed that way soon. The cool weather is always welcome, I may give it a shot tonight, thinking about frying a few up on Thursday night for dinner.

As best as I remember seems like I catch more whites closer to the river channel. Another good job. :ThumbsUp

Healthy looking fish for sure.

Well done!

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Originally Posted by StantheMan2567

First White Crappie I have seen from you in a while. Every now and then I will catch a large but skinny fish like that. When you fillet them the meat has a different consistency also as I usually remove those skinny (almost emaciated looking) ones from the Gene Pool. Lakes up here came up about 2 feet with the rains and I am sure they are muddy also. More water will be headed that way soon. The cool weather is always welcome, I may give it a shot tonight, thinking about frying a few up on Thursday night for dinner.

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Stan, we don’t have near as many white crappie as black on Chickamauga, at least in the areas that I fish. We caught the two white crappie off an American Fishing tree that I put out a few years ago and for some unknown reason, the white crappie migrate to it. During a tournament a few years ago, we caught our 7 tournament fish off that plastic tree and all were white crappie. We finished 2nd or 4th in that tournament that CUonthelake put on for service dogs. I remember that it rained buckets and buckets of water that day. Thank goodness for a bilge pump. Lolol.

Ya'll did better than I did, yesterday, Nice pics and post!

Wow you can catch crappie after a cold front and not use minnows!!!
DK you are my fishing HERO!!!!

Mike from Ky.