The learning curve

Some of the people chasing crappie will know right where I am going with this post and some will glean the information to make them better at ketchn crappie .
Hopefully a few will absorb this information and apply it to the crappie in their local southern
waters .
This particular information will very likely not apply to all situations ,but in the end it just might when the water gets really warm .
Look at this graph image first , you will note a cloud in a horizontal line just to the left of the cover right off the drop off , that is a definitive thermocline !
Thermoclines act as corrals and put fish within easy reach . There is little for oxygen below the thermocline line and the fish stay about a foot above it .
The next images are huge schools of shad all over the surface, all over the lake ! Baby shad ,half size shad and full grown shad in no particular order and in huge balls .
so let's recap , all the fish are above 10 foot deep , the baitfish are all over the surface corralled up much as the larger fish are but in much less water column .
the reason the baitfish are up so high in the water is for food and to try to avoid the predators right below them .
The baitfish are no deeper than around 4 to 5 foot deep at most ,therefore the crappie are in a very definitive part of the water column , somewhere between around 5 to 9 feet deep .
Next thing that may be of importance to understand is that YES you can ketch some roaming in open water in small scattered groups , BUT if you really want to hurt them in numbers FAST , find cover in the 5 to 9 foot deep range and look it over .
the crappie will stack up in large numbers in this situation if they are close to the bait .
AND this is WAY to much information for free ,so just go ahead and mail your checks to me for the seminar and visuals >>>>:Rofl
all kidding aside ,this is our summer time approach to ketchn crappie locally ,it is applicable on most if not all the lakes in the north Texas area and several others far beyond that range as well .
hope some of you find them really good with some of this info . and .....
KABOOM is the word :highfive

Beautiful spot and water looks great. Thanks as always for a tutorial. When I was in Washington state I remember well when the lakes “turned” and all the crud that came up to the surface. Not a great time to go swimming as I recall….
Bob

Man Your just a wealth of knowledge lately. You forgot to post the address for the donation..................

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Originally Posted by BobC

Beautiful spot and water looks great. Thanks as always for a tutorial. When I was in Washington state I remember well when the lakes “turned” and all the crud that came up to the surface. Not a great time to go swimming as I recall….
Bob

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sometimes they turn over here and to be sure it smells terrible and it is REALLY difficult to ketch fish in that mess .
don't see it really often ,but when I do I typically hit one that isn't in that mode ,late summer ,early fall when the nights get chilly often triggers it .

Good write up

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Originally Posted by rojoguio

Man Your just a wealth of knowledge lately. You forgot to post the address for the donation..................

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it is in my agenda to help anyone out that wants to ketch crappie to do so , my methods are not always the best , but in the end you never know if you will find yourself in a situation that is similar to the scenario in my original post .
understanding the thermocline is critical during the dog days of summer around here and quite possibly in other lakes around the country as well . the elimination of non productive water equals more fish in the boat .
and besides all that ,how can anyone beat ketchn fish in a barrel right ? :highfive

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Originally Posted by DockShootinJack

Good write up

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apply this information as needed and repeat and rinse and keep you a sharp fillet knife handy , you will need it :cheers2

The thermocline effects the fishing here as well. I would say like you it applies more often than not at most places. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge Professor Kaboom! :highfive

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Originally Posted by Ketchn

apply this information as needed and repeat and rinse and keep you a sharp fillet knife handy , you will need it :cheers2

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If I could just get some free time from work. This will be my 3rd straight week stuck here.

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Originally Posted by SuperDave336

The thermocline effects the fishing here as well. I would say like you it applies more often than not at most places. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge Professor Kaboom! :highfive

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to not understand it in the summer months will make for a fair amount of what the heck is the deal .
back during my learning curve it was one of those things I grew to understand after countless hours of jigging to deep .
sometimes it isn't highly visible and things that look like fish are often not fish on the sonar image .