Finally had a breakthrough.....
I've posted before about my ambitions and my trials. My wife and I moved seasonally (winter and spring with occasional trips back north to see kids/grandkids) to South Carolina. I've always been a multi-species angler, but we never had really top-notch Crappie fishing near me, so I have FAR more experience with Smallmouth, Walleye, Yellow perch, etc. etc. and I really had to teach myself a lot about where Crappie go seasonally, what structure or cover they like, favorable water temperatures, even preferred forage and fishing baits.
I live on a lake that used to be known as a pretty good Crappie fishery, but Spotted bass were introduced and according to the DNR, the Crappie fishery really fell apart and population dynamics are NOT good. But, some big ones are caught here and you occasionally hear someone whisper that maybe the Crappie fishery is in better shape than the biologists recognize, at least for someone who's willing to put the time in. I live close enough to numerous other lakes where the Crappie fishing would be much easier, quicker and more productive, but I'm a stubborn sort, not to mention that it's frankly much easier to catch them nearby than to trailer the boat 40 minutes, an hour or two hours to fish elsewhere. My first year here was a big disappointment. I blame it mostly on myself, but there are VERY few Crappie anglers on this lake and almost nobody talks about it. I was told by everyone to fish elsewhere and that just isn't a good Crappie lake. I MAYBE caught 15 Crappie here that winter/spring, although I did do a good bit of bass fishing too.
Last year (my second on the lake) was different and while I didn't catch huge numbers of Crappie, I did catch fair numbers occasionally and I caught some real slobs. The average size here is actually pretty impressive. I fished for bass less, found a lot of cover and structural elements and really did put the time in. I could have still gone to nearby lakes and caught WAY more Crappie, but I was satisfied. This year came and I was really looking forward to picking up right where I left off last spring, but it hasn't gone that way for me. The first couple of months here (since December 1) have been really disappointing. I've had a couple of days where I took 4 or 5 Crappie, but far more where I took none or only a Crappie or two and while I'm stubborn and really do prefer one big fish to 20 small ones, I have to admit that I've been getting pretty frustrated. Finally took some friends out on Tuesday and while they're pretty inexperienced anglers, I got them on one nice fish each (along with a nice Spotted bass each) and I took 8 or 9 nice fish. Even doing the guide bit and trying to put them in position to catch fish, I still ended up with my best day yet this winter/spring. Then yesterday I went out with my brother and it really came together. Not only were fish a bit more obvious and easier to find, but they were finally biting pretty well. In 3 hours, the two of us put 18 really nice ones in the boat and lost half a dozen others (I've been having some problems losing fish/jigs because of eyelets on jigs that aren't completely closed).
Biggest of the day for me was 15.75" and 2.3 pounds and my brother caught his personal best at 15" even and 1.9 pounds. It finally felt great to be catching fish consistently again and I'm hopeful that this will continue now. I've heard from a few other guys that their winter fishing this year was really slow too, but I was glad to finally get them, at least there hasn't been a total collapse of the fishery or something (I was starting to wonder what was going on). Anyway, if you're still reading, I just wanted to pat myself on the back a bit and see if others have had similar winter/early spring experiences this year.
