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Hi guys, I am looking for some advice. I have access to about a 40 acre lake, that I know, or feel, has to have some good size crappie in it. Problem is, I have only caught 3-4 the last several years, but I can catch hand sized fish quite often. How do I go about locating these bigger fish, and when would they start getting ready to spawn in a lake of this size? As of right now, I don't have a depth finder, but seems like the average depth is around 15-18ft,as I have run jugs in this lake. I have found some submerged timber, but it seems like that it usually has a thick grass mat all around it, and along the shore. This is an old watershed, and has a rock lined dam, but there agian, it usually has a grass mat around it. Can someone give me some tips on how ti fish it? I am currently looking for a small cheap depth finder to use on my little jon boat. Thanks guys!!

starting around the end of march, the crappie should start to school up, right now in most lakes they are fairly spread out. if i were fishing this lake i would focus around the deepest parts until the watter started to warm up then move in shallower. an easy way to get the crappie in a particular spot is by adding your own brush. i have don that to smaller ponds and had superb success. Beetle Spins or simmilar jig/spinner rigs have been killer pond crappie lures for me over the years, however if you find a brushpile where they congregate at marabou jigs are hard to beat. good luck and tight lines

Thanks JIGS. My only problem is getting brush in the pond via my little dinky jon boat!! I have had good success on the smaller crappie, but I want to catch the bigger fish in there. Maybe I will have to sink me some brushpiles! Do you think those big cats will get in there and run the crappie out? There are some really big flatheads in this lake!

i wouldn't be concerned about the flatheads if anything they would help thin out the little fish. if you don't think your boat is big enough for brush then make a pvc stickbed. http://www.crappie.com/condo/ this is a modified stickbed but instead of using the big cane you use 6-7 ft sections of 1in pvc. there are any number of ways to create your own structure, don't let you equipment hinder you, i have put in large amount of brush in a 10 foot jon-boat.

Okay, thanks. On a brushpile, how deep of water should I put it in, and just how much brush should I use?

in a pond that doesn't have much current i will use one construction cement block attached with bailing wire to the base of a cedar tree. the tree is usually no more than 7ft tall and 3-4 ft around, something that is able to be handled. you can use trees smaller or larger. if you have a dam you can make a "laydown" were you put a tree in the water perpendicular to the dam where the base of the tree is expossed and usually don't need any weight on these. to make a bursh pile in the open water go the the deepest spot in the pond and drop your tree&cinderblock down to the bottom, you can control its drop by stringing a rope through the block and lowering it. it doesn't take alot of brush for the crappie to congregate, so don't overbrush it or you will be to busy getting hung up rather than catching fish. hope this makes sense.

It makes perfect sense, guess I need to get to work!!! My only problem now will be turkey season will be here when I should be fishing, ARGGGHHHHH, to many things going on in the spring!! Just hope I don't tip my dadgum boat, that thing is squirrly with me in it!!!! Thanks alot for the advice. Now hopefully I can catch some of them bigger fish that are in theer!

just don't make any fast movements, believe me i know about small boats, good luck and let me know how it goes.