crappie question

ok i'm having a hard time with the crappie, i can find them but all fish i mark are up high in the water column. no takers but if i fish tight to the bottom i will get one or 2 nice ones. are they feeding tight to the bottom, then moving up to roam?

I'm surprised 57 lookers and no help

Ok i will try to give some suggestions

From my fall fishing crappie experiences some lakes tend to turn off until hardwater, for example i do well on Gun Lake until fall and i struggle so i go to different lakes that have a better late season bite

as far as fish high in the water column this sounds like you marking fish later in the afternoon when the water has warmed up and the crappie and bluegills tend to come up in warmer water. i've seen this many times even at times there sticking there top fins out of the water

Your going to have to move around until you find em, that's fishing

I had a old guy till me this year while fishing that "The fish are in here and there's land all around us so the cant go no were"


Good luck

thanks ready2fish. thats what i'm thinking to, i just keep moving around and pick off 4 or 5 a day. then thursday afternoon i was fishing my spot and caught these 2 things. now maybe that will helpp the bite alittle lolAttachment 219282

I didn't throw this out as it may be a bit early depending on the lake, but "turn over" of the water may be a factor right now too. Assuming this "lull" you are experiencing is just a recent phenomenon.

The lake we were catching Crappie in on every trip there? Went dead as soon as the water cooled down. One thing that helps us in the fall? You have to slow your presentation down. When you were trolling 1.8 to 2.0 you now need to get to 1.0 to 1.5 The fish slow down in the fall. Hope this helps.

Good point Don.

My fall speed for long lining is .4 to .8, just like Larry said.

Also, if you read Steve's post, he switched over to a hook and sinker and slip rig. Had to wait a little bit before the bite. Shows me that the fish were in the mood to feed (or snack) but not really eat!

Yep slow it down, I generally always troll .5 to .6 all year long but then it depends on whats on the end of your line

we have been marking all these fish in one hole that's about 15 ft deep. under a bridge. we tie the boat off and tight line them. that's what has me stumped one rod 1 ft off the bottom and 1 about 2 ft down. and always get the fish on the bottom.

slow down even more, drop shot!

Try using a clear bobber with a 1/64 oz or 1/80 oz jig and soft plastic only about 4 - 12 inches below the clear bobber, with 2 or 4 pound test. The Fall surface bite is by far my favorite time of year. Those fish way up high in the water column, at or very near the surface, are often gorging themselves on zooplankton during the Autumn months when the tiny creatures make their way toward the waters surface and are easy prey for the specks and gills. You can see the plankton and a bit of the Fall surface feed in this video of mine.
https://youtu.be/0J_TWuuaxKY