Lake Norris - Eustis FL

Hey everyone,

Just joined this page, I’ve been reading up on a variety of speck/crappie related forums for the last few months trying to learn patterns and techniques.

I’ve been fishing since I was in diapers but mostly saltwater. Pond hopped for bass through high school. But never speck fished too seriously.

I’ve drifted and jigged once before many years ago so I get the idea, kind of.

I recently purchased some land on Lake Norris in Eustis/Paisley so would like to really learn this lake. Did well with bream and catfish during the summer. Bass has been random, toughest lake I’ve fished for them without a doubt. Now it seems it’s time to turn my attention to the specks.

I’ve heard drifting the middle with minnows is effective, but haven’t heard about jigging them in vegetation or the base of cypress trees. Would also like to know what’s the best times to drift vs jig. Really any and all info would be great and any specifics on the lake would be greatly appreciated too.

I have a pontoon boat with a sonar/depth finder (no trolling motor) and a Gator Trax with a surface drive (has a trolling motor). Jigging sticks, spinning rods, minnows, jigs, roadrunner jig heads, slip bobbers, etc

Looking forward to getting to know everyone and and learning a new fishery.

I’m on Lake Jem (11acre) just south of Mount Dora In 2017 I discovered Specks (Crappie). Has the best luck drifting with minnows so might start there. Been tough finding them each year since. Have caught a few on jigs & roadrunners near the weed lines. We are 20 ft deep on avg. what’s depth on your lake?

I Put the minnows at 15’ (3 turns of reel off the bottom)

First, welcome to the forum. Glad to see new members. As far as what works, everything you’ll read about will get a few at one time or another. Trolling doesn’t appeal to everyone but it can be productive. If you want to cast for them, understand that they like a bit deeper water, mostly, and a lot of times they like cover. Like the deep end of a downed tree. A trolling motor is a plus. Speed of the bait is another thing. I use almost 100% jigs. If you cast an eighth ounce head, it’s gonna sink fast and unless they’re aggressive they might not hit it, at all. The fact that you can’t cast anything lighter on your rods just mean that you might need to put a lighter line on one of the rods and give that a try. My jigs are under 1/32, and the rods and line let me cast them well. Gear that light isn’t for everyone either. Best I can tell you is to read everything you can find and try stuff that you can adapt to your existing tackle. You’ll find things that you’ll use and a lot of things that you won’t. Time on the water is the best teacher so go when you can, and I find that going alone is sometimes best. Less distraction. Good luck and keep us posted. I fished Norris some but that’s 30 years , or more back. Giant mudfish live there, very pretty lake.

Seems the average depth here is about 11’ or so. I’ve found two holes that go from 11-12’ to 20-22’. I’ve tried drifting minnows, but no luck. Also trying to figure out how to use this sonar on the boat. Are you casting the jigs along with weed line or trolling?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Conrod

I Put the minnows at 15’ (3 turns of reel off the bottom)

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I’ve only found two areas deeper then 11’-12’!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by skeetbum

First, welcome to the forum. Glad to see new members. As far as what works, everything you’ll read about will get a few at one time or another. Trolling doesn’t appeal to everyone but it can be productive. If you want to cast for them, understand that they like a bit deeper water, mostly, and a lot of times they like cover. Like the deep end of a downed tree. A trolling motor is a plus. Speed of the bait is another thing. I use almost 100% jigs. If you cast an eighth ounce head, it’s gonna sink fast and unless they’re aggressive they might not hit it, at all. The fact that you can’t cast anything lighter on your rods just mean that you might need to put a lighter line on one of the rods and give that a try. My jigs are under 1/32, and the rods and line let me cast them well. Gear that light isn’t for everyone either. Best I can tell you is to read everything you can find and try stuff that you can adapt to your existing tackle. You’ll find things that you’ll use and a lot of things that you won’t. Time on the water is the best teacher so go when you can, and I find that going alone is sometimes best. Less distraction. Good luck and keep us posted. I fished Norris some but that’s 30 years , or more back. Giant mudfish live there, very pretty lake.

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Thanks for the reply! Love the idea of trolling/drfiting and jigging around pads/reeds/cypress. I really just need to spend more time out there as you said. It’s a lot to learn and it’s a pretty big lake.

My son loves those mud fish; we’ve caught monsters off the dock and he caught one in his net dipping for shrimp. Big catfish, ton of gar and bream, bass fishing is tough. All part of the process. Thank you for the suggestions!

Thank you everyone for the posts, still trying to learn this platform so I apologize for the delay in responding. I’ll keep hammering away out here until I figure it out.

Also, there’s no dumb questions other than those you do t ask cuz you never get an answer. We’ve all asked our share.

@skeetbum- You got that Right!!