Late term crappie on Dardanelle

These are stubborn crappie. They want to keep their eggs. Every crappie I have caught the last several days still have eggs including the ones caught today.(xcept the 2 males) Today I caught over 25 but culled down to 15 and naturally I showed the biggest 9. Caught them on a slabbandit in 10-12 FOW holding at 5-6 ft. over brush at ouita bay Water temp was 73 deg. What really peed me off was that I lost 5 dinner plate sized hogs right at the boat. Thats cuz I didnt have my #1 net man Crappiepro with me. Some one give me a clue how to land a 1 1/2 lb crappie on a 11' pole with 5' of line out.

http://i1115.photobucket.com/albums/...3/100_1929.jpg

Very carefully. Nice mess

If your jiggin , why only 5' of line out ? Not matter how shallow or deep I set my line 10' on a 12' jig pole. I use the pole height off water to control fishing depth. ;) Nice catch .:D

Mr. Ray,
Has the water returned to near normal?

That will work with only one pole, but I always hold 2 and usually one in the rod holder and the purpose of the long pole is to keep the bait as far away from the boat as possible. But you are right, I use your method when I am moving along dipping a jig with one pole. I just need to get one of those light long handle nets. I also landed a few by loosening the drag and pulling off some line after the hook set. Anyway, the ones I lost will maybe spawn and create lots of little specks for the future.

Most of the time I will slide half of the pole behind me into the water....
Or back the drag off so I can strip out line... I rarely use a net because I always loose em. They blow out of the boat!

Rtark,

I appreciate the post. I have been spider rigging in Ouita bay the last two weekends.

Haven't caught many but the ones I have caught are nice.

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Originally Posted by Midsouth Man

Mr. Ray,
Has the water returned to near normal?

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Mr Mid, not as clear as it was when you were here but close enough. Your graph will show a lot of trash in the water but not a problem. The river flow is all but stopped. Some of the old log piles are showing up as much bigger so I assume some trees have washed down and hung up. Thats a good thing.

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Originally Posted by Fancy Seats

Rtark,

I appreciate the post. I have been spider rigging in Ouita bay the last two weekends.

Haven't caught many but the ones I have caught are nice.

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Glad you are catching some good ones. The main thing is when you catch a good one notice the depth and structure. I will usually toss out a bouy then circle that spot several times if its a new place to me. Crappie are usually not loners. You will have problems this week end on Dard with that big bass tourney there.

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Originally Posted by rtark

That will work with only one pole, but I always hold 2 and usually one in the rod holder and the purpose of the long pole is to keep the bait as far away from the boat as possible. But you are right, I use your method when I am moving along dipping a jig with one pole. I just need to get one of those light long handle nets. I also landed a few by loosening the drag and pulling off some line after the hook set. Anyway, the ones I lost will maybe spawn and create lots of little specks for the future.

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Alot of the time I jig with 2 poles.;)Thumbs Up

The Ego Reach net has really made it a lot easier for my dad and me to land fish when we're using our 10 & 11' poles.

If they look like they are hooked good i usually just walk the pole back to till i can grab the line and swing him over the side, but if i'm not getting good hook sets i'll use a net

Crappie are schooling fish. Where one is caught others may be nearby
Fish the area thoroughly.

I fish 2 14' rods and just peel line if I know I have less than 14' of line out. It's a balancing act for sure, but I think the longer rods give an advantage to the fisherman. So what if I lose one or two occasionally? Like you said, they will just make babies. :)

I usually keep one rod in my hand and one in a holder. The one in my hand is almost always deployed with 14' or more of line and, Like Nimrod, I just use the rod as a gage to keep the bait where I want it. Works for me. :)

aj

Those are some really nice, fish! Congrats, and glad to hear the water on Dardanelle is clearing up. Y'all have had a mess for awhile now. Thanks for the post and the pics. Thumbs Up

RT I will be out there this Thur's to help Ya net a Few. Great Catch and I'll see you Thurs morning with your special order in hand.;)

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Originally Posted by CrappiePro

RT I will be out there this Thur's to help Ya net a Few. Great Catch and I'll see you Thurs morning with your special order in hand.;)

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Ya better hurry. I took my neighbor out yesterday and kept 17 of those slabs. Same places. All the females still had eggs but they looked rotten. The males were black. I even caught a few in your private spot by the ramp.