Trip Report, Lake Wheeler Slough (Lily Pond), second trip

I returned to Lily Pond today to fish and scout more of the slough. I was curious if the seeming easy of catching Crappie was an accident on my first trip. I got on the water at about 6:30AM and fished till 11:30AM, so five hours on the water. I’m really starting to like this slough. Crappie were scattered but still fairly consistent with one every few minutes all morning. No slabs, but caught lots of eaters that were 10 to 11 inches. I started with Chartreuse since the water was very muddy but as usual the Crappie played unconventional and wanted white. They also weren’t interested in the Bobby Garland but would take the old cheap marabou jigs just fine.

Strange morning though, not sure if the rain caused it but the catfish were hitting everything. I brought home 8 channel cats and had two break off. If anyone is looking to fill the freezer with catfish before the winter, Lily pond is your spot. I also kept 18 Crappie. I would have limited out but no more would fit in my cooler with all the catfish. I tossed back a couple hundred Crappie with a quarter of them being over 10 inches.

I’ll clean them this afternoon and post pictures then.

:biggrin

do you have the cooler on the boat with you? no stringer?

I have a 25qt coleman stacker cooler that I use in the summer with reusable ice packs (coleman blue ice). I can easily get a limit of 30 crappie in it. I've put hinges on it and secure it on my back deck with bungee cords. I find that it's hard to paddle with a stringer of 15 fish tied off one side and the fish will die and start to spoil fairly quickly when the water is 90 degrees. That being said, a limit of crappie will not fit when you have an extra 20 pounds of catfish. I'll post a pic tomorrow!

Photo added

Attachment 96740

alexava,

Here's my cooler setup. The cooler is a Coleman stacker, they come in two sizes 24 can (25qt) or 48 can (33qt). I use the smaller size cooler with the Coleman reusable Blue ice packs.

Attachment 96749

I’ve drilled holes in both handles and have add shock cord with small d-rings on the ends. The kayak also has D-rings added where I removed deck rigging. I can turn half way around at the waist in my kayak to put fish in the cooler. The rear deck of my kayak is flat and level, the storage hatch is too small for a small cooler to fit inside.

Attachment 96750

I added hinges so the lid would be easy to close, stay aligned and not blow off or fall overboard.

Attachment 96751

I’ve even considered taking a small cooler, cutting my kayak rear deck for it to fit in the opening. I came up with this first and it work well. When I get home I wash out the cooler, let it air dry and I’m ready to go again. It’s the best way I’ve come up with to keep my fish on ice when fishing from my kayak. I was concerned about maintaining the quality of my catch in the summer. I might be several miles from my truck so it’s not as easy as just returning every hour or so to a larger cooler there and dropping off my catch.

nice catch ditch

AT LAST - the NAME of the cooler - Mine (as you know) is WAY too tall - and I have to put it in front - so I can hardly see - "Coleman Stacker" - 24 can size ..I'm on it - look out e-bay here I come. Thanks Ditch!

Z

AT LAST - the NAME of the cooler - Mine (as you know) is WAY too tall - and I have to put it in front - so I can hardly see - "Coleman Stacker" - 24 can size ..I'm on it - look out e-bay here I come. New Coleman 24 Can Party Stacker Cooler with Lid - Blue | eBay Thanks Ditch!

Z

where is lily pond ?

Attachment 96892

oh ok thanks can a flat bottom boat be put in there ?

There's a put in where the road is right next to the water on the West side. Water's very shallow but you should be able to move around ok with a trolling motor. Are you going to fish for Crappie or catfish?

Crappie

Nice catch and a great report. It's reports of catches like that during the summer months that keeps me going to the lake. Thanks for sharing.:)

Best bet for Crappie if you can't move around and cover water spider rigging is to anchor in the middle (water is only three to four feet deep) and toss out as many rods as you can keep an eye on with minnows. I would start at daylight because the bite will start to fade by 9:00AM. Have your hooks only about 18 inches below the surface. The Crappie are moving around chasing shad when they come across you minnow they'll take. You'll get catfish and bass as a bonus. Your also going to hook a few alligator gar, cost of chasing them shallow.

Good luck.

I may come over Sat morning, if you see a green kayak say "Hi"

You can catch gar in 18 fow. I caught three Saturday pulling cranks.

belive it or not i caught a carp trolling cranks, some people are just lucky

Hey Darrell, check your inbox.

Gar pulling cranks! Now I don't feel so bad when I catch a couple in shallow water pushing jigs!banghead

How do ya'll yakkers free your hooks from gar? On motor boat, I either flop them up on deck, stand on their head ( with shoes ) and yank the bait out with my pliers. Or I'll pull them up to the transom and yank the bait out with my pliers if I feel I can get them without breaking the line.

Got to thinking about that this morning and aint no way I'd let one flop in between my legs!!

Suppose ya'll are mostly using jigs, so not a big deal to cut the line.

i plan to carry a stick and beat the hell out of them.

Leave em on and troll for something bigger.

Stymie,
I'm usually catching them on jigs so no big deal. If I loose a jig I'm out like 15 cents.

I'll try and grab the jig with my pliers if I can safely and save a jig. As soon as the gar feels resistance the gar spins and pulls loose. I recommend this only on small gar, say less than 18 inches. Larger gar forget it, I break the line and save the fingers. I'm not sure what I'd do if one got on a crank bait. I'd hate to be out five bucks but there's no way I'm putting a gar between my legs in a kayak! :yikes

I think you need a new clicker, you don't catch 3 or 400 fish everytime you fish a couple of hours

Three of Four hundred in a couple of hours would be a stretch. Two hundred in half a day is pretty normal. You need to remember I’m fishing areas that aren’t pressured with 5 to 6 poles. I’m also using small jigs presented slowly and precisely in the strike zone. I have a lot of double and triple hook ups and many are 6 to 8 inch throw backs. Come out sometime and see what I’m doing. I don’t claim to have it all figured out, but I get my share. Much of what I’ve learned has come from asking questions, especially from the old guy on the bank. I’m still amazed how often I’ve been out fished by a guy on the bank with a cane pole.

I’ve also noticed that anyone can catch a few Crappie when they go out. If your doing it right it’s almost like your dragging a net. You’re fishing for Crappie, but you’ll also get gills, bass, catfish, gar, just about everything.

I'm not anybody to anyone here, but I will say I've seen him do it. He's been 10 ft to my right catching one fish right after another throwing back most, he also has tons that never make it to the boat because he pulls up and they fall off. Now if anyone thinks they can go in behind him and catch them like he has, maybe they can, but I've seen two guys in the same place at the same time not do 1/10th of what he was. He's got a technique that I've been studying and hope to figure out, I think the biggest thing is he's not concentrating on structure so much as catching every fish between this structure and that one. My problem is once I hit a spot and nothing happens I paddle like a boat motor to the next spot missing all the fish in between, he doesn't.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Psmith

I think you need a new clicker, you don't catch 3 or 400 fish everytime you fish a couple of hours

---

I have to agree.

Went back to Lily Pond this morning. Fishing was fast and furious for an hour but they shut down by 7:30AM. Catfish were a pain again, nice channel catfish if your into catching them. Kept 18 Crappie that were 10 inches or better and 6 catfish. I met a couple that were fishing from a canoe, they were taking out at the same time as me. I gave them my fish since their luck wasn’t quit as good as mine. White Marabou 1/16 jigs, 12 inches down in 18 to 24 inches of water. Fish were scattered again in open water.

Next trip I’m going to try Leemon Slough, that’s the next slough to the west of Lily Pond.

For you who doubt Ditchbasser's numbers ....let me point out a few things.

1. I've fished w/ Ditch in at least 7 different bodies of water. He didn't just out-fish me, he SHAMED me. 3, or 4 to one is normal, 10 to 1 is not uncommon.
2. I'm 62 he's mid 40's ....I was wetting a line when he was wetting his pants. My point, he's a natural, and I've seen enough of 'em to know it when I see one.
3. 100's .. seems like big numbers, but you gotta remember. with 5 or 6 rods he catches a LOT of fish and a LOT of them are small. He culls 4 or 5 to every keeper.
4. Not only has he OFFERED to take anyone/ show anyone - he's done it. I've been there with at least 2 other new guys...just as I was the first time I went with him.
5. Anybody interested in a wager? If you can get your butt (or boat) in the same body of water as his, I've got $100 that says he'll out fish you....put up or shut up.
6. Therefore - unless you've posted the number of pics that he has, or are willing to get your butts on the water at 5 AM and paddle for 4 or 5 hours 'til it's scorching hot, to WATCH him pull in those numbers ...as I and others have, doubt all you want, but I'm here to tell you it is 100% true, and I have to wonder WHY anybody would doubt it. Jealousy comes to mind.

OH, and BTW, when I've been out w/ him and other new guys - and I tell the the new guy "Watch and learn, this guy is a natural!" - his humble comment is always that "Z-man exaggerates" - and to THAT, (and only that) I say B.S. to Ditch! No exaggeration at all - it's FACT! Looking' forward to hitting a lot more honey holes with Ditchbasser ...when daylight is closer to 6 AM rather than 4 AM, and it's about 20 degrees cooler!

Z-man,

Thanks for the kind words, don't sweat the doubters, I don’t! I’ve been told for years that I should fish tournaments. One reason that I don’t is that fishing isn’t a competitive thing to me. The only competition is between me and the fish, trying to get on a pattern and consistently catch them. Crappie defy all logic, it’s not about numbers. If you can go out everyday, 365 days a year and catch even a few Crappie then you’re doing better than 90% of anglers. I don’t strive for large numbers of Crappie or a cooler full of slabs. My goal has always been consistency. If you can do that, then big numbers and the slabs will follow.

I have a kayak ordered and can't wait to get it in the water. I have fished back water a little and I know what you can catch there. I have A nice big ranger bass boat but don't use it much any more. I will just leave it at to many nuts on the water now days. I also have a Jon boat but I plan to fish some areas that Jon boats can't go. I hope to fish with you guys real soon. I will need to get my kayak rigged out and fish it a time or two to get used to it. Then I hope to fish with some of the other members on cdc.

BamaMan,

Welcome to kayaking! I fish everything that holds water between Ditto landing and Decatur on Lake Wheeler. I've started expanding to the south side of Wheeler this month. I'll gladly share what information I have on fishing, areas, rigging, ect. The thing you'll love in a kayak is you have almost zero impact on the wild life around you. I had three deer wade/swim across Lily Pond yesterday. They were much closer than you'll ever see them in a large boat. Also the areas I fish in my kayak I never see skiers or personal watercraft!

Bama-man, you're gonna LOVE it. 2 quick comments - Don't sweat the rigging - it will grow as you time goes by. First time I went I had NO pole holders and perhaps 3 rods. It's all about finding out what is right for you - in YOUR kayak. The sooner you get out there and do it - the sooner those ideas start popping into your head about what might work best for boat. Expect a lot of trial and error - that's part of the fun. The other thing ....most people (I know I was) are concerned about just being in a kayak, not to mention fishing from one. I've seen a lot of posts here where guys say "looks like fun but I'm afraid I'd tip over ...especially in cold water". I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how natural it feels and how stable your yak can be. Most of the things that I ever worried about - never happened. Remember too, that this isn't the easiest time to be fishing - between the heat and the fact that the fish can be scattered, you may not fill the boat first couple of times out, but wait 'til it cools off a bit...that's when the real fun begins. Sometimes I revert to my old ways and put a jig 18" under a floater with a spinning rod, or even throwing a tiny in-line spinner bait like a Mepps....just as I was fishing from my bass boat, or from the shore. Spider-rigging will produce some good numbers if you get on the fish ....but it's still a lot of fun just fishing the way you are used to ...PLUS it gives you a chance to develop your rig over a longer period of time. By all means - let us know when you're ready to go...the more the merrier!

Z

callshy,

I have no idea what Z-man has planned. I will say this though, I'm a shallow water guy. My sweet spot is usually 6 foot or less and many times I'm fishing in 18 inches. I can catch them deep, but I'm not rigged for it fishing from a kayak. I'll leave the big pond fishing to you guys. I like the kayak, because I normal don't see another person. I had a deer watch me for 30 minutes this morning from 150 feet away. She never spooked, just walked away. I could hear one boat after another in the main river channel a half mil away, Leeman I had to myself.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ditch Basser

Photo added

Attachment 96740

---

Nice mess of fish!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ditch Basser

callshy,

I have no idea what Z-man has planned. I will say this though, I'm a shallow water guy. My sweet spot is usually 6 foot or less and many times I'm fishing in 18 inches. I can catch them deep, but I'm not rigged for it fishing from a kayak. I'll leave the big pond fishing to you guys. I like the kayak, because I normal don't see another person. I had a deer watch me for 30 minutes this morning from 150 feet away. She never spooked, just walked away. I could hear one boat after another in the main river channel a half mil away, Leeman I had to myself.

---

Keep up with those deer sightings, I may be hitting you up for info. I have had them swim by us while fishing Cain slough before also. I grew up 1/2 mile from this slough and have fished it for as long as I can remember.

callshy, I have been told of cain slough and think it is the same place as lily pond. am i right?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by alexava

callshy, I have been told of cain slough and think it is the same place as lily pond. am i right?

---

Yes, Cain Slough to the locals but called Lily Pond on the maps.

callshy,

I had three deer swim/wade across the western end of Cain Slough/Lily Pond Sat morning. They were heading south.

im pissed. went to Dick's to get the kayak ive been wanting and it went off sale yesterday. was 399 now 499. dont know what ill do now. its been up and down all summer.