Where would you try on a new lake?

Waters are starting to cool down and I am going to try some new lakes that my Sportsman's Fishing Map Guide says have good numbers of slabs. Where would you focus your efforts to find crappies this time of year when the temperatures are dropping? The lakes I am considering probably have plenty of weeds but little or no timber/brush and lake maps show very little structure(humps, dropoffs, etc). I have never had success fishing for crappies suspended up in the water column over deep water but that doesn't mean I shouldn't consider that. Thanks for any advice.

We have been catching most of ours at night. Were fishing in 36' of water. The fish are down 10-12'. I guess it has a lot to do with the lakes turning over this time of year. I'm sure somebody on here can give you some better information, I'm just telling you what has been working for us.

Larry made a good point, every lake tends to fish different

From my past experiences i tend to find crappie schooling up out in deeper water in the fall, its a fun time of year to fish

Jim-are they suspended? Or by the weeds? Thanks

FYI the lakes I am looking at are 30' maximum depth and I assume out at those depths they are devoid of any cover/structure. Like I said, I have never found crappies suspended way up out over very deep water. I may be missing something? My fishinder is an el cheapo portable with big pixels. It's OK to see depth with but locating fish or especially schools of minnows is pretty much beyond what it can do.

One trick (if you have not done it already) is to turn fish I.D off. then you only see the arc of the fish. Might help you over deep water. Another tip to find them is to use your trolling motor (or the wind) and run 3 poles at getting depths (spider rig). I like to use different jig sizes, colors. and bait. I also like to run "doubles" on each rod. Hook a fish, throw a bouy. Ask Yankee doodler as he is better than I at this as he employs it a lot. Locate One and more will come.

What lakes you looking at? Someone might be able to give you a starting point. If not, attest we can look in the book and see if we can help. Or go to the lake and cr:Roflowd your boat:Rofl

You need to be able to mark the fish.Attachment 101311This is not a great picture, but it does show the fish. They are suspended up in the water column.

I'd consider longline trolling ... as a search tool, if not a primary method. Give them a mixed bag of tubes, curly tails, Roadrunners, etc.

Whenever I read anything about "how to approach fishing a new lake" ... they always tend to say two things, over & over again, regardless of who's being quoted in the article :

1) Find areas of the lake that are similar to lakes you know well, and fish them the same way you would your well known waters. (sort of the "a Crappie is a Crappie, regardless of where it lives" attitude)

2) Don't try & fish the "whole" lake. Section it off & work over each section thoroughly ... given the most likely area of the lake that the fish will be in, according to season &/or current conditions.

I would only add one other idea, since it's worked well for me on unfamiliar waters .... what I call the "when in Rome" method. That is ... fish where & like the locals do !! Talk to people on the water, at the ramps, at the fish cleaning stations & marinas, at the bait shops, etc. I usually ask them "what's the best you've ever done at this lake ?" Once I get the conversation going in that mode, I can congratulate them on their catch ... stroking their ego a bit ... and that usually leads to the finer details of "how/when/where/on what/how deep/etc". Not always, but often enough. It's what got me started shooting docks, back when I was mostly casting tube jigs or tightlining minnows. Had I not done so ... I'd have missed out on years of catching some really nice fish.

... cp :kewl

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Originally Posted by wicklundrh

What lakes you looking at? Someone might be able to give you a starting point. If not, attest we can look in the book and see if we can help. Or go to the lake and cr:Roflowd your boat:Rofl

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Thanks for the suggestions. The lakes include Cranberry Lake (Clare Co.) and Pratt L. (Gladwin Co.). I've read numerous posts/replies about trolling for crappies as a way to locate them and I thnk that will be my initial tactic. I wish I had a fish finder like Larry's. That really takes the interpetation of pixels out of the situation. I wonder if they will ever come out with a unit that identifies which species of fish is on the screen? :biggrin HEY....what was impossible 10 years ago is reality today...eh?
I doubt that there will be many, if any, other fishermen at the launches/ parking lots to question. This time of year many fishermen are transforming into hunters and I'll be one of them in another month.
Thanks again for the tips.

See, now you mention the name of the lakes and we have something to go on. I'll bet SlabsRus (Frank) may have some info for you on Pratt Lake but it just so happens that I have fished crappies in Cranberry lake. Almost 1 year ago to the day as a matter of fact. Come out of the boat launch and go left. There will be a small bay on your left. Fish the weed line. Continue on down the lake (and across) and there is a lone house with a nice back yard. I started by that house and drifted back across the lake (about 18 feet of water give or take) towards the swimming hole. I floated slip bobbers and minnows. I really enjoyed this lake and wish I had more time to explore it but a friend of mine and I were pre-fishing for a tournament (and I was guiding a bear trip ontop of that). Let us know how you do. I will be interested to find out as I have wanted to take a trip back to this lake! FYI, when I am fishing bodies of water to locate fish (before I had 3 grand worth of electronics) I used slip bobbers to help very depth and target and locate fish. Come to think of it, I should start doing that again!

I know this is a little late on the response but it should still apply for Pratt Lake. If you look at your lake map you should see that the lake is almost split in half. There is a long point that comes down from the north right in the middle of the lake. Just off the southern edge of that point there is a fairly large island between the point and the south shore. To the east of that large island you will find two somewhat marshy islands. The south island is the key for me this time of year. Fish the east half of the lake directly east of the small southern island where the water drops from 10 - 15 fow rather abruptly. In that area there is a fairly quick change in the composition of the lake floor. Around that island is mostly sand to the east until you get into the 10 fow ish area, then it will suddenly change to a clay bottom and drop into 15 fow, that's where I find them quite often on warm sunny days and in the evenings. Other times I will just go a little farther east and search for them over the deeper water. The water directly east of that small southern island is the quickest drop of the entire lake and is near transitions of the lake bottom. Minnow will often be up on that sand this time of year so the specks are there as well, though they will usually be out toward that 15 fow. There are some weeds and wood structure on the bottom very near where the sand changes to clay so it is a natural holding area. Add to that the fact that it is the area that is easiest for those specks to get from relatively shallow water into the deepest hole in the lake and you have a crappie spot. I don't know if you have fished Pratt Lake at all but there are some real dandies in there. Hope this helps a bit. Good luck.

Crappiepappy, you stole my thunder. The first thing i'd try is to maybe buy the guy's breakfast that just asked the girl at the counter of the bait shop for five or six dozen crappie minnows. When he sits down tell him what you want and why your there and just shut up and listen. If you have the contour maps of these lakes, see if they have river or creek chanels. Where I fish the lake side of those chanels are best and try fishing them from top to bottom. Use your depth finder to find the chanels, not always the fish. Do these lakes have areas that neck down an area and cause current? i.e. Bridges. Crappie love current and will ALWAYS be around those pilings at the bridges, your job is to find what depth they are at and putem in the box. If it works for you at home, more than likely it works at that new lake also. Confidence is the best thing you can take to that new lake. In fishing as in life there are three gives. (1) Give in (2) Give up or (3) Give it ALL you've got. I'd say good luck, but I don't think you'll need it!:highfive

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Originally Posted by crappietale

Thanks for the suggestions. The lakes include Cranberry Lake (Clare Co.) and Pratt L. (Gladwin Co.). I've read numerous posts/replies about trolling for crappies as a way to locate them and I thnk that will be my initial tactic. I wish I had a fish finder like Larry's. That really takes the interpetation of pixels out of the situation. I wonder if they will ever come out with a unit that identifies which species of fish is on the screen? :biggrin HEY....what was impossible 10 years ago is reality today...eh?
I doubt that there will be many, if any, other fishermen at the launches/ parking lots to question. This time of year many fishermen are transforming into hunters and I'll be one of them in another month.
Thanks again for the tips.

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Crappietale, I have a Hunninbird 571 HD Di. You can get it now for under $300 not the top of the line, but a reall good one for the $$

Thanks Larry. My boss said I could spend up to a grand on a new fish finder. Guess I'll keep on looking. http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w259/Mifox/ch004.gif

Tell your boss I need a new Atwater 500 aerator pump!

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Originally Posted by slabseeker1

Tell your boss I need a new Atwater 500 aerator pump!

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You'll have to make that request of your own wife. http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...smiley-021.gif

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Originally Posted by crappietale

Thanks Larry. My boss said I could spend up to a grand on a new fish finder. Guess I'll keep on looking. http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w259/Mifox/ch004.gif

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WOW!!! That should put you into a really nice one. Good Luck in your search..

The boss giving permission to spend that kind of money..... Makes you wonder! For a couple of days, we are wide eyed, looking at every fish finder review we can get our hands on..... Then it dawns on us...... This is going to bite me in the ass at some point in time isn't it? That $1000.00 fish finder ends up costing us diamond ear rings, a new flower bed, fixing the fence we were supposed to fix 5 years ago, new carpet in the master bedroom, and a trip to that stupid candle shop we don't want to go to...... On the flip side, you get a new fish finder!!!!!

My best reccomendation: Get the most bang for you buck. I would look for something with quality down imaging capabilities as well as GPS maps. All of them make quality gear, Lowrance, Hummingbird, Bottom Line, Garmin. Now is the best time of year. All the stores (cabelas, bass pro) are getting rid of older models to make room for new ones. The more features you get, the better off you are. Don't be afraid to only spend $600.00 if you can get what you want for less than a grand. Then you have more money to buy another one for the front of the boat!!!! Any way you look at it, your building a new flower bed and buying ear rings!

Actually I'm pretty well set with a fish finder on my crappie boat. The comment about a grand was in reference to a fish finder/gps for my big lake cruiser. The wife is so tired of listening to me reporting on all of my research and shopping that she said to just spend whatever it costs to get what I want. Actually the Humminbird unit I'm looking at is the 958c DI combo and is closer to $1500.00. Having the money to buy top-of-the-line electronics doesn't make SPENDING IT easy. BTW....I already built her a 40x40 fenced-in garden and she doesn't wear ear rings.....and I don't either. http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...fox/b-wink.gif

she doesn't wear ear rings.....and I don't either. http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...fox/b-wink.gif Now that's funny right there. LMAO