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down here to Florida for first time ever. Looking for advice on fishing St Johns river for crappie. Best tackle and idea of where best to look for Florida crappie. Prefer to stay on the river as we have a dock with the place we are staying saving putting boat in and out of the water.
Want to put the other half on some good fish so she'll wan to come back. We will be here from Illinois for the month of Feb.
Thanks in advance for the help.
Ranger375
Satsuma isn't far at all from Crescent Lake. I know you are wanting to stay on the river and there is some good fishing on the river, but it would be well worth the time and effort to pull your boat a few miles down the road and fish Crescent...If you do go, just PM me and I'll help you in any way I can...There are several more on here that can help you better than me......Just my :twocents
Don't listen to TnT...heres what you do:
Satsuma isn't far at all from Crescent Lake. I know you are wanting to stay on the river and there is some good fishing on the river, but it would be well worth the time and effort to pull your boat a few miles down the road and fish Crescent...If you do go, just PM me and I'll help you in any way I can...There are several more on here that can help you better than me......
I'm headed there tomorrow morning!:fish
I'm headed there tomorrow morning!:fish
:yikes What, no invitation :dono gubers
I thought you had a job or something like that....you betcha...everybodys welcome....Slab's going with me in hopes of getting a few 2+ zillas...he's got the big fish fever!Quote:
Originally Posted by specktacklure
Come on up, we'll make a mini slabfest out of it. Put $5 in the pot and biggest fish takes all.
:fish
Yup, gotta w@*k - just giving some smack to you lucky guys - I'm sure you can put Slab on some zilla's.Quote:
Originally Posted by Speckanator
Good luck, have fun - can't wait for the report.
I have heard that they get some nice fish around the Seven Sisters Islands. And if you want to take a nice long ride, go to Dunns Creek and take it all the way to Crescent. Want to see some pics.
I like this & would be all over it. When I saw 65pontiac was going too,Quote:
Originally Posted by 65pontiac
I told my boss that I had a sore throat & he told me to stop talking about fishing & it would feel better:mad::banghead:hatchet::puke
Ranger375, you will find that fishing the actual St. Johns River can be frustrating at times...due to the amount of boat traffic that speeds by. I am not sure about that particular stretch you are in, but on nice days, the river gets congested with boaters. If it were me, I would pleasure boat the St. John's River and then I would fish Crescent, Dexter, Woodruff, and Monroe. You will definitely put your other half on fish if you take her to these lakes.
Hope this helps...and press us for more info on these lakes. Many on this site will point you in the right direction. You are very central to a lot of excellent fishing!
Totally agree with what everyone is saying after having spent the last three and half months on the st John's with hubby in debary area. Fish the lakes. Cruise the river to enjoy it, preferrably not on the weekend... :-).
Ginny
IM PASSING OUT CRAPPIE INFO FOR SOME OTHER REQUESTS, SO ILL GIVE TO YOU ALSO--HAVE FUN
Crappie generally start their movement out of their deep water winter haunts when the water temperatures start warming towards the 45-50 degree range. They will congregate around the entrances of creek channels until the water temps reaches around the 50-55 degree range. Then you can expect them to begin migrating towards the shallower secondary creeks and bays, using the channels as "highways". At this point, try trolling minnows or casting a CULPRIT Tassel Tail or Curl Tail grub to isolated stumps, brush and small pockets, and retrieving them back very slowly. When water reaches in the 55-60 degree range, the males should be in shallow water looking and fanning out spawning beds, while the females stage out in the closest deeper water structures. Crappie feed more aggressively and baitfish are more active as spawning nears. Try dropping a minnow under a cork into the spawning beds for males. Use a cast and slow retrieve with a CULPRIT Paddle Tail grub for the deeper females.
As a general rule, surface temperatures in the 62-65 degree range are almost perfect for shallow, spawning crappie. The females will then move in and around brushy cover. Your best bet now is to drop live minnows under a cork. Any bad weather or cold fronts can set the whole process back a few days to a few weeks. This will be explained in more detail later.
When water warms to the 70-75 degree range, the females will leave their nest and move to nearby deep structures where they staged before the spawning. The males stay behind to guard the nests. Use a cast/retrieve slowly with the CULPRIT Paddle tail grub. By the time water reaches 75 degrees, the males will be joining the females and migrate through the channels the same way they came in back out to the deep cooler water for the summer.
When the water starts to cool in the fall, they will again move back into the creek channels to feed heavily for the upcoming winter months. Most crappies will stage halfway up the tributaries near to the pre-spawn locations. Casting the CULPRIT Crappie Baits such as the Tassel Tail, Paddle Tail and Curl Tail jigs is an effective and fun way to catch crappies now. When water temps fall in the mid-40's range, they will migrate back to deep water in the main lake.
Keep in mind that these water temperature ranges are arbitrary, depending on the locations of the water you fish. For example, crappies spawn when water is in the 62-65 degree range, which can be as early as January in the Deep South or as late as June in the North.
COLD FRONTS AND FALLING WATER TEMPERATURES
There's another factor that seem to be even more important than just a specific temperature. Let's say you found great fishing for a couple days at the 65 degree mark. Then a relatively mild front comes in and drops the surface temperature down to 62 degrees. Even though the water temperature is still in the "ideal" range, you may find that fishing is off considerably. Fish are not completely without the ability to regulate their body temperature. They have the instinctive ability to behaviorally thermo regulate. This means they seek out areas of preferred temperature in an environment that is not at uniform temperature.
Especially in the Spring, crappie are super-sensitive to temperature variation. A sudden drop when the temperature is in the 50's is more dramatic to fish behavior than a similar drop from the 60's.
You may have to alter your tactics and try deeper water or heavier cover to counter the effects of the sinking temperatures. Also, concentrate on those northern shorelines or coves protected from northerly cold fronts and exposed to the longest period of southerly sunlight.
Forget the river........... you GOTTA GO TO CRESCENT :)
Hope ya find some fish and enjoy your time wherever it is you end up fishing :) Good Luck!