Lake Dardanelle ??

Where did all the crappie go ? Everyone was catching winter and springtime fish at Dardanelle and now I rarely see a post about anyone catching any there. I have done all the series 200 and 300 Bandit crankbait pulling I can stand for the last 2 weekends and have not caught one crappie. I have tried the edges of the Illinois Bayou channel as well as up in the Piney chute. I have gotten a bunch of nice bass, and more white bass and stripers than I cared to unhook. Just wondering how it can go from so good to so slow during the summer. I admit I don't have any secret brushpiles to jig over- maybe that is where I need to spend some time ( making brushpiles). Any ideas? I notice even Conway isn't guiding on Dardanelle this time of year !! I noticed on recent posts that Nimrod crappie are getting caught in 2to 4 FOW. Why would they be that shallow there and everyone says fish deep along the channels at Dardanelle ? Any thoughts or suggestions would be apprectiated.

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Originally Posted by goblerblaster

Where did all the crappie go ? Everyone was catching winter and springtime fish at Dardanelle and now I rarely see a post about anyone catching any there. I have done all the series 200 and 300 Bandit crankbait pulling I can stand for the last 2 weekends and have not caught one crappie. I have tried the edges of the Illinois Bayou channel as well as up in the Piney chute. I have gotten a bunch of nice bass, and more white bass and stripers than I cared to unhook. Just wondering how it can go from so good to so slow during the summer. I admit I don't have any secret brushpiles to jig over- maybe that is where I need to spend some time ( making brushpiles). Any ideas? I notice even Conway isn't guiding on Dardanelle this time of year !! I noticed on recent posts that Nimrod crappie are getting caught in 2to 4 FOW. Why would they be that shallow there and everyone says fish deep along the channels at Dardanelle ? Any thoughts or suggestions would be apprectiated.

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Ain't no Crappie in Dardanelle this time of year. They all pack up and move to Peru, they will be back first week of October! :Rofl Seriously though, they can still be caught there, and not as deep as people think.

Look suspended in open water where the Shad are. The fish maybe on the main lake too. Dardanelle is a big lake with lots of open water.:twocents

Over on Nimrod the Crappie and Shad will go shallow in the heat trying to find better oxygen levels. At times they suspend on channel drops near the thermocline and sometimes go real shallow even in 100 + air temps.:crazy:

I fished an oxbow yesterday. I caught lots of fish, mostly dinks, in 3-4 fow. The fish were very warm to the touch. There were lots of birds diving for shad in that area so I decided to try it. The bigger fish were holding tight to brush.

Wondered the same thing about Dardanelle. Thanks CMJ for getting us lined out. How long of a drive is it to Peru?

Lot's of the better local fishing is 2'. Winter spring summer or fall, the thumb rule is 18" deep.

I agree, the crappie here on Nimrod can get really shallow this time of year, (hottest part of the summer). We had one day where the air temp was close to 100 and we were whacking good crappie in 4 FOW! Beat anything I had ever seen. The fish were very warm to the touch and hit like a moving freight train! Even when fishing out over deep water don't think that they won't be just under the surface a few feet. Look for the schools of small shad on the surface and those suspicious looking "V's" plowing into them. Those are crappie cruising just under the surface. If you are catching crappie spiderrigging but they are not pulling down hard or they are just making slack line then shallow up a little as you may be on the verge of fishing a little too deep.

I guess they are still close to the channel, just over shallow water when they get 4 foot deep in Nimrod? I don't know where they go on Dardanelle, but I have great experience in finding where the are NOT !!

Yea Goblerblaster, those fish were pretty close to deeper water. I agree, Dardanelle is a different kind of animal. I just started fishing it this spring but haven't been over there since May. If I was to go over there I think I would probably try some 9 or 10 feet water first then try deeper. But, I'd probably not find many fish either. It's a large intimidating lake to me. I'm just going to have to bite off small sections until I learn more about it.

If you have good electronics, (side imaging,) just run the channel on the main lake and look for brush on the edges. If not.......take a trip to Peru.

C.J. some times I think you just ain't right.

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Originally Posted by mb4850

C.J. some times I think you just ain't right.

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You just now figgerin that out?

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Originally Posted by mb4850

C.J. some times I think you just ain't right.

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I have never said that...but I have thought it several times.:Rofl

Let's have fall camp in Peru. If those Dardanelle fish are down there, it would be worth the drive. I'll check for some lakes in the Lima area and no, I didn't need to google to know Lima is the capital.

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Originally Posted by RCC

I have never said that...but I have thought it several times.:Rofl

and no, I didn't need to google to know Lima is the capital.

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Wow Rcc, you so smart. I thought lima was a bean? :Rofl

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Originally Posted by Cmj

Wow Rcc, you so smart. I thought lima was a bean? :Rofl

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That's where the bean was invented hence the name:crazy:. Been checking out Peru. They got some funky fish down there.

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Originally Posted by RCC

That's where the bean was invented hence the name:crazy:. Been checking out Peru. They got some funky fish down there.

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Its all them potholes they got down there. By the time them Dardanelle Crappies make it all the way to the bean capitol, they are all colored up like a peacock. :biggrin

I have been told that Lake Dardanelle never develops a summer thermocline since the river runs through it with good current most all the time. The tourney bass fishermen have told me that if you are fishing more than 10 feet deep= your below most of the bass. I wonder if the same applies for crappie in the summer? I know I caught some 55 feet deep in the strip pits back in January. Maybe their annual migration to Peru makes them act different than regular crappie

I don't think I agree with the thermocline theory. I have marked one as shallow as 12ft in Piney and even in the main channel, hence Bass and other fish holding at 10ft.

Gobblerblaster, the folks from AGFC says there is a thermocline most years. But now with the rain and current it should'nt be but most dry years there will be very little if any current.

Good point CMJ. I have always heard that the fish will be above the thermocline. 12 foot deep water would be deeper than the bottom of the lake in most places- except the channels and strip pits- in Dardanelle anyway. Maybe that is why I can't find them in the summer. I suppose they just scatter.

Is all this rain going to have Lake Nimrod messed up by this weekend? If not, I may try it there.

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Originally Posted by goblerblaster

Good point CMJ. I have always heard that the fish will be above the thermocline. 12 foot deep water would be deeper than the bottom of the lake in most places- except the channels and strip pits- in Dardanelle anyway. Maybe that is why I can't find them in the summer. I suppose they just scatter.

Is all this rain going to have Lake Nimrod messed up by this weekend? If not, I may try it there.

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Can't say, depends on how much rain fell up the watershed.