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Found the website yesterday and love it! All the info i need on crappie fishing i'm finding right here. Just wanted to introduce myself and say hello. Was wondering what ya'll thought about this cold front moving in this week, probaly won't get to hit the water till this weekend.
Thanks
I think it's just what we need to cool the water down and get them back to feeding up for winter and next spring's spawn. It may take a day or two after the front has passed though. Next week should be real good with cooler temps and stable weather.
Welcome to the board H2OGASM, hopefully with the front coming thru Wed. night or Thur. morning maybe by the weekend the crappie will be bitiing again. Gonna be out there trying anyway. Again welcome and join right in, lots of good info to be had here.
Welcome H2OGAZM! This is a great web site to enjoy freinds and share good times.
This weekend looks good for the duck huntin. That's where I will be. But..... I think before this front comes thru will be great fishin. Have a freind that is loadin the boat at Spring Lake. And they are full of eggs? What's up with that?
Dad was in AL over Thanksgiving and did a little fishin and the bass he cought out of the pond was full of eggs.
Not being a fall fishin guy, this is new to me.
Let's go fishin!
Welcome aboard! I'm not sure about the front. It will be a strong one, but with it moving through on Thursday, the fishing may improve by the weekend. What lakes do you normally fish?
Welcome from East Arkansas
Welcome from the West!:D
It's supossed to be cold after the front, maybe they will bite by Saturday...;)
Hey Slipcork:Quote:
Originally Posted by Slipcork
It's normal for them to have eggs this time of year. When the surface temps fall through the mid to lower 60's they start putting on eggs for next spring's spawn. It takes a while to make several hundred thousand eggs and a lot of energy too so that's one reason that fall fishing can be so productive.
Since the water temperatures have been staying pretty close to 60 here for several weeks now they've gotten a bit lazy but this next cold front and the cooler days it should bring us will get them going again - (I hope).
hey Jerry,
Thanks for the info. I'm still a geenhorn at this. But I love learnin!
That's the fun part.
Get this huntin out of my system and maybe I can get back after them crappie.
So many questions have been answered on this very thread. Question to all the pro's here: Why is it on Cane Creek this weekend I was catching them 3 to 5 feet deep, but down the road at lake Monticello, they are catching them 35-40 feet deep. What is up with that?
Welcome aboard H2OGAZM. The front will mess'em up for a few days, but the colder temps we need to get the water temp to start dropping again.
Hey Slipcork, if you don't already, are you going to fry some roe up come next spring?
Bobberwatcher - First, they are two different lakes so that makes them two completely different environments even though they may be near each other geographically. Now taking that into consideration, what makes crappie be shallow or deep in any given body of water? -- water temp, and I think that is also relative to the overall size and depth of the lake. Other factors that might have an influence are preditation, amount of cover, oxygen content, and even water clarity. Overall, they're just two different lakes so the crappie will be reacting differently.
The same thing happens here. We fish Hamilton, Greeson and DeGray all of which are inside of an hour from each other. Sunday, Jerry fished Hamilton and it was painfully slow, but on DeGray we caught crappie both deep and shallow. On Hamilton we were catching fish deep. So, on DeGray I started deep too, caught a few but found the greater numbers actively feeding shallow. Jerry says I beat him Sunday, but I did not! Can't make that comparison when you're fishing two different lakes.
Hey Allen:Quote:
Originally Posted by bobberwatcher
I don't know what it is about Lake Monticello but I'm always hearing about people catching them deep there. I suspect the water temperature probably doesn't vary much from shallower water to deeper water this time of year and there's probably plenty of oxygen shallow or deep now that the water has cooled off some so that may take out a couple of the factors that affect the depth they are holding.
Food source is probably one of the major factors that determine where you can catch them so I suspect different lakes either have different primary food sources or the food source is holding at different depths for some reason.
We're finding the better crappie on Hamilton, Greeson and DeGray deeper than we usually do this time of year but I think when the water cools off a bit more and they (and all the other predator fish) get the shad thinned out some more they'll be coming shallower and getting serious about the Fall Feeding Frenzy.
They do keep it interesting!
The crappie on both lakes are doing the same thing this time of year, they are feeding on the schools of shad. On Cane Creek there is not very deep water maybe 16-17 ft. It also has the hydrilla and the shad are staying above the hydrilla, probably because of oxygen. In Monticello you will see huge school of shad on your depth finder, they are moving to the deepest water and the predator fish are going to be following.Quote:
Originally Posted by bobberwatcher
Welcome from N.C.
I fish about anywhere and everywhere. Do a lot of smallmouth fishing on streams. But here lately the crappie has gotten in my blood.Been goin out to Clear lake and Plum bayou here lately just not doing real good couple here and there can never establish pattern.I am purchasing a new fishfinder a portable so if you pro lip rippers have any suggestions throw them out please. I'm needing all the help i can get. But sure i'll be out somewhere this weekend.
Talk @ ya'll later goin to work but thinking of ripping lips!!!
Welcome from Batesville.
Welcome from Cape Fair
I too found this sight a few months ago. I feel I have many new freinds even though I havn't met a lot of them face to face. You will enjoy all of the education and BS that goes on here.
DP
Welcome from west-central Arkansas. You can guess where I live and fish by the name.:D Fishing is the best thing a man can do . Never too young or old to enjoy.
Hey, here is an excellent article that Jerry Blake wrote on fishfinders. http://www.crappie.com/gr8vb3/showthread.php?t=27679Quote:
Originally Posted by H2OGAZM
I am currently using a PiranhaMAX fishfinder by Humminbird. Good unit for the money, and they also have a portable version... http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catal...rTarget=browse
I'm not too familiar with Plum bayou or Clear lake, but I know that some others on the board are, so they should be along shortly to help you out. I do know that it will take some colder weather before they start picking up on those lakes. Hope it helps.
Welcome to Crappie.com. I noticed you said you fish several smallmouth streams. Which ones do you fish?
I spend a good bit of time on Big Piney creek, along with Saline river, White, and Buffalo rivers. Just about anywhere in the Ozarks i've been.
We have some family land on the Alum fork of the Saline. I havent fished it in years but love to wade it in the summer with an ultra light and a rebel frog. In fact I have a deer stand that hangs out over the river. A few weeks ago I was in it watching some nice smallies hanging below a log and a couple of rocks.
The piney is awesome to in a solo boat and a full weekend to enjoy.
Take care and I will see you on the water
Yeah was down there about 4 weks ago and caught some nice ones.Done a short canoe float about three miles and ended up catching 7 smallies biggest at 16 inches and all the rest good fat fish. Real happy to see that quality of fish coming out of there, i've also caught some nice walleye out of there also. Big Piney creek is one of my favorites i'm usually up there anytime it's up i am an avid whitewater kayaker so i've had the advantge to see many creeks throughtout the Ozarks.
Welcome to Crappie.com H2OGAZM from NW Arkansas! You will find all you need here, and maybe even some good crappie fishing tips!