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This is for all who think every trip is a success. Went to Horseshoe Lake on White River Refuge yesterday. Zeroed! First time in a long time without catching at least one crappie, but it does happen. But.... Even though I didnt catch a crappie, I still learned from this trip. So for everyone out there who thinks you gotta be catching fish to learn. Think again. I did however ended up catching alot of gar! And quite a few bass. Just no Sac's!
Yup I hate when that happens but even if and when I zero I learn something too
I am like everyone else and would love to be dragging them in everytime I fish but that does not happen. There's just days that it's good to be there and sounds like you had on of those. The refuge this time of year can be pretty cool!!
It's just part of it. If I'd been on the refuge I'd have my bow in the boat. We used to hunt the muzzleloader season there in October. We'd hunt till about 10am get off our stands, which were by the lake, and fish till around 2 or 3 then get back on our stands and hunt till dark. We caught a lot of crappie doing that in the fall. And killed a few deer, some where very good bucks too. The biggest I killed there was a 9 point that field dressed 208lb. I wish I could find my pictures of that deer, haven't seen them in a log time. Lowepro let's get together for a hunting and fishing combo trip this fall. Give me a call.
so, what did you learn other than the crappie weren't biting where you were? i don't always catch fish either and don't know who does every time, but i wouldn't say i always learn something other than the fish weren't biting where i fished. other times, i do learn something. i tend to learn more from the bite from not biting. of course i've been fishing the same lake 40 years so there's not any new spots to try.Quote:
Originally Posted by LowePro
Still beats working. You probably won't go fish hungry anyway. Half the battle of fishing is knowing where they ain't. That's why I love a thermocline so much.
Sounds great to me man!!!! You just let me know when u wanna come down and i will try to make arrangements! Refuge is beautiful right now! And been seeing alot of deer on the way in. Havent seen a buck yet, but there is several doe in the same spot every time i go thru there.
Learned the crappie werent biting like you said. But also learned that there is 20+ feet of water in the lake, which i had no idea, also learned alot about bottom contour, tree tops etc. Now i know exactly where to go once a thermocline develops and can find em schooling! Not many lakes around here that are deep enuf to develop a thermocline. So when the water gets hot down here, the bite quits. The. I hafta travel off to deeper lakes. Learned that if a man wants to catch a bass, early october on horseshoe pre-front with falling pressure it shouldnt b a problem. Whether you are trying to or not. Lol
Lowe just because the lakes don't have a thermocline don't mean they quit biting. The fish I found tend to move shallower in the water column. Sometimes 18 inches or so. Especially if a good wind as the water is more oxygenated from the wave action. Just a thought
Ever caught fish, killed a deer and waterfowl, same day?
Oh yes sir!!! Usually on my farm though when I pull the ole tri-fecta!
That is definitely a great hypothesis, and I believe it. I have stumbled into crappie shallow in hot water temps, but not enuf to put a pattern together. I will definitely start paying more attention to the conditions next time I do stumble up on em.