Lake Murray today May 19,2015

A few of the mixed catch this morning, at 2 p.m. Whew gettin hot, time to go.
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Water temp is 83 degrees more or less a few tenths. Partly cloudy morning, to steamin hot at 2 p.m.

Gills are still relating to docks next to deep water access. In the back of Bear Creek, way up the main feeder creek you can find long sloping gravel points with some kind of weed, grass, plant about two feet high that runs around the points and those points are loaded with shellcrackers. I caught a dozen or so crappie in 21 to 23 feet of water right on the bottom in the creek run in stinking creek. All kinda small though, they were caught on a dropshot type rig on a small black hair jig. The Gills and crackers were caught on a white rooster tail, shellcrackers tend to go for a white rooster tail over others. The white perch are so numerous they are a problem, I got tired of taking them off the hooks. Going to have fish and hush puppies tonight........yum!!

Cheers...........Kit

Congrats on a fine mess brim and shell cracker, looks as if summer time is coming on strong.

A fine looking catch, congrats!! Thanks for the report and pics :ThumbsUp

Mayne, just maybe, I can get my boat in the water in the next week or so. Good catch and report Kit.

Good catch Kit sure wish I could have been with you. I am going to give it a try later in the week. Don

nice catch them are some fine looking fish !!!! is that a Eisenhower I see too ????

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Originally Posted by sinkermaker

Good catch Kit sure wish I could have been with you. I am going to give it a try later in the week. Don

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Long sloping gravel points, islands with sloping points, and you want the wind blowing into the point. Set up with red worms for the Shell crackers, kinda like crappie fishing, three rods shallow, three deep, not bit in ten minutes......move. About to get hot, I see next week 96 and 97 in the forecast. We will see 100 soon.

Kit

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Originally Posted by strmwalker

nice catch them are some fine looking fish !!!! is that a Eisenhower I see too ????

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Yes, big enough to fillet. It was delicious too. Lol! That is perhaps the best tasting fish in the lake. Provided you can catch one decent size.

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Originally Posted by Kit Carson

Yes, big enough to fillet. It was delicious too. Lol! That is perhaps the best tasting fish in the lake. Provided you can catch one decent size.

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I have always liked to catch them too. I understand Lake Russell has some dandy ones in it. Not sure why they would be bigger in one lake over another just down the road. Up north they sure get big and are delicious. They are closely related to the Walleye I think.

Good mess of fish Kit! Congratulations!! I went Sunday and and man was that a mistake. Crowded, crowded and crowded. Thanks for the report and pics.

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Originally Posted by Eatmorecrappie

Good mess of fish Kit! Congratulations!! I went Sunday and and man was that a mistake. Crowded, crowded and crowded. Thanks for the report and pics.

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Yep, weekends on Murry are insanity. Was up at 4.a.m. this morning and on the lake before daylight.

In the ice cooler are 20 nice Black Crappie waiting to be cleaned. Bear Creek, top of the creek run, just south of a metal electric power line with an eagle nest way up in the top, is a brush pile in 18 foot of water. It was loaded with fish. They liked Electric Chicken Kalin grubs today.

I did not see too many boats today, but there was one nimrod I had to wait on to load my boat, I asked him if he wanted me to back his boat trailer for him......Lol! He was having a time with that.

As for the Gills fished for them for an hour or so, in Hancock creek, another nice deep creek with deep water docks, but things have changed they are now 12 to 16 feet deep and a drop shot rig with two jigs works well. Just drag it along the bottom slow just enough to move the jigs. Kit

What kind of jig would you use for gills Kit? Hancock Creek is that Chapin side? Thanks

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Originally Posted by Eatmorecrappie

What kind of jig would you use for gills Kit? Hancock Creek is that Chapin side? Thanks

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There is much to that question. A regular ole crappie curl tail works well when they are shallow and active. But when they go deep as the water warms up I find a small black or natural colored hair jig or some thing like the Lindy creature jigs work real well. Depending on where I am fishing I may rig two in tandem or just one if I am working brush piles in front of docks. Those jigs are more expensive than crappie curl tails. Get hung up and you lose two at once. But normally I loop knot two on the line above a 1/4 ounce sinker and cast them that way to work deep banks and points. Those offshore islands and humps will soon be the place as the water starts steaming due to 96 degree days.

Hancock creek on your Lake Murray map is what is called Bass Hotel number two. It has very nice deep water docks all along the west side of the feeder creek and has in its mouth very deep water and 30 plus depth in the main run and 20 feet all the way to the back. The docks all summer have a good 10 foot plus of water on them. They hold crappie in pre spawn and spawn also, but docks on Murry for whatever reason from post spawn until fall become vacant of crappie. I am fixing to start the longline again for summer. Relax and be lazy and fish open water until winter at which time pushin works at 35 feet much better. Then March 1 start chasing the Gills for a couple months again. But I do usually spend an hour or two each trip for the gills on those offshore islands and catch a few Gills to eat. The biggest Gills I have ever caught on Murry come off deep water points such as the point on the west side of Bomb Island. For public waters there are some real big ones found offshore. Kit