So I know you fish brush piles for crappie in the summer months, but what other times would you fish there? Also, what particular time of the year would you fish shallow and where?
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So I know you fish brush piles for crappie in the summer months, but what other times would you fish there? Also, what particular time of the year would you fish shallow and where?
You can fish brushpiles all year long. But at all times, some piles will have fish and others will not, so it helps to have lots of piles to search and to have them located in different types of locations around your lake. Some deep, some shallow, and some that stretch from one to the other. As to shallow water, you can try anytime. But the big attraction for some people is to go crappie fishing only one time during the year, and that is during the spring spawning period, which in Texas may be late March to mid April (?). I don't know the timing in Tx, so ask on your state forum. During the spawn, most fish will come up really shallow to lay and incubate eggs.
But if baitfish are swimming in 1-2' of water in the middle of August, then the crappie will come in after them sometime during the day. It may be just after first light, or very late in the evening, but they will come.
Some of the best fishing from brushpiles can come when it gets colder.....November, December can be great months.
Actually, not everyone fishes brushpiles in the heat of Summer. Many people push/pull crankbaits out in open water, in & around the wandering schools of Shad ... especially when targeting White Crappie.Quote:
Originally Posted by jacob2000
But, yeah ... what Vic N says has great merit.
You also want to know if a thermocline sets up in your waters, and at what depth it occurs. Cover below that depth won't likely have any fish, but if some of it sticks up above the thermocline level/depth, then there's a potential for fish to be there.
Crappie will seek out shade (for comfort in the cooler water, or for camo to hide their presence) and that shade can be from submerged objects or from sheer depth (below the light penetration level). Windy &/or cloudy days can bring Crappie out of the brush & suspending above or to the sides of it, while bright sunny days may put them down into the brush (or at least on the shady side of it).
While not all Crappie will be in/around the brush, or out in open water chasing baitfish, none of them will be below the thermocline depth, as there's not sufficient dissolved oxygen in those depths below the thermocline, to sustain them (or the baitfish they feed on).
I generally tend to fish "shallow" (<15fow) in the Spring spawning period, early in the AM in Summer (for both Black & White Crappie), and in the late Fall (for Black Crappie, especially). And, of course, at night during the Summer.
... cp :kewl
I'm pretty new to catching succesfully but I have learned my waters only have fish on the banks for a short period in the spring. Then they move to deeper open water. I've been catching in the middle of the lake, on deeper flats and edges of drop offs to channels with slight canges to depth. You really just have to move around to find them. And they are always in a different place.:dono
I should have noted that I'm slow trolling C & C. Rigs with minnows over jigs at a depth where I see fish on my FF. The fish could be anywhere. I learned all this from this forum. I went from searching to catching by paying attention to what our friends post here.
When fishing brush piles in the fall and colder months, what time of day would you be fishing? Also, how do you troll? Sorry for so many questions, but is it beneficial to fish multiple brush piles in a day or stick with a single one?
In the Fall/Winter, you would fish the brush piles at whatever time of day the air temps allow you to ... IMHO.Quote:
Originally Posted by jacob2000
Trolling is simply fishing with the boat constantly moving. What baits you're using and what rigging style will determine what type of "trolling" method you use and at what speed your boat is moving. You have longline trolling, Spider Rigging, & pushing/pulling as the most often used terms to define what method of "trolling" is being done.
You definitely want to have quite a few brushpiles marked, and know at what depth they top out at vs the water level. Then when you find a few fish on a brushpile, you'll know which other piles are at the same depth and can move to a fresh one if you stop catching fish from the one you're on. You can set up a "milk run" between several piles in a localized area, and jump from one to the other after catching several fish from the first one. This gives them time to settle down at each pile, after you've removed some from that pile, and then you can make the "milk run" several times (if time permits) during your trip.
... cp :kewl
Thanks, CrappiePappy. But what do you mean whatever time of day the air temps allow you to? And what's your favorite method of trolling?Quote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
What I mean by "whatever time of day the air temps allow you to" is .... as hot or cold as you can stand it. Winters up here in KY can be brutal, but I don't know what Winters are like in your part of Texas.Quote:
Originally Posted by jacob2000
My favorite way of trolling "used to be" holding one rod in hand and dragging a 1/16oz marabou Roadrunner behind the boat .... or what is usually called "longline" trolling. But, now that I have rod holders mounted on my boat & 14' rods, I've been "pushing" jigs with some success.
"Pushing" is simply trolling with the rods out the front end of the boat, more or less pointing towards the direction I'm going. Long rods & heavy weights keep the baits & line away from the trolling motor prop and at whatever depth I want them to be, when the boat is moving (usually between 0.5mph & 0.8mph).
"Pulling" is trolling with the rods out the side or back, and the term is mostly used when using crankbaits (with or without heavy weights on the line).
Longline trolling is simply dragging your baits way behind the boat .... in other words, "having a long line" between the rod & bait. The term is mostly used when the bait is a jig, but it's really just describing that style of trolling vs the other terms.
Spider Rigging is basically "pushing/pulling" at very slow speeds (less than 0.5mph), and usually associated with having heavy weights on your main line and a jig or hook on a leader ... with a jighead/plastics, a jighead & minnow, a jighead/plastics/minnow, or just a minnow on a hook. Most Spider Rigging is done by one or two people out the front of the boat, but there can be a person at the back of the boat ... and he'd be "pushing" if his rods were pointed towards the front of the boat, or "pulling" if his rods were pointed towards the back of the boat. (but most people wouldn't refer to "pushing or pulling", just simply "spider rigging")
When you're pushing/pulling crankbaits, you're usually moving at between 1.5mph & 2mph. You can troll cranks with or without heavy weights on your line.
All these terms are kinda interconnected, as they simply describe a variation of "trolling" ... when you consider the term "trolling" to mean dragging your baits along with forward motion. If the boat isn't moving, your lines would be straight down below the rod tip and you'd be considered fishing "tightline" (or what my GrandPa used to call "still fishing"). The terms are simply a way to distinguish the different variations of the methods used, so you don't have to go into detail about how you were fishing.
... cp :kewl
Jacob, tell us what you plan to try. Do you have a boat, or are you bank fishing? There is a big investment for some of these types of fishing, or you can adapt some of them to a cheap style (like me!). Do you have, or are you contemplating electronics? Do you fish a large reservoir, river, or small lake? Let us know the types of situation you think you will be facing, and maybe we can fine tune our answers for your situation.
Alrighty, Vic N. I plan to try a majority of the things y'all have presented me with. I will most certainly try jigs over brush piles and in shallower water during the spring. Me and my dad will begin creating new brush piles and recording their depth, and we will try to fish many different brush piles in a "milk run" type style. Probably will use minnows over the brush piles, but I will try the jigs as well. I will also attempt to begin trolling, probably long-lining or pushing/pulling. We do have a boat, and the only other places I have fished for crappie specifically would be on our dock. Our boat is well equipped for crappie fishing, and we are looking into getting a new trolling motor. We have electronics, not quite sure how to read them well. I fish Toledo Bend pretty much exclusively for crappie, however I would love to try at other lakes such as Sam Rayburn or Richland Chambers, etc. We may be going up to Toledo this summer if we can find time. If we go we will night fish brush piles and probably set up new ones. I would like to come up and try these new techniques throughout all 4 seasons, during the day and at night.Quote:
Originally Posted by vic n
Hopefully that gave you a little more info so that you can understand my position :biggrin
Seems like you have a pretty good plan. If you haven't already, make sure you start posting on both Texas and Louisiana state forums to ask specific questions about Toledo Bend. They will be able to tell you exactly what pattern is currently working, whether to try live bait or artificial or a combination, what areas of the lake, etc. To learn more about how to use your electronics...how to tune them for the best pictures, how to interpret what you are seeing, go to the fishing electronics forum to read and ask questions. Search both states fishing authority to see if they have put out brush piles and if the coordinates are posted online. If you don't have GPS, you might want to get at least a handheld model. Also if you don't have a mapping function with your electronics, buy a paper map WITH contour lines for each lake you want to learn.Quote:
Originally Posted by jacob2000
Thanks for the explanation CrappiePappy!
Is there anyway to get a picture of a "Pushing" set up on how it is rigged?
What is the best way to maintain depth? How much weight are we talking to keep it at these depths when trolling?
I just started "pushing" jigs, so I don't have any pics. I'm basically running three 14' rods straight out the front of the boat .... 1/2oz barrel weight on the main line, a plastic bead, then the main line tied to a duo-lock snap ... pre-tied leaders of a lesser pound test line with various sizes & styles of jig heads can then be clipped onto the duo-lock. My leaders are around 12-18" long. I can add whatever color/shape/size of plastic body to the jig head, and change them as needed.Quote:
Originally Posted by jdk426
My speed is usually between 0.5mph & 0.8mph to keep my bait depth at 6 tenths x's the length of line out the end of the rod. Or, in other words, if I put out 17ft of line, my baits will be about 10ft deep. That is, of course, IF my lines are more or less running at a 45deg angle.
I only distinguish the difference between "pushing" jigs and "spider rigging" jigs ... by the speed of movement. Spider Rigging, by my definition, is done at less than 0.5mph (but others may disagree) and the lines are kept at much less of an angle (almost straight down).
My Spider Rigging buddy uses 3/4oz weights on similar setups ... and the crankbait pushers/pullers around here use 2oz weights & 5ft leaders. Everybody seems to have their own formula for getting their baits to the depth needed, by the amount of weight used & length of line out.
Like I said .... I'm just starting out, and still learning & experimenting ... so, I may end up using more weight. I just started with 1/2oz weights, but I can go up to 1.5oz weights (single barrel sinker) if the situation requires it. The major factor in my not pushing crankbaits, is simply because I only have a 42lb thrust 5spd 12V trolling motor and one battery for it. Pushing cranks pretty much requires a running speed of around 1.8mph for sustained periods ... which is usually best done with 24V variable speed trolling motor/2-4 batteries setup. Not to mention the line counter reels, and trolling rods of 14-20ft in length.
This picture is as close to anything I've got, showing me "pushing" jigs. And in this particular instance, my rods are not pointed as much towards the front of the boat as I would normally have them, because I was pushing these jigs along a dropoff (quick drop of 20ft down to 40ft deep) and was using my depth finder to keep the "boat" over 40fow & using the long rods to keep the jigs near the edge of the drop.
Attachment 207078
It worked very well, considering I would normally be casting the shallows or shooting docks at that lake, at that time of year.
Attachment 207079
... cp :kewl
"Is there anyway to get a picture of a "Pushing" set up on how it is rigged?" Maybe this will as help.:twocents
https://www.google.com/search?q=push...w=1280&bih=620
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkp2Hy8jH9k
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/missi...ng-cranks-try/
When you are using a crappie jig like a roadrunner, is it dragging on the bottom because the retrieve can be so slow?
I, personally, don't let my Roadrunners drag bottom .... whether casting or trolling with them. A certain speed is required to make the blade spin, and not just flutter. The depth of the water and the method I'm using will dictate whether I use a 1/32oz or 1/16oz Roadrunner.Quote:
Originally Posted by jacob2000
And yes .. I do realize that a RR can & will catch fish, even when the blade is just "fluttering" or not even moving .... and that it will catch fish when used as a vertical jigging bait. I've just found that it is much more effective when the retrieve speed is fast enough to make the blade spin. I've even heard of people catching fish on a Roadrunner that was being dragged along the bottom or hopped along the bottom ... but, I tend to think that those fish would also have been caught had those people been using a regular jig of the same size/color.
Irregardless of the ad hype ("as long as you fish it slow") .... IMHO you can fish them "too slow", which basically renders the blade as almost useless or unnecessary. The blade not only produces attention gaining "flash", but also produces "pulse waves". Pulse waves give the location of the bait to the fish in water clarity or depths where the visibility of the flash may be limited.
... cp :kewl
How often do you change colors of your lures?
If you're referring to using jighead/plastics :Quote:
Originally Posted by jacob2000
When using only one rod & casting ... I usually don't change colors very often. I "might" change colors 2 or 3 times in a days fishing, but that would be under unusual conditions. As I've stated in replies to some of your other questions, I usually use a lure that has contrasting colors (like blue/chartreuse or green/chartreuse, or even purple/charteuse) so that I have a dark & light color working for me at the same time.
Now, if my fishing partner is wearing them out on another color ... I switch to that color !! :biggrin
... cp :kewl
Ya know crappiepappy, you've given me great info at every opportunity I really appreciate it��������
Quote:
Originally Posted by jacob2000
My pleasure, young man. And I hope that it serves you well.
... cp :kewl
There are several places that I try but the 3 places I fish most are slides, channel edges and flats.
Depends on the lake but some shallow lakes with low oxygen have Crappie in extremely shallow water even in the heat of summer . Lakes are not created equal and fishing can vary widely from lake to lake .