Help...... with Fall Pattern

Although I was a competitive Bass fisherman for 20 + years, I am relatively new to crappie fishing. Today, 11/24/15, I went to a local reservoir here in central Ohio. Water temp. was about 50 and air temp was about the same. Nights have been pretty cold here for the past several days, low 30s. I located a good herd of crappie on my sonar in 20-23 feet of water and the fish were all in water between 13 and 15 feet on top of rock structure. We caught a few with jig and minnow but that's it, a few. The fish were there for a couple of hours we just couldn't get them to bite. Also tried roadrunner and Bobby Garland trailer, again nothing. Any suggestions as to what I could have tried ?

First of all ... :welcome to Crappie.com !!

As to your question :

A couple of things I can think of would be ... downsizing your bait, moving off the school for 15-30mins & then coming back, using my Vertical Casting method ( Crappie Pappy Article ), or vertical jigging with slight pops of the rod tip or jerking the rod tip up a foot or more or deadsticking (holding the jig as still as possible and at the same depth.
If none of those methods worked ... I'd be scouting for another spot with similar conditions. :ThumbsUp

... cp :kewl

Welcome to the site! Could be lots of things...maybe you were over a school of shad, and the crappies you caught were hanging around the edges feeding. Could be smaller baits would help, but could also be that they would bite a great big honkin' bait, too. Maybe they only wanted minnows that day.....I've got all kinds of excuses as to why I "didn't" catch fish. Just keep at it. Catch a few and move...come back later.

Their is no end to what you could try. But a small tube jig tipped with a small minnow is a good finesse bait for suspended fish in a neutral or negative mood. Sometimes when I have got all hung up on fishing some clown color jig (thats what I call a bright color jig like chart and purple ) I switch to a natural color like grey and clear or black and clear (that's black with clear skirt) makes a difference sometimes. Also sometimes you can go with a hook and no jig. I have some real small neon green rubber beads that will slip on a hook ( Cabelas). I have had pretty good luck with a long shank smaller size crappie hook with like two or three of these bead attractors and a small minnow,maybe even nibble minnow combo.Sometimes using a slip float where you can flip it out away from the boat a little and it can set real still helps,you can make small adjustments to depth to zero in on them.

Sometimes you can't catch them.Fish will go into a total negative mood. The other thing is sometimes those fish can be caught only a short period or two during the day.If you aren't in that window your hauling water.

Sometimes Crappie stack up and other times you run and gun just like Bass fishing .:fish

Thanks for the suggestions, I will certainly be trying some of them. One thing I forgot to mention, and actually probably a pretty important thing, The fish I found were in a channel that cut right up next to the rock bank and also ran in front of a small cove........... In any case thanks again for the help.

Another thing you can try is looking at the Ohio forum and find your lake. Some lakes will have reports, and others will have lots of guys who fish that area and will help with some advice

Im going with jig weight. Had a similar experience last week, over fish on a sunkin log, one or two then nothing. Tried different colors, differnt styles etc but no luck. Then it occured to me, maybe it was the weight of my jig head? Havent been crappie fishing for months and just grabbed a jig at 1/8th ounce and tied it on. I remembered that my best luck has always been on 1/16 - 1/32 ounce jigs. Switched to a 1/16 dropped it down and bam, I got one, then another and another. Why would the jig weight matter so much I thought, then paying attention to my jig on the fishfinder answered my question. The jig was falling at less than have the speed and the reaction of the fish to that change was dramatic. On the heavier jig they would come up and look but turn away. With the lighter jig they would come up and look, pause than suck it in. Im finding its better to use a lighter jig even if you need a split shot 12 inches above to get it down there.

Ok, I'm no expert but I will tell you what I've found this fall. The lighter the jig the better the bite, I use a 1/16 or 1/32. I have been marking fish for two months in large groups just stacked but they are only biting for 1-2 hr periods . I usually catch them right at daybreak best.we even tried the lights with better success.

Find the fish, then what time they are biting and then work on your presentation. Good luck with your ventures.

Great information on this thread, crappie newbie myself. I'm really glad I took the time to read all the posts. Anytime I use a 1/8 or 1/16oz jig for perch it's usually on a dropshot type rig to get to the bottom quickly. Allowing a 1/16oz jig to sink on it's own is something I would have never tried...the presentation makes complete sense after reading the article posted above.

I am heading out Sunday strictly targeting crappie which is a first for me. I am lucky enough to have intel the crappie are hugging docks and piers in 5-10 FOW. Is vertical casting still recommended should I try and shoot a float with minnow/jig in the shadows? Thanks for your time

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Originally Posted by sparky1423

I am heading out Sunday strictly targeting crappie which is a first for me. I am lucky enough to have intel the crappie are hugging docks and piers in 5-10 FOW. Is vertical casting still recommended should I try and shoot a float with minnow/jig in the shadows? Thanks for your time

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Personally, if the fish are in 5-10 fow and hugging the dock/pier posts ... I'd simply shoot a jig by the posts. I might even start with a 1/16oz, then finish up with a 1/32oz.
I might try Vertical Casting "after" I had worked the docks/piers over pretty good ... but, I usually use the method in water deeper than 10ft. Now, that's not to say that it won't work in shallower water (it does, and it has for me), it's just that I've used the method "most often" in water deeper than 10ft.

... cp :kewl

something else to try is a slip bobber, if you have the fish marked at certain depth , put the jig at depth you want, along with a light jig I have found as the water cools I can sometimes leave it set still and they will hammer it, or fish it how ever they want it. I will jig it with the bobber or swim it very slow. I recently was casting from bank catching them 10-12' of water as evening approached the moved shallower and took the bait on bobber in 6' of water with the bobber.

Sparky, im betting the majority of the fish are going to be close to the bottom, out of the current around a point or backside downcurrent side of a hump. Im gonna say with this high pressure the bite will be very light and your minnows should be tiny. If you can find a really protected area, out of the wind with deep water next to a steep rise to a muddy flat they might move up into shallow water at some point but im still gonna bank on them being deep a foot or two off the bottom in a deep hole. At least thats where the majority of the fish are on my rivers on the eastern shore. Even though the water is warmer now than usuall for this time of year and the fish are not in full winter mode they are still reacting to the short days and low light levels like its winter. If you can get out mid next week, on a warm day after the pressure falls you might get a chance at a good shallow bite.

If I were you i would get up against one of the docks or piers, drop a soft plastic (tube, shadpole etc) on a 1/16 jig head to the bottom in 10 - 15 feet of water. Reel up one or two revolutions, give 2 or 3 sharp jerks about a foot high letting it settle each time. On the last jerk hold it completely still and wait for a tap. If the bite is really light after the last jerk slowly lift the rod tip and if you feel resistance set the hook. I'm getting excited just thinking about it, lol.

Great information, thank you!

While we're talking about weight, I'd like to tell of one trip that weight made all the difference. Fishing the same spot I had on a previous trip I started with the same jig, already tied on the rod. In this case it was a 1/8. Not even a bump. And I had hammered them just a couple of days ago. So I tried the same body on a 1/16. now I got a fish now and then. Pleased with that I tried a 1/32. Now I was busy, but still didn't get a fish on close to every cast like I had before. I dug around in the jig head box and came up with a 1/64 or 1/80. Same body. This was the magic they had been looking for. Lots of these fish were small but when it's a fish on almost every cast I didn't care. Pitch, let it glide down to where they were, line would show a tic, and lift the rod and retrieve a fish. I'm kinda thick sometimes but from then on anytime I see fish that won't take my offering I try down sizing and frequently find what I'm looking for. Body size can also make it happen. I have some Panfish assassin's that are super, especially under a float. As you do this you'll find lots of little things to put into your bag of tricks that make the day from time to time. You'll also learn when it's time to move on or go home. Have fun with it......Skeet.

X2! On what Skeet said above. Me and my cousin were fishing side by side same soft plastic bait on a 1/16, his on a 1/8. After about my 6 th fish and him 0 he switched to a 1/16 and got in the game!! LOL

Sounds like my 2oz bucktails aren't going to make the cut!! Time to buy some tackle, I don't have anything smaller than 1/16oz....sorry to hijack the thread fishn4men

I'm pretty good on a vise tying lures, so I'll be okay with making some hair jigs. Would anyone recommend plastics? I have tons of 2" grubs and tubes, but it sounds like I need something smaller, and something with a tail or stinger.

A fishfinder with a good verticle jigging mode has helped more than anything to understand the mood of the fish. Even when i will be casting I will drop a jig straight down and watch the screen to see the reaction. In most cases there will be fish down there, not always crappie, but even a bluegill will show some hesitancy at the same time a crappie will. If a fish rushes the jig, pauses a second then grabs it im good to go. If they pause, swim away, come back after a few lifts of the rod then barely lip the bait I know what kind of day its gonna be and change my jig weight or slow my retrieve.

My current favorite soft plastic is a Mr. crappie Shadpole. Not sure of the color name but it is blue with metallic flecks. For some reason that blue color is the best for me in tanin stained water. 2 inch baits can still work on a light head but i have been having more luck on smaller bodies. Last week my best catch was on a body that was under an inch on 1/16 with number 4 sickle hooks. Tear-em-up uses bigger bodies and puts together great catches, I just have not been able to make larger baits work were I fish. I have more confidence in smaller baits and confidence that fish are there and your lure is right is 75% of the challenge when the fishing in cold water.