LOZ slowing down

baithead wanted an afternoon run so he picked me up after work and off we go. Put in at pb1 and started rigging with minnows and the fun was on Tony was just tearing up the GAR:biggrin Paul would be so proud of him. Still managed 23 keepers and lots of shorts. I noticed the females bellies were no longer really swollen but with the water now 70 degrees I imagine they laid a few eggs. Good afternoon outing and aside from a brand new knife I let Tony use now a part of LOZ another successful outing. Did pick up a few casting to the bank at sundown but mostly shorts and not as fast as previous outings.Attachment 236837

Sounds like a good time to me!

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I have noticed the same results...
Could be coming to an end maybe.
I couldn't catch an under two weeks ago, and now seem to be plenty.

Last weekend I got a limit but it was a light limit.
Lots of 10"s and really nothing bigger.

But I'm also thinking the coves and banks I hit get pounded pretty hard.
Time to venture out for more spawning banks.

same results here but it has been a very good April...I was kind of disgusted with Ameren for letting the lake to get so low but it did come up pretty good for the crappie spawn...trolling cranks and night bite not far off

Nice job.

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Originally Posted by ripnlips

baithead wanted an afternoon run so he picked me up after work and off we go. Put in at pb1 and started rigging with minnows and the fun was on Tony was just tearing up the GAR:biggrin Paul would be so proud of him. Still managed 23 keepers and lots of shorts. I noticed the females bellies were no longer really swollen but with the water now 70 degrees I imagine they laid a few eggs. Good afternoon outing and aside from a brand new knife I let Tony use now a part of LOZ another successful outing. Did pick up a few casting to the bank at sundown but mostly shorts and not as fast as previous outings.Attachment 236837

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What's that purple looking thing with a red eye at the bottom of your cooler in the pic (bottom right)?

Little channel cat.

Nice mess of fish

Caught some females this week, out of 7, only one looked ready to drop eggs, the others looked a week or so out. Males still dark as could be. I think spawn is a week away on the big niangua. Been catching quite a few shorts.

Nice job

We cleaned mostly males last weekend and the females were not ready to go as the eggs were still firm. Poorest crappie trip to LOZ in 25 years.

We fished the Glaize Sat aftn and Sunday, caught plenty of 10" fish in 12-14' of water clinging to structure, almost all females still full of eggs.
Fished out of PB2, which was interesting with 2,000 boats there for bass smash or whatever they call it. Boats every 50 yards on darned near every shoreline.... had to parallel park to slide into a spot.

Three of us fished Saturday around Hurricane Deck and Tan-Tar-A. Fished from 7am till 1:30pm and had 3 limits and probably threw back another limit of keepers. We mostly shot docks and open wells,most were females with firm eggs.

Catching up......Looks like fun was had. Love them gar, glad Tony had fun with GAR heaven. I have his paint base finished, just need to trim it up.

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Originally Posted by Lil Baby

same results here but it has been a very good April...I was kind of disgusted with Ameren for letting the lake to get so low but it did come up pretty good for the crappie spawn...trolling cranks and night bite not far off

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I have been thinking about this trolling of crank baits and really don't know where to start (literally). Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

I'd start by searching for "Trolling crank baits for crappie", there is a lot out there along with several videos on YouTube. But, since I fish LOZ exclusively and by no means an expert I'll share what I have learned:
(1) A fish locator (2d sonar) to determine the depth of water, thermocline, and to see the bait balls.
(2) A motor that can than troll around 1.5mph. I use my Suzuki 140 4-stroke with two drift socks tied off the front.
(3) Some crank baits, I prefer the Bandit 300 series and Berkly Flicker Shad in the 6cm size. Light and dark colors. Awesome Pink and Orange Crush are two favorites.
(4) Some rod holders in your boat that position the rods at various angles. I use drift master in my boat.
(5) Rods, I use B&M trolling rods in 8, 10, and 12 foot lengths. Three off each side.
(6) Line counter reels, I use Daiwa AccuDepth.
(7) Braid or 10lb Hi-Vis mono.
(8) Snap swivels.
(9) Beer and deer jerky.
(10) Needle nose pliers (crank baits have two treble hooks)

It is a pretty expensive to get started if you go out and buy all that I have listed, but you can improvise as needed. The kids love to go trolling because that aren't experienced enough (yet) to dock shoot and flip behind the docks without getting hung up a lot. It is very rare I don't catch something when we go out trolling and the best part is, the fish seem to bite best in the middle of the day. Last August I was catching crappie like crazy with the temp in the 90s and skiers all around me in the late afternoon. There are a lot of members on here that have way more experience than I do, but a least you have a place to start. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by Back Water

I have been thinking about this trolling of crank baits and really don't know where to start (literally). Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

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I just started last summer and it is a blast. You will catch more than just crappie anything that swims will hit a crankbait. I didn't want to spend a lot to get started I had some 7' medium action Ugly Sticks with a really light tip and bait casters with braid. I measured out 75' 90' and 100' and marked the line with different color paint pens. I bought some sexy shad 300 Bandits and started fishing. I use my trolling motor and did have to upgrade to group 31 batteries to get more run time.
After I got to catching fish I bought two more Ugly Sticks and two Okuma line counter reels and more colors of Bandit 300's. Hotty totty and sexy shad are my favorites though.

Good advice kwpipkins. I'll just add, start with what you have. Search some of the posts and forums for some basic advice. Just get out there and try it. I started with the same rods and reels as I use for bass fishing. As you learn, add equipment as you go. It's just like any sport. You can go broke buying all of the equipment! Good luck and keep us informed about your progress.

Thanks guys! I didn't mean to hijack the thread but I sure do appreciate the help. I'll check it out and give it a try.