Midway and Horseshoe Crappie (pics)

Well, I decided to fish Midway on Saturday morning. The wind started out being not bad at all, but that changed pretty quick. I started out drifting the Big Killdee. I picked up one nice 2lb white crappie in about 3' of water. The wind then got up too bad to fish it. I tried a few more spots on my way back to the ramp, but was unproductive. Saw plenty of activity on the bottom in 6' of water, but couldn't get 'em to bite. Decided to leave Midway at 12:15 with that 1 nice crappie. It sure was nice to see the lake filled back up. Just like old times cruising down that lake.

I then went over to Horseshoe, just to kill the afternoon. I knew that I couldn't do any worse than at Midway, so I went for it. I was amazed at how much lower the water was than the last time that I was there. And, I can't believe in the name of all that is humane the condition of that boat ramp at Pete Striff's old place. It is ridiculous for Clyde to charge $5 for the use of that ramp. Be very careful if you go, because there is a significant drop off at the end of the ramp...just barely underwater. Ok...I'll get off my soapbox...but that ramp has earned the title of the worst ramp that I've ever encountered...and that includes launching with no ramp at all.

Well, with the boat ramp crap, I didn't get the poles in the water until after 1pm. I saw a few boats out there drifting over the river channel, so I decided to cruise over there and see what all the fuss was about. Man, the depth finder just blew up in 21-24' of water. There was lots of activity from the bottom up a few feet. I threw my chain out and started drifting just off the bottom with shiners. I stayed busy catching fish from the moment I dropped the poles in the water until 4pm, when I ran out of bait. I had some dead, bloated minnows that were at least a week dead. They even hit those! Finally when all my alive and dead minnows were gone, I decided to head home at about 4pm. I got a few fish on blk/chart jigs, but they really wanted the minnows. I only wish that I'd had a half pound of rosies with me. Oh well, I had a blast out there on some old stomping grounds, and I came home with 31 crappie. I had two hawgs that went 2lb. The rest were around 3/4lb. I caught some good sized crappie for Horseshoe. I didn't get any pics on the water because I left it and my GPS at home. Still kickin' myself for that...

The 31 crappie from Saturday...
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...c/DCFC0130.jpg

The two big ones...one from Midway and the other from Horseshoe...
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...DCFC0134-1.jpg

Well you cannot say that I didn't warn you about the ramp. It is the worst I have ever seen it. I cannot believe there are still that many people fishing the lake with the ramp conditions as they are. It's ashame to as this is one of the few places that we have to fish on this side of the state. Maybe the spring rains will raise it some but it needs to come up at least 6 foot to make it through the summer. A lot of the places that I generally fish is now dry ground. Glad to see that you caught some. What was the water temp. Also, how was the ramp at midway and how much water is in the lake.

Thanks,
LRM

Nice fish Ceb. Been working all weekend. Wanted to fish Darbonne with Slab Hunter, but stuck at work. Maybe will get to go Tuesday if wind not too bad. Glad to see u had a good time despite wind and bad boat ramp...Rick

Nice fish Ceb. Don't know how you stayed out there if the wind was blowing there like it was in Batesville.

nice fish there mister

ceb,
You need to go back to school before Arkansas runs out of fish. :(

Just kidding around, keep um coming..... :D

Randy

Nice bunch of fish Chris, especially with that wind Saturday.

Boy with that hot hand you should have gone on down to Tunica after you dropped the boat off. Still can't belive you hit em like that in 2 foot swells. Nice work.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LRM58

Well you cannot say that I didn't warn you about the ramp. It is the worst I have ever seen it. I cannot believe there are still that many people fishing the lake with the ramp conditions as they are. It's ashame to as this is one of the few places that we have to fish on this side of the state. Maybe the spring rains will raise it some but it needs to come up at least 6 foot to make it through the summer. A lot of the places that I generally fish is now dry ground. Glad to see that you caught some. What was the water temp. Also, how was the ramp at midway and how much water is in the lake.

Thanks,
LRM

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I appreciate the warning on the ramp. It was just worse than I could ever imagine. It is also very shallow all the way to the open water. I had the motor tilted up, and I was still churning mud. I would advise big boats to be very careful...you could really mess something up out there.

The water temp was 53. I was really shocked to see the fish in deep water right on the bottom. I guess the cold front pushed them down deep. From the water temp, they should have been heading for shallower water.

Midway now looks just as good as it ever did. The boat ramp still leaves some to be desired, but it has plenty of depth and is in good condition. Mrs. Joyce said that the river really needs to get in there big time to replenish the crappie. She also said that the crappie had not been seen in the buckbrush yet.

The wind was howling out there. The chain was the one thing that saved me. A chain or a driftsock is the only way to go on days like Saturday. I'll post a picture of my chain set-up later this afternoon. It is a good investment for mud bottom lakes.

Is that the only ramp on Horseshoe? I was planning on going over there in about 2 weeks during my spring break.

Well, there is another ramp on the eastern side of the lake called Camp Karefree. I'm not for sure, but I seriously doubt if there is even water standing on that end of the lake. The ramp on the western side of the lake is manageable, just be very slow backing into the water.

I know what you mean about the ramps over in that area. There are some good places to fish like Dacus, Horseshoe, Midway, and Island 40 Chute. When fishing over there I was never able to find a place to put a boat in that didn't charge $5 or $6 dollars, and then when you put your boat in at places like Island 40 the trailer would fall off in a pothole. Maybe I'm just cheap but I don't know of any other places in the state that charge to fish like that area.

good looking bunch of fish you got there ceb.

Lookin good Chris. I could not make myself put the boat in the water. Went to watch my daughter play soccer Sat. morning at Muray Park thinking I would drop the boat in the river afterward. My nuts were rattling too much. I am begining to think that you are one of those people I see crappie fishing when I used to duck hunt. Both thinking the other is crazy for being out in that kind of weather.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Helmslaw

Lookin good Chris. I could not make myself put the boat in the water. Went to watch my daughter play soccer Sat. morning at Muray Park thinking I would drop the boat in the river afterward. My nuts were rattling too much. I am begining to think that you are one of those people I see crappie fishing when I used to duck hunt. Both thinking the other is crazy for being out in that kind of weather.

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You're thinkin' right, Mike. I'm that dude that's out there crappie fishing on the coldest nastiest days, and there's nothing that I would rather be doing. There is some hot crappie fishing to be had on those days...:cool:

Here's my chain set-up. It was inspired by Steve (BamaFan) from the LA board. It is a great thing to have in winds above 10mph or on any open water. I used my chain on Saturday in wind gusts topping 30mph, and was able to stay on the lake catching fish after fish while most folks had to pack it up. It is a simple set-up...I use a shackle to connect varying lengths of chain. I have a 2.5' and a 3' chain, but plan to get some smaller lengths as well. Using the shackle, you can adjust the drifting speed by adding/removing pieces of chain. I tie a loop knot in the anchor rope and hang it over the motor cowling. Keeping it off the dead center of the back helps keep it trimmed up more and in a straight line with the wave action. This rig really shines on shallower lakes with mud bottoms either clean or stumpy bottom.

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...c/DCFC0136.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...DCFC0138-1.jpg

Yes, Kamp Karefree landing is dry. The son-in-law and I drove over there first Saturday, but wound up at Streif's. Yes CEB, we were out there in the wind too! Found one pier where we caught about a dozen in 15' on the bottom, and another pier we caught 3. I haven't caught on to the DEEP trolling like some of you guys were doing, but if I keep seeing those pics, I might be inclined to try! I need somebody to give me some lessons on reading my depth finder. I just can't seem to understand where everything is. Most of my fishing is in shallow water, but if I could figure that thing out, I might try more of the deep stuff. But 25'???:eek:

What kind of depthfinder do you have, polebender? The fish were in 21-24' of water. Straight out from that house and dock with the red standing seam metal roof. If you have any questions about the slo-trolling method, we'll be more than happy to help you get set-up...

Good job Chris. We are heading down to Greeson this year and staying in Jerry Blakes RV. Really looking forward to another Arkansas adventure. Good to hear Midway filled back up...it was pretty skinny water last year at this time. The Horseshoe water level problem I assume is due to the fact the river doesnt get into it? Is it just rain and run off that keep it full? I know Ive been reading about how low it is for along time now.

Hey stranger, good to hear from you. It was really nice to see Midway full again. I think that's the lowest the lake has ever been. Felt good to go out there and still find a 2lb hog. Just hope there's a lot more of 'em still in there.

Horseshoe is a now landlocked oxbow. Since it isn't affected by the river, the only thing it gets is run-off. My grandfather, who is a retired engineer from the COE, says that the lake water is seeping out under the levee. The lake seems to be just too low to be accounted for by evaporation. There have been pumps put in to fill the lake back up with river water. Doubt if they will ever get them to work, though. I wish that I could've gotten some low-water pics for y'all. It's really unbelievable now.

When are you coming down to Greeson? Hope it's during the Crappie Camp...

Does it not startle the fish though? I also wondering have you ever forgotten about it and started the engine?

Just getting into crappie fishing and I am curious where Horseshoe and Midway are? Can you give me some info.

I don't think the chain startles any crappie. With 13' poles hanging off the front, and the chain draggin' at least 10' behind the boat...There's a lot of distance between the baits and the chain. Nah, I haven't forgotten about the chain....yet anyways. Looping it around the engine serves as a reminder.

Here you go, Quackmaster. This should help...

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...pic/Midway.jpg

Nice fish Ceb. Crappie on the rocks.

Chris, that's an impressive catch. Looks like you had several that would have went around a pound and a half in that pile. And we already know that if bad weather turns up to be looking forward to one of your posts...Congrats again

Chris,I think I'll hit your hole at Midway Saturday morning. They might be trying to make a break towards the brush. You think? I have till Tuesday morning to find some fish.....;)

Good fish Chris! Stay on em!:)

Thanks for the replies guys. Johnny, I had a couple of 2lbers and the rest were around 3/4 to 1lb. They sure made for some nice fillets.

Hey Rusty, Mrs. Joyce said that there hadn't been much activity in the brush as of last weekend. With all the warm weather this week, I would look for them to be in the brush or at least in the outer cypress in the late afternoon. With the cool nights, they might not be in the brush in the a.m.

I don't know. I think with the Miss. River level there is probably at least some river water coming in there, and most of the Miss. folks think that is cold and not good. Please send a report. I'll be interested to know how you did.