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With all the rains and high water it's finally time the lakes are starting to fall slowly so my question is where does everyone target to find numbers of fish? I've been struggling to get any fish to bite in the last few trips. I've mainly been spider rigging minnows and a few minnow jig combo with no luck. Any help is greatly appreciated
I’m in the same boat so I’m gonna stick around to see what the secret is.
I've always been told that the fish tend to go shallow in slow rising water, and move off & suspend over the first breakline in falling water. They instinctively know not to be caught shallow in falling water, so they back off to the next available deeper drop for safety. :twocents
It's time to be checking on some of the flats and humps now,especially long main lake points that flatten out and secondary points and flats adjacent to deeper water . Use a weighted cork and double jig rig and make long cast retrieving slow and stopping occasionally. If the Flat is 7 ft deep set it about three ft...if its less set it about 18".
You just put that in your arsenal...if the other stuff ain't working try that. If they are there the cork plopping in the water gets their attention. They will always look up so your at more risk of having it to deep than too shallow .If they are a little tentative about biting ,the right color jig with some scent and letting them get a good look at it but thinking it might swim off will get them to bite sometimes. That cork helps sometimes you see they hear it and follow that wake trail. A couple get after it and the competition will get one to bite it sometimes.
Some added info. The water temps are running 47-49.
does not matter can still be 2 ft deep on the right day and right bottom. If not there early maybe move up later. Even visit there spawning banks and grounds sometimes...not there to stay for now just visiting. In and out...up and down...thier getting fidgetyQuote:
Originally Posted by hillbilly_gunner
Interesting thoughts. I tried the shallow water all the way down to 20 ft seemed I was finding fish just couldn't get any bites so I figured they might not have been crappie and that I was in the wrong location. Going out tomorrow guess I'll give some of these suggestions a try
in falling waters I never find them to be very easy ....I think they retreat to safe zones sometimes
of course right now they are messed up good with it being somewhat prespawn time in this area and water all over the map
cold warm muddy rising falling etc etc .....
I would tend to think your fish are out deeper but I don't know for sure
and in lots of spots we find them out deeper and cant get them to really get going either
luck to you though and for sure it could change at any time
It's my experience that if the water is falling in spring. STAY HOME. On the opposite side go fishing. Our local lake is mostly rock bottom . Recently sank some bamboo around 2 weeks ago. Already catching fish unless the water is falling, then we are only catching yellow bellys and bass on spider rigging. No jig bites yet.
I tend to fish deeper water year round. When everyone is fishing in shallow water I target the 10-15 fow. The rising and lowering of the lake level will have less effect on the fish I target. Look for the first major drop off and don't be afraid to fish for suspended fish out away from cover. With the water temp you stated the crappie will hold a little deeper. They will stage and than slowly they will migrate to the shallows once the water levels stabilize.
Find some brush out in the 10' range and fish nice and slow. I don't give much credence to surface temp. Don't know of many fish that are on the surface of the water. With those temps what is the temp of the water 5-10-15 feet down? That's what I key on. The water level is stable and the water temps are stable when you fish out a little deeper. Now when the water temps stabilize fish can be found any where.
Since your in Missouri the water temp might be in the upper 40's way deeper than you think. Plus the larger fish will be staging off shore just waiting for that majicial temp to move shallow.
Right now where I'm fishing the surface temp is around 40 and 10' down the water temp is 34. Was out yesterday catching fish while it was snowing.
This is the method that I use up north. I'm sure the southern boys and girls will differ but I know it works for me. Who knows it just might work for you and you can put another method in your arsenal.
I usually find fish during pre-spawn bite just fine during falling water once you find them at those temps. The rest of the year when it is falling, not so much.Quote:
Originally Posted by hillbilly_gunner
They are typically on ledges near deeper water here. Last year I caught them in 8-10 ft of water on a bench that dropped off to 20+ feet of water.
They were holding around submerged stumps near bottom. I caught fish with the water falling 6-8 inches per day.
Well a buddy and I went for a couple hours this morning found the fishing tough but did manage to catch a couple dozen but half were keepers. They were in 10-15 fow 7-12 ft down on spider blocks and stumps. Every fish we kept were females full of eggs not a single male. So that just makes me wonder where the males were at. The ones we caught you had to so super slow and let the minnow sit in front of them for a while before they would grab it. Nothing really buried the pole most bites we didn't even know happened till the line started swimming sideways