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I usually do well catching crappie in the spring at the dam on a lake I fish. However the lake is smaller and not very deep with very limited structure. The lake is shaped in a V with the dam being at the bottom of the V of course. Would it be beneficial for me to try and fish the dam again, just further away from the shoreline or work into one of the 2 V arms?
Just getting into crappie fishing last year, so I apologize for the novice question.
First off, if you can do it legally, I would find a ledge or drop off close to deep water and place some cover in that area. The problem today with the better electronics, you can't hide nothing from other fishermen so the first place they are gonna look in a lake with no structure is along the dam. A dropoff or ledge doesn't have to be much. You can catch fish along a 2 to 3 ft drop in water levels. You are targeting natural travel corridors. Some people like placing brush piles along these ledges and drop offs to hold fish. Good water depth is 12 to 20 ft deep. I use 5 gall buckets with red cedar limbs and a bag of quickcrete. Just my preference to set vertical cover vs horizontal. Reason being as the water heats up during the day the fish can move up and down In the water column and stay in cover. This tends to hold more numbers of fish than a brush pile laying on the bottom. Corners on each end of the dam are great places in small lake that hold fish prior to spawn. This is a great place to put cover that will hold fish year round.
depends on what "small" is. I fish 50 acre water sheds this time of year with a jig and cork at 2 feet. get a sunny day, those crappie will kill that jig. i try to find the edges of moss/weed beds. if not, i just fish willy nilly with that jig and cork. if you can, get the wind behind you, cast it with the wind, reel it back against the waves, letting the waves add a little action to you jig.
I know some tourney guys that spider rig in the winter. they said, you only need to know 2 things about spider rigging. 1: fish 3' deep when it is cloudy out 2: fish 4' deep when the sun is out. now, the are rigging with 16' rods to get them away from the boat. they win a lot, so i can not go against it.
just a couple things to try.
I will have to second that! Even on larger bodies of water if its a sunny day I am seeing the biggest crappie cruising around at 1 to 2 foot deep searching for food once that upper couple of feet warm up significantly above the deeper water.Quote:
Originally Posted by fishn_a_ledge
I have watched crappie go up and down in the water column for years in the winter months. I usually fill my freezer in January and February with all the crappie I need. I always target travel corridors in 12 to 20 fow with bait and cover close by. I've figured out over time that the position of crappie rather than the depth was most important. If the fish are more scattered and moving around the cover,they a easier to catch. If they bunch up in tight schools, they become more difficult to catch. Catching crappie in tight schools becomes more of a reaction bite rather than crappie that are spread out and feeding heavy. Also noted through the years that crappie in clear, cold water tend to be spookier than any other time. I have caught big crappie from 3 to 30ft deep in 38 deg water especially on south facing banks with cover such as rocks that heat up as the sun gets high but the most consistent places were my deeper brush piles for numbers of big fish. Shallow or deep is just a preference. That's where good electronics pay for themselves. At the end of the day it really doesn't matter as long as there is fish in the livewell.
I have fished such a lake before. You should be able to find the crappie on any variation of the lake bottom contour. Look for an area along the V where there is a slight ledge along the drop off. The crappie should be holding somewhere along the ledge. Other than that you will have to drop a brush pile as others have mentioned. For winter fishing near wood it is my experience that the crappie will prefer to hold on larger logs rather than brushy brush. At least that’s what’s working for me now.
I have fished a similar (possibly the same) lake all my life. If they are not releasing water, against the dam is hard to beat. Also in the deeper holes in the river and creeks will produce big time in the cold weather.
Where is this small lake you speak of?
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Hulah. NW of Bartlesville.Quote:
Originally Posted by BAFishBarn
Ah cool. Never been there so no experience with that lake. Sounded like a lake I fish west of Mounds.
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Have you ever fished the Caney river at Hulah
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yes Can be good fishing.
Yes. It is not too far from where I live.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TimY
We have caught big crappie out of the Caney
I've heard of people catching big catfish out of the Caney as well. Sounds like I need to make the drive up to it!!Quote:
Originally Posted by TimY
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