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I have a lake near me that is about 95% Black Crappie. Now, I've been with MR Dux a couple times and we caught White Crappie. So, is it useless to try to crank for Black crappie, if this is what is in the lake. Most of the fish I've caught in this lake was with minnows about 4-8 ft. deep.
I have caught many black crappie trolling cranks. I have moved to a new lake and 25% of the crappie I have been catching trolling are black crappie.
Don
I would move closer to rocky or gravel banks with shallower running baits like Pico squarebills or Bomber 6A cranks.
Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app
I'm not the greatest crappie guy on the water, but I do know the black crappie tend to be in clearer water. It might be that you have to get the bait farther away from the boat if the water is really clear, so you aren't spooking them; you might have to consider use of planer boards.
Guys, thanks for the replies. Will give it a try.
What lake are we talking about, PJ ?? Reason I ask is the only lake I know of that meets those conditions is Cedar Creek .... and I'm not sure I'd want to try cranks there, unless it's "only" up around the dam area (& out in the middle of the lake). Now, I have caught them there trolling Road Runners, out in the middle of the lake (around the dam) and alongside rows of standing trees ... but, that was years ago & back when it was rare to catch a 9" "keeper" Crappie.
Pappy, I'm referring to Corinth lake. It's not big, but has a long stretch down the middle that I think I could push or even pull some cranks.(Idle speed only lake). The 2019 fishing report says the crappie fishing is poor which is good with me. I've caught quite a few black crappie (about 15-20 per trip) from the bank around the ramp site. Everything I kept was 9-11" with several of 7-8 3/4" range throwbacks. No size limit, but I set mine at 9". I don't think I've caught a White Crappie there this year. I went there this past Sunday afternoon and Monday afternoon. Only two boat trailers at the ramp Sunday, None Monday. Water was a little murky. Most of the time this lake is pretty clear.
Oh, OK .... :ThumbsUp I might have to look into fishing that lake. I've never fished it, or any of the other small lakes along I75 up that way ... well, except for Williamstown Lake, but that was nearly 60yrs ago (a few years after it first opened). That was Bluegill fishing with crickets days with my Grandparents, just as a reprieve from Herrington Lake fishing.Quote:
Originally Posted by perchjerker108
Looking on Google Maps : Corinth looks to have most of its banks socked in with moss. I know they've done Shad removal at Corinth a couple of times (2006 & 2013 I think), for the same reason they cited for trying to clear Cedar Creek of Shad (which, unfortunately didn't work). They wanted the Bass & Catfish to be feeding on the small panfish, to keep their numbers in check & their growth rates higher. Have you noticed any Shad schooling at Corinth ?? Is the moss heavy around the banks ??
Pappy, No, have not seen any shad. The Bluegill fishing on this lake is pretty good along with the Shellcrakers when you find them. As far as moss, not that much, but, there is some type of underwater weed that grows out 3-10 feet from the bank, based on the depth of the water. Most Bluegill I find are on the deeper edge of the weed line. Did see a 5-6 lb LM bass that was caught this past Sunday from a guy in a Kayak. Only fish he caught, but it was a nice one. He was paddling with his hands coming to the ramp. Seems his 'metal' oar broke, paddle end part sunk, and he had to paddle with both hands to get back.
Fished there for a couple hours this morning, but neither Paul nor I caught a fish. Several Bluegill taps around the sunken trees by the T shaped dock, but that was it. Saw a feller catch about a 14-15" LMB off the launch ramp, but none of the other boats around seemed to be catching anything.
F&W guy came by and mowed the grass on the hill above the T dock, then about 30mins later the "license po po" man came and checked our licenses .... first time I've been checked in probably 20yrs :Rofl
He said F&W were supposed to be coming there & removing a bunch of small Bass & relocating them to other waters on Mon & Tues.
We didn't see any Shad activity, either ... just a bunch of small minnows swimming around the bank moss.
I checked the KDFWR site for 2019 & it said Corinth has White & Black Crappie, but forecast was "Fair" - low numbers - most fish between 8-9"
There were 3 boats in when we got there ~9am ... 2 left & got replaced by 2 around 11am. Everybody was Bass fishing, except for one boat that said they were going out for Bluegill.
Pappy, I hoped you would have found some decent Bluegill, but I have found my best luck is in the late afternoon. I tried fishing there this past Saturday, (6-15) off the nice dock they have. I fished 3 hours. (10am to 1pm) Caught only 5 crappie, and several small bluegill, but only 4-5 over 6 inches. 3 of the crappie (all Black were 11") Now, I may be giving up the best info, but I catch ALL the crappie straight down as close to the dock I can get in the afternoon with minnows. It's usually on the 'inside' corners of the dock. Seems they come in there around 4-5pm especially if a west wind. On the Bluegill, I take one pole and cast along the bank waiting for a crappie bite. You stay busy, but I'm not getting the size as listed in the 2019 report for the lake. Also, this Saturday, the ramp was PACKED with trailers. Must have been 25 boats on the lake.
Yeah, you would think they'd hang around those pallet stacks out in front of the dock (in ~10fow) and ease into the dock & cedars late in the day. But, of all the casts I made out towards where the pallets are supposed to be, I never made contact with any ... so they may no longer be there. :dono (or else I just never cast over one of them)
May have to see if Carl (cjpar3) would be interested in taking a trip there and doing some Bass fishing. Probably have to be a daytime trip, as I suspect it's "skeeter heaven" after dark. :Rofl
Pappy, all I can say is that I've fished off this nice dock about 10-12 times in the past 2 years. I have found or hooked into NO pallets within 100 ft. of the dock in any direction, fishing 6-15 ft. deep around the dock. so they must not be there. ( I deliberately dragged a heavy gig on bottom to get snagged, but did not find anything) There are some small 'Cristmas' trees near the bank, but I've found them useless unless you want some 8-10" LM Bass, the lake has a lot of these. The 'Grass' stuff is still there. I finally tried to look for what this 'grass' might be on the internet. It looks like 'Coontail' to me based on what pictures I saw on the internet. I cannot fish anywhere near the bank without hooking into a string of this stuff when fishing from the dock. It comes up to around 2 ft from the surface in 3-7 ft of water from the bank. You will see globs of this stuff at times on the dock where people have snagged some of this stuff and left it on the dock. I stay about 10-15 from the bank when casting from the dock where it ends and find most of the panfish in this area.
Here's the page I looked at : Corinth Lake Fish Attractors - Google My Maps
Kinda wished they'd used the plastic pallet stacks out in front of that dock, like they placed on the two points up towards I75. And with the grass & moss that grows there, they probably wasted their time with the little cedar trees. :dono