The learning curve

Some of the people chasing crappie will know right where I am going with this post and some will glean the information to make them better at ketchn crappie .
Hopefully a few will absorb this information and apply it to the crappie in their local southern
waters .
This particular information will very likely not apply to all situations ,but in the end it just might when the water gets really warm .
Look at this graph image first , you will note a cloud in a horizontal line just to the left of the cover right off the drop off , that is a definitive thermocline !
Thermoclines act as corrals and put fish within easy reach . There is little for oxygen below the thermocline line and the fish stay about a foot above it .
The next images are huge schools of shad all over the surface, all over the lake ! Baby shad ,half size shad and full grown shad in no particular order and in huge balls .
so let's recap , all the fish are above 10 foot deep , the baitfish are all over the surface corralled up much as the larger fish are but in much less water column .
the reason the baitfish are up so high in the water is for food and to try to avoid the predators right below them .
The baitfish are no deeper than around 4 to 5 foot deep at most ,therefore the crappie are in a very definitive part of the water column , somewhere between around 5 to 9 feet deep .
Next thing that may be of importance to understand is that YES you can ketch some roaming in open water in small scattered groups , BUT if you really want to hurt them in numbers FAST , find cover in the 5 to 9 foot deep range and look it over .
the crappie will stack up in large numbers in this situation if they are close to the bait .
AND this is WAY to much information for free ,so just go ahead and mail your checks to me for the seminar and visuals >>>>:Rofl
all kidding aside ,this is our summer time approach to ketchn crappie locally ,it is applicable on most if not all the lakes in the north Texas area and several others far beyond that range as well .
hope some of you find them really good with some of this info . and .....
KABOOM is the word :highfive

Beautiful spot and water looks great. Thanks as always for a tutorial. When I was in Washington state I remember well when the lakes “turned” and all the crud that came up to the surface. Not a great time to go swimming as I recall….
Bob

Man Your just a wealth of knowledge lately. You forgot to post the address for the donation..................

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Originally Posted by BobC

Beautiful spot and water looks great. Thanks as always for a tutorial. When I was in Washington state I remember well when the lakes “turned” and all the crud that came up to the surface. Not a great time to go swimming as I recall….
Bob

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sometimes they turn over here and to be sure it smells terrible and it is REALLY difficult to ketch fish in that mess .
don't see it really often ,but when I do I typically hit one that isn't in that mode ,late summer ,early fall when the nights get chilly often triggers it .

Good write up

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Originally Posted by rojoguio

Man Your just a wealth of knowledge lately. You forgot to post the address for the donation..................

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it is in my agenda to help anyone out that wants to ketch crappie to do so , my methods are not always the best , but in the end you never know if you will find yourself in a situation that is similar to the scenario in my original post .
understanding the thermocline is critical during the dog days of summer around here and quite possibly in other lakes around the country as well . the elimination of non productive water equals more fish in the boat .
and besides all that ,how can anyone beat ketchn fish in a barrel right ? :highfive

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Originally Posted by DockShootinJack

Good write up

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apply this information as needed and repeat and rinse and keep you a sharp fillet knife handy , you will need it :cheers2

The thermocline effects the fishing here as well. I would say like you it applies more often than not at most places. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge Professor Kaboom! :highfive

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Originally Posted by Ketchn

apply this information as needed and repeat and rinse and keep you a sharp fillet knife handy , you will need it :cheers2

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If I could just get some free time from work. This will be my 3rd straight week stuck here.

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Originally Posted by SuperDave336

The thermocline effects the fishing here as well. I would say like you it applies more often than not at most places. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge Professor Kaboom! :highfive

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to not understand it in the summer months will make for a fair amount of what the heck is the deal .
back during my learning curve it was one of those things I grew to understand after countless hours of jigging to deep .
sometimes it isn't highly visible and things that look like fish are often not fish on the sonar image .

If your minnows are dying fast, could be another tell-tale sign, you are fishing too deep in the summer.


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

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Originally Posted by pescador

If your minnows are dying fast, could be another tell-tale sign, you are fishing too deep in the summer.


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

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and or you have them in a bait cooler with water that is 25 or 30 degrees cooler than the lake and its shocking them to death .
seen a many a frisky minnow hit the water and die in less than a minute in this type of summer scenario .:highfive

I would be more than happy to hand deliver a check.

Sent from my E6910 using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

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Originally Posted by catchNgrease

I would be more than happy to hand deliver a check.

Sent from my E6910 using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

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Me too if it included a trip with Ketchn while I was there. Lol


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I have heard my whole life that when it gets really hot the crappie go way down deep. I wasted my first summer of crappie fishing working over deep structure and barely catching anything. One of several times I've learned that just because something is "common knowledge" doesn't mean it's right.

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Originally Posted by bigdoug03

I have heard my whole life that when it gets really hot the crappie go way down deep. I wasted my first summer of crappie fishing working over deep structure and barely catching anything. One of several times I've learned that just because something is "common knowledge" doesn't mean it's right.

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so true my friend , after getting more advanced in my pursuit of just crappie year round , I found that many of the "tried and true" methods were bla bla bla .
we hammered slabs and I am talking 2 lb solid fish in 3 feet of water at Texoma one fine hot summer day . this lake we are currently on in 4 feet of water the same year . Lake proctor in 3 feet of water as well .
Heck one day we were struggling on yet another lake and randomly trying anything and or area we could think of and was randomly casting at the shoreline in a spot they like to spawn because we were desperate and next thing you know at a nice warm 102 outside we were lighting those crappie lips on fire !
now mind you if there isn't a defined thermocline they will in fact go as deep a china ,but if there is .....
Look in water above it for sure ,KABOOM is the word :highfive

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Originally Posted by catchNgrease

I would be more than happy to hand deliver a check.

Sent from my E6910 using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

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trying to get me a boat i been after a couple of years , when i finally get it , it is likely i will invite some crappie.com folks to go for a boat ride with me .....
bring some gas money and keep your checks in the check book where they belong :Rofl :highfive

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Originally Posted by Ketchn

trying to get me a boat i been after a couple of years , when i finally get it , it is likely i will invite some crappie.com folks to go for a boat ride with me .....
bring some gas money and keep your checks in the check book where they belong :Rofl :highfive

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^^^YEP!

--and there it is in writing!

You get a boat and they'll be one redneck yankee heading your way from SC...[emoji1787]

Sent from my MHA-L29 using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

Your last one had a rough ending, if I remember your photos correctly:Rofl Looking forward to seeing your new ride when it happens.
Bob

Understanding some limnological properties of north temperate lakes can and will make you a more successful angler. Understanding how, when and why thermal stratification happens is one of those properties that anglers will benefit from.

ClearCreek

I noticed it here yestdy.... Definitely takes paying attention to details to be good at KATCH'n fish especially crappie.....

Some will think your crazy as summer like winter all that has been put out there is "fish the damm area where it's the deepest"....LOL
WHATEVER......:Rofl

Our biggest and best fish came from about 8' yesterday and thermocline was around 20'.

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Originally Posted by SKs Crappie Catching Adventures

Some will think your crazy as summer like winter all that has been put out there is "fish the damm area where it's the deepest"....LOL
WHATEVER......:Rofl

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I love a HARD thermocline situation , the pasture gate is closed and the herd is bunched up in a pen .....
transportation to the processing plant is a breeze .....:highfive

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Originally Posted by rojoguio

Man Your just a wealth of knowledge lately. You forgot to post the address for the donation..................

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I'll make it easy for ya. I will send you my address and I can make sure he gets it.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

great information and absolute common sense outlaw, that most of us don't apply. WE know that's how the thermocline works but when we go out and fishing the trees in summer we go too deep thinking taht's where they are. WILL use this on my next trip. Thanks!

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Originally Posted by hdhntr

great information and absolute common sense outlaw, that most of us don't apply. WE know that's how the thermocline works but when we go out and fishing the trees in summer we go too deep thinking taht's where they are. WILL use this on my next trip. Thanks!

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we often hit the timber in the summer on one lake locally and sure enough when it has a solid thermocline they are 8 to 10 foot down on the trees in 25 or deeper feet of water .:highfive

Another aspect of thermoclines is habitat placement. If you are planning to place brush piles (or other structures) so they can be used in the summer you have to know how deep the typical thermocline is on that water. Placing the habitat structures below the "normal" thermocline depth will render them useless in the summer months.

ClearCreek

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Originally Posted by ClearCreek

Another aspect of thermoclines is habitat placement. If you are planning to place brush piles (or other structures) so they can be used in the summer you have to know how deep the typical thermocline is on that water. Placing the habitat structures below the "normal" thermocline depth will render them useless in the summer months.

ClearCreek

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yes this is true , they might hold winter fish ,but if they are below a developed thermocline most assuredly not in the summer :highfive