Winter Patterns Question

I am struggling to catch any crappie once the water temp drops below 50 degrees. I have been primarily fishing Logan Martin, and I know the crappie are around somewhere but I haven't been able to figure them out.

What types of patterns do yall look for once the water temp gets in the 40s? Are there certain depths of water you look for, or depths you rule out?

I did ok shooting docks and fishing brush in 15 to 20 ft until the water temp dropped more. Thanks in advance for any info, I still have a lot to learn.

All articles you read will say the fish will be on the bottom in 40 + fow. Then Richard Gene posts a video of him catching them on shallow flats. Your not the only one lost during this time of year.

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I think each lake is different. Two of the lakes I fish don't even have 40' water. I would use electronics and scan and look for them and baitfish. Sometimes they are right on the bottom and hard to see.

I’m having the same problem. I fish a big creek a lot where the deepest water is 25 ft. I know it’s full of crappie. I caught them consistently all summer even days close to 100 degrees. Last few trips I can’t find fish anywhere. My last trip I spent a lot of time scanning just seeing if I could see anything. Only thing I could find was bait fish. Maybe Dave is right and they are on the bottom. I’m not great at reading a graph so next time I’m gonna try fishing the bottom around bait fish.


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Find the baitfish schools, Crappie will be there or very close by.

When the Crappie aren't feeding, and the water is 40 and below sometimes they will lay flat on the bottom. I've caught Crappie in those conditions with mud on their fins and belly. I'm not a deep-water guy and typically catch my fish in 10 feet of water or less year-round. Finding the baitfish is always the key. Next is depth of fish since Crappie will come up to hit a bait, but don't look down. Then bait color and size and finally the action of the bait.

Especially in winter the baitfish school you see may be small gills or stripe instead of shad. If you don't catch any Crappie on the first school you find then keep moving. The perfect setup is a bait school with large fish just below the school. In my experience these are usually Crappie following the shad and picking of weaker members of the group.

I think when you find Crappie on vertical structure, they are waiting for baitfish to move by to rush out and get a quick meal. This is the reason when fishing laydowns I keep moving looking to just catch the one or two active school on each piece of structure. I find I catch more by continuing to move rather than anchoring or tying up and sitting in one place. :twocents

They tend to pull off cover and chase bait balls at that temp. Check shallow flats and creek channels. Trolling the creek channels or casting a float and jig on flats is best this time of year. Pm me and I'll give you my number. We can talk or make go for a little on the water lesson.

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The crappie will not be far behind the bait. The bait is looking for warmer water when it is available.

I can only tell you what works for me. I fish different than most but catch a few.

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Originally Posted by Ditch Basser

I can only tell you what works for me. I fish different than most but catch a few.

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A few??[emoji23]


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I definitely appreciate your advice. I do think there is a lot to be said for continuing to move around and find active fish. I am better than I used to be but still working on that, continuing to move and try new spots.

I have been focusing on targeting cover, and I am going to try targeting bait fish, particularly tight grouped balls of bait that look like they have predators under them.

I haven't been fishing in any water deeper than 25 feet, and I am going to look there as well on logan martin. It seems complicated this time of year, like the fish could be quite shallow or very deep or anywhere in between, which just means I need to spend more time looking. My outboard motor has been out of commission for a while which has made it harder to cover a lot of water.

I enjoy the challenge of figuring fish out, and I recognize that I need to stop fishing what I want to fish and let the fish tell me where they are and what they want. Thanks everyone for the input.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ditch Basser

Find the baitfish schools, Crappie will be there or very close by.

When the Crappie aren't feeding, and the water is 40 and below sometimes they will lay flat on the bottom. I've caught Crappie in those conditions with mud on their fins and belly. I'm not a deep-water guy and typically catch my fish in 10 feet of water or less year-round. Finding the baitfish is always the key. Next is depth of fish since Crappie will come up to hit a bait, but don't look down. Then bait color and size and finally the action of the bait.

Especially in winter the baitfish school you see may be small gills or stripe instead of shad. If you don't catch any Crappie on the first school you find then keep moving. The perfect setup is a bait school with large fish just below the school. In my experience these are usually Crappie following the shad and picking of weaker members of the group.

I think when you find Crappie on vertical structure, they are waiting for baitfish to move by to rush out and get a quick meal. This is the reason when fishing laydowns I keep moving looking to just catch the one or two active school on each piece of structure. I find I catch more by continuing to move rather than anchoring or tying up and sitting in one place. :twocents

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Definitely in 40-50 degree water them fish can be anywhere they choose. And they are definitely feeding unless it extreme situations. I tend to focus on fish that I know are up a little in the water column. Try slowing down your presentation and using lighter and smaller jigs. And change colors till you find something that works. And pay very close attention to your line. Sometimes winter bites aren't easy to detect.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by wahanlin

I definitely appreciate your advice. I do think there is a lot to be said for continuing to move around and find active fish. I am better than I used to be but still working on that, continuing to move and try new spots.

I have been focusing on targeting cover, and I am going to try targeting bait fish, particularly tight grouped balls of bait that look like they have predators under them.

I haven't been fishing in any water deeper than 25 feet, and I am going to look there as well on logan martin. It seems complicated this time of year, like the fish could be quite shallow or very deep or anywhere in between, which just means I need to spend more time looking. My outboard motor has been out of commission for a while which has made it harder to cover a lot of water.

I enjoy the challenge of figuring fish out, and I recognize that I need to stop fishing what I want to fish and let the fish tell me where they are and what they want. Thanks everyone for the input.

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Sounds like we have a lot in common. I’m better but still bad about finding a good looking laydown or any spot and fishing way to long. I fished with Ditch once and he’d catch a big slab on a stump or brush put it in the cooler and start paddling. I was thinking where is he going??lol. At the end of the day he had a limit and returned a bunch of big fish. Ever since then I’ve tried to get better at it.


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Yeah I struggle between wanting to thoroughly fish a piece of cover after catching a fish and wanting to move on quickly. And sometimes I let myself get lazy and stay somewhere too long for no good reason. I have heard that in wintertime, sometimes there will be a small window during which crappie will bite, so if you find some fish it's worth staying on them until they turn on. Has anyone here found that to be true?

Yeah

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I try to fish the laydown thoroughly, but don't send a lot of time trying or waiting for the fish to bite. For me at least it's better to keep moving looking for active fish.