Anyone fishing at night for crappie on Beaver yet? My trips have produced more white bass than anything. I plan on tring for crappie next week!
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Anyone fishing at night for crappie on Beaver yet? My trips have produced more white bass than anything. I plan on tring for crappie next week!
JT I have never night stalked on Beaver but have been fishing Ouachita at night for years. We have not landed a single white in Ouachita in probably 8 or 9 years of fishing. Now you have to consider that untill I joined crappie.com we would just hang a lantern and move from lantern to lantern like my dad did when I was a boy and our succuess was limited for all fish not just crappie. We are doing it right now and are starting to increase our catch to a respectable level. Last weekend caught a good mess of slab crappie, FAT kentuckys and a 4 or 5 pound walleye.
Are you fishing crappie condos on points or what? Just curious what terrain features you guys fishing the other gin clear waters of the state are fishing.
I'm glad to hear you are tearing them up gooch! I primaraly fish along bluff lines in the main channel near breaks were I have sunk brush and on the bridge pilings. Also I fish near docks that have light as well. White bass is all you get some nights fishing near the main channel though, I usualy move if that's all I'm getting!
Gooch, being a younger guy and new to the "entire" crappie experience, what is the right way to catch'em at night? Enlighten me ole wise one! Thanks
Butler my adivce would be to not listen to me about night fishing. I grew up doing it on Greers Ferry when I was a kid. My dad would hang a lantern or two in some dead tree and we would move back and forth between them and catch fish. I have tried that same method for the past few years and it just doesent seem to work anymore. Since then I have learned almost everything that I could tell you about night fishing on crappie.com. I will say that our success at night fishing has dramaticaly improved since joining crappie.com. That being said here goes on my night fishing advice as I see it.
First light is the key at night. I think I remember you fish out of a flatbottom with a trolling motor so you will need a extra battery and at least one submersable light. The pros from the South Carolina use brinkmans.
Second you must have at least one good light for the boat. I have been using tiki torches and they work great and last all night on one fill.
Third you need a anchor for the front and rear of the boat. You need the boat stationary and not moving arround.
Fourth, leave the long jig poles at the house and get a 5 or 6 foot light action pole and paint the tip so you can see it with the light of the tiki torches. The night bite seems light so you need a soft tip that you can see and feel.
Fith, have your stuff ready to bait and start fishing when you leave the house. Night is not the time to be re spooling rods and pulling off jigs and tying hooks.
sixth, for bait use minnows. You can try a jig but we now catch 10 to 1 more fish off minnows.
Finaly location, We are fishing main lake points on Ouachita and starting to do good. We used to just go set up in 20 to 30 feet of water in a area with a bunch of dead timber thinking they would just be in all that cover. Since fishing main lake points we have started having pretty good success. Plus when the pole bends you never know what you have. Since you fish Lake Conway I would suggest looking for the Arkansas Sportsman website and look up the crappie fishing articles. There is one about a guy that lives a mile from Lake Maumelle and drives up to Lake Conway to night fish. He is very specific about his techniques and locations he fishes. I consider this a must read for you. I would also do a search of previous threads on nightstalking on this website especialy Kunes and Rango and Falcon Smitty. The most important thing is just to get a submersable light and go fishing. Keep me posted and let me know how its going.
Hey J.T., I just had to write and brag about the crappie that I and a friend caught at Beaver Lake this past weekend. We didn't do any night fishing but, the early morning (8:00-10:00) hours were best. We caught several nice keepers 12" or better and I caught one walleye (too small to keep). We were using minnows just about a foot off the bottom (mouth of coves), in approximately 15-20' deep. What fun and....boy were they good eating!
Hey Butler go to this link. Hope this helps....Joe
http://www.arkansassportsmanmag.com/...03a/index.html
Thanks Joe I couldnt find that article to paste when I responded to Butler. I tell you I cant help but dream about a few of Jerry Blakes crappie condos on cover barren Lake Maumelle and a night fishing trip.
Thanks for all the help guys.
Excuse me Gooch! Did you say you wanted me to meet you at Lake Maumelle To night Fish? Or did you say Quachita? LOL
Joe you would be better off to go to a swimming pool and try your luck than to go with me lately. Went this weekend and didnt catch a fish. My buddy did land a couple one of them was exactly 17 inches though. I am just going to have to nut up and pay for a guide on Ouachita. I want to go with Jerry Blake to but again money is a factor. Good luck out there and keep us posted on any night fishing success.
I did get into tons of smaller 9"-11" and some white bass around lit docks on Beaver last night. Caught too many to count including a 5Lb green carp! I had the kids out with me, they enjoyed it! This morning I went out and hit the same docks and caught 23 11" or better in a matter of an hour! Fishing is hot right now!! Get out if you can!
Been considering offering night fishing here on Lake Hamilton. Haven't have a chance to scout it out yet, but will soon. I think the time is gettting right. However, cleaning the fish is part of my trips but I don't think I want to clean a mess of crappie at 11:00 or so at night. What do ya'll think? Come on down and we'll go try for them.
Darryl keep us posted on your success. I am concerned that post I have seen by Rango and others of the South Carolina Nightstalkers indicate the bite is not as good in this part of the summer. My recent trips to Ouachita brought LARGE fish but few numbers, and all caught by my crew. We have just been fishing main lake points in about 30 feet of water. Going to throw out a few anchored jugs allong with some yoyo's this weekend and try to get a few catfish to anchor the creel.
I have got alot of positive feedback from my clients on night fishing. We usualy catch more fish than in the day and we avoid sweating to death! It does stink though cleaning fish at 1 or 2 in the morning, our limit here is 15 per person and if I have a full boat that's up to 60 fish! Give it a try, other than cleaning fish late it is well worth it. Sometimes I can get a full day and a full night guide trip in the same day.Quote:
Originally Posted by Darryl Morris
Hey JT thanks for the tips and experience. Will take it all into consideration. Just concerned about taking a night trip then going out frist thing the next morning. Oh, well, it's a job and somebody's gotta do it.
And we enjoy it!!! It's better than stareing at a cubical all day!Quote:
Originally Posted by Darryl Morris
I'm over in N.E. Oklahoma and fish Oologah quite a bit at night. I have 2- 12 volt Marine batteries that I use, one is for sub light and a BLACK LIGHT only. I use clear flourescent Stren or Trilene. I paint the tips of my rods with a Flourescent Pink or Orange paint. I keep a clip on flashlight on my hat for tying purposes. The black light is the only light I use topside. Oologah has so many shad, that alot of times, there is no need for the sub light. The painted rod tips, and the clear flourescent line makes it so easy to see the slightest bite under a black light (I stick one on each side of the boat). The line shines like a mofo. Using a bobber at night? No problem, use a flourescent colored one, and it too will shine, as well as your line leading to it.
As for location of August Crappie. Oologah is neither clear or muddy, but holds some of the biggest Crappie around. C.A.S.T had their championship tourney there this spring. I am finding them suspended over brush in around 27' of water and around 12' deep. I have also been finding good numbers in standing timber 8'-13' deep. Talala Creek is loaded with trees and you have to just ease around them all, until you find a tree they are holding at. Once you clean out that spot, find another one holding, then another. If you repeat the process about an hour between visits, you will find that more fish have moved in. Certain trees are just hotspots for them. So, don't give up if a couple don't pan out. Don't even bother to tie off until you have caught a few, and continue to get bites. When you find these locations, you should only have time to fish with ONE pole only! Also, look for humps that may have deep water both sides of it. Slab Crappie Love the Humps.
Remember, black light fishing, keeps the bugs down, easy on the eyes, and all too easy to see when you are getting a bite.
GL,
Reaper
Thanks for those tips Reaper! Gets me in the mood to head back out at night! These early mornings are killing me!
hope i dint give the wrong impression about the bite not being good in the summer time. If you can find em this time of year, you gonna catch em. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by gooch
Hey Rango, great article on night stalking! Your setup is basically the same as mine as far as the aluminum shrouded lights, anchoring and so on. I installed two regular household 115volt outlets in my boat and wired them to 12 volt so I could just plug in my lights vs. having to splice on battery clips. It also allows me to use a regular bulb when I need an extra light on the job, or at the house.
I have only had 3 night stalking trips this year so far and have only taken the aluminum shroud fixture out only the first time. The insects around here almost carried me off, and the deep woods off was getting iritating. And since I am usually fishing alone, the black light works just fine for me to see the bite, and enough of the interior of the boat is iluminated from it to make my way around it. The clip on flashlight on my hat suffices for all things I need to see.
With not much light topside, bugs are not being breathed into my lungs like they were before. Once the insects are gone for the year, the shroud will be back in use.
Thought I would share the info, helps on less bugs, and I cannot speak highly enough on how well the black light shows the bite.
I found a nice "hump" today while fishing, off a 30' creek channel with a steep bank on the other side and a nice brushpile sitting on a 17' deep hump, with brush piled up to within 7' of the surface. This spot is located 100 yards off a point and is on the main lake body. It made me slobber a bit and wet myself when I saw it on the graph. I jigged it for around 45 minutes and caught 2 in the 10" range, and about 5 under 10". I am charging the batteries and plan to set the starfire out over it tommorrow night if the Tstorms will let up.
Good fishing!
Reaper
yeah, you sound like you got yours rigged like i have now. i have two clamp ons and they clamp on the console and shine down into the boat. I left the regular 110 plugs on the wire and run a regular drop plug with aligator clips to clip to the batts. on the other end was a three way plug and i just plug both lights into this. works great. these clamp on lights are a real pain if theres bugs as they draw em by the boo koos. Ive never used a black light so cant comment on em. i havent been doing much crappie fishing lately due to the heat and having to watch a sick family member. hopefully when the weather cools some ill get started back on em.
Even while using a bright starfire submerged, the black light still lights up the line and pole tips. I can also cast a jig some 30' from the boat, and can see every bit of the line up to the point it enters the water. So, if sudden extra slack, or the obvious removal of slack, BAM! Hook set, fish on. The bugs were just terrible Weds night when I was out. They were so bad, that using the clip on LED flashlight on the bill of my cap, drew all them critters into my face whenever I used it. It had never got that bad. I might load the clamp light back in the boat for the next trip and just turn it off when not in use. At least I could keep the bugs some distance away from me when I needed the light and turn the darn thing back off after I finish using it. Most of the bugs stay next to the blacklight, which is suction cupped to the top edge of the boat.
Reaper