The Hill Longlining Report...5/9

[gabowman]

The Lord musta been with me because from all the windy days we've been having I picked the PERFECT day to be on the water. Started out very calm and stayed that way atleast as long as I fished...



Caught several dinks and also caught some keepers. Best of the day around 1.5#'s (never brought out the scales)...



Caught a good many 1/2 to 3/4 lbers too. Fised from daylight until 10AM. I had a few other things needed doing before going back to work today so called it a day fairly early this trip. Final tally of the morning was 33 crappies....



I kept enough for a couple messes for me and the bride. That should hold me until next time. Here's what made the trip home.



Guys, fishing aint over and neither is the longline bite. I know there's more ways to catch 'em and alot of folks are brush fishing now but if longlining is your cup of tea like it is mine then I recommend you find fish in 20' of water (or less) on your graph and pull some jigs and see if they'll bite. Yesterday I was fishing and catching fish in waters 13' deep to 25' deep and the majority of the fish I caught came from single 1/16th jigs pulled from .8 to 1.1 mph. Experiment around changing weights and depths your jigs are running until you can put together some sort of game plan. After trying a few different depths and still no action but you KNOW the fish are there then go find some fish somewhere else and try it all over again. The fish are hungry SOMEWHERE so look for 'em. Just dont give up on them yet. It aint over!

[Judson1]

Thanks for the report. Glad you had a good day. I seem to remember 3-4 years ago you were fishing in the summer and catching lots of numbers of fish long lining. But in your report you stressed the long line bite wasn't over. For someone who knows nothing about that type of fishing it seems like you are implying the bite isn't over but it's not far from it. Could you explain further for a novice like myself? One day I'm going to get my boat set up to longline. Thanks.

[sinkermaker]

Nice catch Butch and thanks for sharing. I fished with crappie buster today and he showed me how to single pole fish and also done a lot of dock shooting. Had fun and caught fish.

[gabowman]

Thanks for the report. Glad you had a good day. I seem to remember 3-4 years ago you were fishing in the summer and catching lots of numbers of fish long lining. But in your report you stressed the long line bite wasn't over. For someone who knows nothing about that type of fishing it seems like you are implying the bite isn't over but it's not far from it. Could you explain further for a novice like myself? One day I'm going to get my boat set up to longline. Thanks.

Judson, like any other method of fishing, I believe you can catch fish longlining all year long. That isnt saying it's the best method to use, it's just the method I like using. I've put alot of time into longlining and tried thinking "outside the box" and learn as much as I can over the years. In the past when you mentioned 3 or 4 years ago I was retired and fishing 3-4 days a week. It's ALOT easier to find and then stay on the fish when that's the case. Now I'm back to full time working so like most of the guys here on CDC I just get to fish when I'm off work. And as far as the longline bite....it aint near over yet. Right now I'm catching fish not far from the backs of the creeks that are feeding on grass shrimp. The water is only 70 some odd degrees (depending on time of day you take your readings) so just because the spawn is over doesnt mean the bite is over. You know that from your trips fishing brush. Well, all fish aint on brush. Alot of crappie are still on the flats and as long as the food is there and the water is suitable then they will stay there. Usually I'll catch fish until the hotter months (late July thru Sept when the surface temps are nearing 90*) and by then I'd suspect most folks are having the same problems putting fish in the boat as I do.

Like I said, longlining is just one method of fishing. I dont want anyone thinking it's the BEST method but it is another style of fishing to use. I will say that if you put the time into longlining and learn the craft then you can almost always catch enough fish for dinner any time of the year. But then that's true with any method if you truely learn the style so I guess it depends on what you fancy the most. Me? I'm lazy. I like sitting in the back of the boat and watch rod tips while sipping on a cold beverage during a warm morning of fishing.

[Inkdabber]

You are 100% right about the troll bite. It is still spring time, and some fish are are still spawning. I seen some fish caught trolling the last two weekends in water as shallow as 3 feet. I never stated trolling wasn't still effective, just that brush fishing was going strong and probably the better choice if that's an option. Great catch, glad you was able to get out and catch mama some supper.

[STUMP HUNTER]

Good to see you were able to get on the lake Butch. A no wind day is very hard to find and that water being calm is something I have not seen in awhile. Nice mess you kept.

[drill instructor]

Great job Butch!

[Crappie Buster]

Great report and pics! A heck of a catch for a quick morning trip.


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