Meade 4/30

[bigshaw929]

Out from 830 till 230. Fishing was good till 1100 then only short bites from then on. Caught about 12 biggest was 11.5" all against shoreline in about 3'. Water temp at 67.5. Just getting into it so this was my best outing yet. Can tell why you all love it. When it gets going its a blast. Now to learn how to find them deep.

[bigshaw929]

Thinking about going in the morning. Any tips for going right after this rain?

[inlovewithsurfin]

where were you finding them? i fished all day on saturday and it was the hardest ive ever fished for just 7 crappie 10inches long! we tried on banks, deep, stumps, creeks.... everywhere! good job on catching some crappie!

[bigshaw929]

Sorry. Just edited my post. Got them all against the banks. Found most in one cove real shallow about 3'. Was fast from 1000 to 1100 then died.

[Corker]

Now to learn how to find them deep.

As the spawn winds down, fish move back out to structure in deeper water & that's where most of them will be caught until next year's spawn.

You find them by finding the structure. Start with anything that is manmade--bridges, docks, pipes, overflow outlets, pumphouses, junkpiles, rockpiles, wrecks, "crappie condos", etc. Submerged and laydown trees are good, but the best ones are in deep water & can be good from the time they are flooded or fall. They will continue to be good until there's nothing left but a submerged log or stump.

What we lump together and call "brushpiles" can be as large as one or more sunken trees, as small as a few tree limbs, or manmade. All are good, and the more you locate, the better your chances of catching crappie. Sometimes, you can triangulate a blind spot, but a GPS is the perfect tool for this necessary chore.

Sweet spots that anyone can find (bridges, docks, laydowns, etc.) get tremendous fishing pressure. Like anything else that is "picked over", someone else caught all the nice ones and left the dinks for you. Your very best spots are not so obvious. It takes time to find them (aka - "paying your dues"), but these blind spots don't get as much pressure and are more likely to hold the best fish.

There are many ways to search for hidden structure. Until you have a good catalog of spots on all your favorite bodies of water, devote some part of every fishing trip to searching for structure. If you have sidescan, you can cover a lot of water in short time, but traditional techniques are also effective. Anyone can find crappie by putting out an array of jigs, roadrunners, crank baits and other good crappie baits and long-line troll water that's deep enough to hold fish. With a heavier investment in gear, "spider rigging" and other slow trolling techniques will also help you find crappie.

How much water is "deep enough"? Crappie move up and down in the water column in order to maintain a comfortable temperature. When you spot one or more of them on your finder, that's the depth they like at the moment. As the WT warms and cools during the day and season, they keep adjusting. Knowing that they could be hugging the bottom or suspended several feet off the bottom, concentrate your searching in water that's deeper than the depth of the fish you mark with your finder.

[Boscoe]

Dand didn't count them but I think Corker summed it all up in less than a thousand words or less!

[Texas Pete]

Corker,
Excellent primer for the beginner (and great for the experienced to remember too).

Mike

[NavyAngler]

Thanks again for the report we need more new guys and old for that matter posting reports!

[bigshaw929]

Corker, thanks for the info. I do have sideimage but the GPS for marking points doesn't seem to be working. Going to call humminbird to try to get is working. Definitely need to spend sometime finding some spots deeper so I can continue to find them throughout the year.

[Kevin M]

Nothing wrong with that catch. Good job.