Today: Friday 29 March 2024
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    Crappie Kingdom 18 Oct 2016

    Crappie Kingdom

     

    COVERING ALL THE BASES

     

    Fall is in the air and changes are on the way.  One of my favorite times to be on the water is now.  The fall colors begin to creep up on the hillsides and migratory birds start to fly through.  The water temperature on the lake begins to cool down and offer a different type of bite.  As the water cools, the oxygen column begins to elongate and offers deeper haunts for the crappie to inhabit.  This condition opens up more opportunities to fish more cover in deeper water.  At the same time, the shallower beds still offer a good bite.  Even the more shallow cover will attract the baitfish and you would be surprised how shallow the fish might be.   The summer pattern is on and off.  The daytime air temperature is up and down which warms and cools the lake temperature.  Conditions become a little more inconsistent and the hunt begins.  That summer pattern that has been on target for three or four months is changing and you have to change also.  Covering all the bases is an important issue to remember.

    The summer pattern has been consistently over beds in 14-17 ft. of water.  The fish have been located in the thick of the brush, suspended over the top, off to one edge or the other or slightly back off the brush.  Just about any structure that a person found that fit the description would produce some hefty fish.  Some of those beds are still producing fish but not every day nor every bed.  The water has cooled down and is scattering the baitfish all over the lake.  When this happens, they (the baitfish) may congregate on any given piece of structure.  As the lake cools down, the deeper structure picks up more oxygen and allows fish to go a little deeper.  On the other hand, the shallow structure that had been void of keeper fish are now producing some slabs.  Keep in mind that every day is a new day.   What may have been good yesterday may be empty today. 

    Changing beds or structure is important.  If you are not catching fish on one depth of bed, try another depth.  If one location is not producing go to another. You will end up determining some sort of pattern for that day.  Don’t be afraid to leave a bed that is loaded with small fish and go hunt for one that is holding bigger fish.  The fish will be associated with shad.  Find the shad in or around a structure and you will catch fish.  The shad or baitfish may be balled up away from the structure on the outer perimeters.  Fish these wads of baitfish.  You may only catch a couple but generally they will be bigger fish.  Good electronics and knowing how to use them is of most importance.  Notice I said “knowing how to use or read the electronics”.  You can have the most expensive unit on the market but if you can’t read it or know what it’s telling you, it’s worthless. 

    Fish the entire piece of structure.  The fish may be schooled up in a very small part of the structure.  Look it over with your electronics and fish the entire area.  The “sweet spot” may be a very small portion of the bed but it will produce a lot of fish.  Fish a lot of structure at different depths to determine which one is best.  Be patient and S-L-O-W.  The fish are still in the lake and haven’t vanished into thin air.  The hunt is to find them and put them in the boat.  Cover all the bases and leave no stone unturned.  It will pay dividends and make you a HAPPY FISHERMAN!  Good luck and good fishing.

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