Thread: julington creek 2/15/10

I went back to Julington creek yesterday morning to try and catch some more specks. the morning started off cold but it was calm and clear. as soon as i put the boat in the water I could hear some turkeys gobbling from their roosts. i idled back in the creek for a ways, jumping a bunch of wood ducks and watching 2 deer in the swamp. it seemed like it was going to be the perfect morning, except for the 47 degree water temp.
the fishing was slow and the fish were scattered around. I ended up with 9 keeper crappie and 1 big warmouth. all were caught on minnows while trolling. i sure hope we get some warm weather soon, the fishing was a lot better when the water temps were near 60*. i'm sure the majority of the fish were deeper than i was fishing, but i dont know how you catch them deep when the area you are fishing is littered with stumps and snags? the only way i've ever caught them was trolling or under a bobber. any tips for a newbie?

Originally Posted by JMN

I went back to Julington creek yesterday morning to try and catch some more specks. the morning started off cold but it was calm and clear. as soon as i put the boat in the water I could hear some turkeys gobbling from their roosts. i idled back in the creek for a ways, jumping a bunch of wood ducks and watching 2 deer in the swamp. it seemed like it was going to be the perfect morning, except for the 47 degree water temp.
the fishing was slow and the fish were scattered around. I ended up with 9 keeper crappie and 1 big warmouth. all were caught on minnows while trolling. i sure hope we get some warm weather soon, the fishing was a lot better when the water temps were near 60*. i'm sure the majority of the fish were deeper than i was fishing, but i dont know how you catch them deep when the area you are fishing is littered with stumps and snags? the only way i've ever caught them was trolling or under a bobber. any tips for a newbie?

Try a Kentucky rig. A 1/2 oz bell weight on the bottom, come up about 20 to 24 inches from that with a three way swivel. Put a 6 inch leader off the three way swivel with a gold hook. This should allow you to fish off the cover for fish suspending in deep water.

Originally Posted by BenFL01

Try a Kentucky rig. A 1/2 oz bell weight on the bottom, come up about 20 to 24 inches from that with a three way swivel. Put a 6 inch leader off the three way swivel with a gold hook. This should allow you to fish off the cover for fish suspending in deep water.

Spider rig poles sounds like the way to go.

I suggest Trolling with Jigs/lead/ & lightwirehooks. You may get hung but with the lightwirehooks, many times they will come loose and you are back fishing. That is how many fish are caught at Lake Talquin.

lightwirehooker

Yep, those methods work well too.

Capps and Coleman - a specific rig for spider rigging and trolling, would also give good results. I like to use this method with 1 oz egg weights to hold the line at the exact depth I want it set too.

You can rig these a couple of ways, but I go with the three way swivel.

10 - 14' slightly stiff rod and virtually any type of reel
6# - 8# Line
Three way swivel << 6 - 12" 4# leader #2 gold eagle claw hook
18-24 inches of 6# to 8# line
1oz Egg Weight
Bead (I like it to soften the hit on my ...)
Swivel
6 - 12" 4# leader w/ #2 gold eagle claw hook

I use light hooks and light line on the leaders because if I snag I will straighten the hook or break off the lighter line. The egg weight is trapped between the two swivels, but still can move reasonably freely, so it does not give fish a good weight to throw the hook. The higher the wind or the faster you and deeper you want to troll the longer the leader and heavier the weight you can (and should) use. If fishing slow and shallow go with the minimum leader, and down to as little as 3/8 oz egg weight.

You can also substitute jigs for minnows or even jigs with minnows, but traditionally the C & C is a minnow rig.

The rods and reels tend to be the expensive part, but you can start with something like the 10' crappie combo with built in reels that thread the line up through the middle of the pole and work up to the nicer BnM or Wally Marshals with the nice bait cast or spinning reels, or do anything in between. Personally I chose to start with the cheap cane pole with through the pole built in reel and replace them slowly with the nicer spinning rods and reels (50ish per pole, 20ish per reel). There are some cheaper rods out there, but they tend to break easily and are hard to find replacement tips for. Definitely buy your nicer rods that have a reputable dealer who can provide replacement tips.

Have fun and enjoy.

Thanks for the replies! i hope to try these techniques out this weekend. i'll let you know how it works out.

JMN,
Where in Julington are you fishing? Not looking for your honney hole just wanting to know how far up the creek you are. I hear alot of the salt guys talking about that creek. 9 is a good number either way so congrats.

Got these yesterday on Julington in 20 ft of water.

Very nice fish! i havent been going too far back into the creek. i usually just start trolling and make my way back into the creek. most of the fish come out of the deeper holes.

15 inchs.