Thread: where do they go??????need one of you smart guys to help me out

Went to Garcia today & got blanked!!!!!! I am certainly not the sharpest hook in the box, but I can usualy figure out how to put a few in the box.........not today..........Drifted C&C rigs in 7' to 15',.......trolled a variety of offerings,.....dipped minnows around floating mats & emergent vegitation, casted jigs, and dipped minnows over submerged grass, CUSSED REAL LOUD.....cried a little.........tried to hold my mouth right..........poked it with a stick........I tried everything ...........The only reason I didnt pull the plug & go down with the ship was because no one else caught any either.....the biologist at the ramp said he didnt figure they would bite til the temp got up to 65 or so..........I've caught them in cold water plenty........wonder why I couldnt find em today????????......

This is a sad tale of one person's tragic experience with the crappie fishery. In a sea of plenty, still there is hunger. With all the good reports coming from area lakes and rivers, I find there are others like myself. Well, we had houseguests and so didn't make it out, but still, if I had gone, this would have been me. Sad.

I went out yesterday and fished the Winter Haven chain of lakes. First we hit an old canal with deep water and slow drifted minnows. We caught 6 fish, but the biggest was maybe 5 inches, so to me that is sorta a blank. We then went out to the main part of the lake and C&Ced at about 6 to 8 foot in 8 to 18 foot of water. Nothing! Finally we poked way back into bullrushes. Got some then. Fishing way back, in heavy cover, about 2 foot deep. Used 12 foot cane poles, rigged with minnows and slip floats. Caught 11 keepers. You also had to find the right bull rushes. Some patches were full of fish, some had nothing. I think they like Bull Rushes (buggy whips?) and cat tails the most, followed closely by pads. Surprisingly we have not caught many in Kissimmee grass.

Minnowdrownder, it was a rough season for me also, until Sunday. Decided after lunch to give it a try. Did not hit the water until 1:30 P.M. Started with cane poles with no success,
pulled out the spinning outfit , had a gold spoon beetle spin with a chartreuse green tube lure. At one point I had a fish on every cast. After an hour had to start culling out fish. I am not an expert but I resort to my Bass fishing knowledge for stubborn specs. The first rule is dont be afraid to break camp and relocate. It can be dead in one lake and on fire in another. If you have thrown every thing but the kitchen sink at them with no success, then pull the boat and try another lake. Good luck this weekend.

Thanks for all the support & encouragment guys.........I've just had a run of bad luck & timing I guess.......I like to fish different lakes whenever I can. So far this winter I've been to Marion twice, Rosalie once, Kissimmee River once, Garcia twice, and C-23 a few times....Mostly the weather has been the biggest issue, but I cant use that excuse for sunday!! It was a stellar day.......I would have bet the farm that they would bite good...
I will continue to chase the scaley little critters & I'm sure my day will come, & I hope I get to meet & share water with all the great folks on this awsome site

thanks again Roy

Let me assure u they bite when it's cold. I catch my bigger fish in fall and winter spider rigging

Originally Posted by BenFL01

I went out yesterday and fished the Winter Haven chain of lakes. First we hit an old canal with deep water and slow drifted minnows. We caught 6 fish, but the biggest was maybe 5 inches, so to me that is sorta a blank. We then went out to the main part of the lake and C&Ced at about 6 to 8 foot in 8 to 18 foot of water. Nothing! Finally we poked way back into bullrushes. Got some then. Fishing way back, in heavy cover, about 2 foot deep. Used 12 foot cane poles, rigged with minnows and slip floats. Caught 11 keepers. You also had to find the right bull rushes. Some patches were full of fish, some had nothing. I think they like Bull Rushes (buggy whips?) and cat tails the most, followed closely by pads. Surprisingly we have not caught many in Kissimmee grass.

What does this C&C mean? That's another curve ball for me.

Outnumbered;

Just learned this one myself.....Caps & Colman rig........The way I understand the rig is like this........Or I should say the way I'm doing it is.....swivel at top, about 12" down I tie a hook on a dropper loop......about 8" down I tie a coastlock snap swivel, about 12 - 18" down I tie a hook..........wallaa.....attach top swivel to main line........get an assortment of bass casting weights & attach one to the coastlock..........put minnows on the hooks & you've got a C&C rig......or at least my version of it........My first time using it, I put out 4 C&C rigs, and 4 slip float rigs. The C&C's out fished the floats about 4 to 1........needless to say I'm hooked!!!!

Originally Posted by minnowdrownder

Outnumbered;

Just learned this one myself.....Caps & Colman rig........The way I understand the rig is like this........Or I should say the way I'm doing it is.....swivel at top, about 12" down I tie a hook on a dropper loop......about 8" down I tie a coastlock snap swivel, about 12 - 18" down I tie a hook..........wallaa.....attach top swivel to main line........get an assortment of bass casting weights & attach one to the coastlock..........put minnows on the hooks & you've got a C&C rig......or at least my version of it........My first time using it, I put out 4 C&C rigs, and 4 slip float rigs. The C&C's out fished the floats about 4 to 1........needless to say I'm hooked!!!!

Thanks minnowdrownder. At 4 to 1 I guess you are hooked! Gonna try that one out muhself next time out. Of course by then they'll all be one the beds, huh?

Originally Posted by Outnumbered

Thanks minnowdrownder. At 4 to 1 I guess you are hooked! Gonna try that one out muhself next time out. Of course by then they'll all be one the beds, huh?

Who the heck knows?????I sure dont!!!!That was the reason I started this thread to begin with......I hoping for some magical wisdom to come to me in a dream or somthing