Work and kids and wife had me ahoe and elbo. This is the first chance I've had to chime but Nater covered the basics. I prefer the Wakarusa River myself for many reasons. 1) The boat ramp to me is better. For some reason the access to Rock Creek always gets me. The first 1/4 mile or so is a maze of loggage and shallow water that I can never manage. Some of you may have the same problem. 2) The Waka is more of a river proper and the Rock is a creek. The further up the Rock you go, the skinnier, both width and depth. The Waka runs 30 to 45 or so yards wide and depth probably averages 12-13 feet at the ramp to 18-19 down river. 3) The Waka runs from either bank generally 5-8 yards to the original channel. In other words from about 1 foot deep to 6-8 feet deep and then the primary channel (the channel that was there prior to the damming and retention of Clinton. At the drop it goes from 6-8 feet to 12-18 feet. ALL along that drop fish can be found especially in the late summer fall/early winter. On that drop there are old stumps and timber rotted off under the surface, some right at the surface. At the current time the lake/river is up 1.75ft so much is just under the water level 2 feet. At the base of those old stumps and trees is an exposed root system and usually on the exposed root is a log jam. The Waka is chalk full of underwater timber. The crappie can be on the "pole" timber at various depths, on the root ball, suspended at or just above the break in "open type" water with nearby timber. 4) There are also lots of major log jams on the Waka that need to be probed in the slab search. Sometimes they are there and sometimes not. If you get hammered and can't budge the hammerer, and feel you line quivering, it's a giant flathead that is making you the butt of his joke. Best thing to do is cut the line and move on. 5) Tons of wildlife on the Waka at the "tunnel" of trees leaves the birds and their melodies just like elevator music. 6) Easy to get out of the wind on the Waka, 20-30mph on the lakes is unfishable for me. Head to the Waka and it's a cooling breeze. 7) It can be really tough in Rock or the Waka at times, but as Nater pipes, the more consistent times are coming. Generally my window is now till ice up. What does ice up mean? Not the first ice. That can generally be busted up and the crappie are schooled up waiting to be caught. Very little pressure on those crappie from Turkey day till solid ice. However, the boats there know what is happening and the best spots are usually taken. The good news is there are tons of water to find your spot. Just keep an eye on boat locations and when you return, see what is there. I guarantee that prior fisher was there for a reason. The Wakarusa River is my favorite place to fish, especially in the fall. I enjoy going there midweek by myself. Chances are nobody will be there and the colors and wildlife are splendid. The fishing can be, well, just like crappie fishing, runs the gammut. The one thing I have found is that the "average" crappie tends to be larger than on the lake. In the fall, it's quite possible to have several 14's and maybe a couple 15's. They are not Toronto fish as that is a whole nother matter. But to me, they are hard to push out of second place if you search for slabs. I don't have the experience, but I hear the Goon is similar with possibly even a "larger" average fish. Others will know of that. Whew, to bed I crawl.
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