Thread: Wintertime bank fishing for crappie.

I hope we don't have any ice this year either.

Jackson87...have you tried the sailboat docks at Cowan? I haven't fished them in winter but I would think they would be a good place to try and they would have pretty easy access from shore. Actually most of the lakes you've mentioned (not Rocky Fork) have some type of winter draw down and should open shore access quite a bit. I jig fish all winter and one thing I've found is some of these winter crappie can be pretty picky about jig size. The other day while fishing a 1 1/2" tube I notice I was getting some super light hits. I'm thinking gills but after about 10 hits and no fish I was curios. Normally I'll use a 1/16 oz w/#2 hook on my jigs but I downsized to a 1/32 oz jig w/#6 hook and pinched most of the tail off the tube body so it was only 1" long, Bingo! I never did get any gills, everything was crappie. Now the very next day the fish didn't care so I went back to the full size tube again.
Also don't forget Paint Creek it's also a fairly reasonable drive from Goshen. Some areas have good shore access.

Hey Crappie Max.I actually took my little boat to Cowan lake last Saturday and the lake is down about 6 foot.I mainly fished the sail boat dock piers and deeper trees.They have pulled all the actual sail boat docks out and put them on the bank.After 2 hours without a bite I gave up.So my last 3 trips out searching for crappie I've got skunked.I really starting to believe I'm just in all the wrong places.I think I need to buy a good fish finder and search deeper.Thanks for all the advice guys.


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FWIW here is a Lake Drawdown schedule for Ohio Lakes

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If you plan on trying to fish deeper getting some decent electronics is a big plus. You don't need the biggest and the best but stay away from those tiny little screens. A good starting unit would have a MINIMUM of a color sonar with a 5" screen and have GPS. SI & DI are nice to have but are not necessary, a 7" screen would be even better. Brand of electronics isn't important. I used Lowrance, one friend uses Hummingbird and another uses Garmin...they all show fish just fine. Having GPS will let you to return to any spots you may find. In my experience if you are looking for winter crappie you can find fish at almost any depth but I rarely will look for fish much deeper than 15 foot deep and it's rare I look that deep.
One thing I will put out there is it's taken most of us a few years to figure out some methods that work for us and every year we learn something new. It seems you are just starting out so don't get frustrated and give up. Don't get in routine and keep going out doing the same thing every week if it's not working. Be flexible, try new stuff and most of all have fun.
I've fished Cowan for 40 years and the only reason I don't winter fish it is because I can't launch my boat with the water drawn down. Cowan IMO is a good Crappie lake with numbers and size if you can find them.

Thanks for the info.I have fished Cowan since I was a little kid.Its by far my favorite lake to fish.I usually only crappie fish late winter and spring.At that time there in the trees and shallow.Im amazed with how hard it gets fished that it still produces quality fish.Ive never had a fish finder but will be buying one very soon.I was looking at the Hook 5.I do feel like I'm spinning my wheels but I'm not gonna give up.Im gonna try to improve my technique and learn how to search for them.


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You can also buy an i-bobber (2 kinds)...you can cast it out (use braid) and it will send data (Depth, fish, etc) to your phone.

i fished rocky fork on 12/30 and caught crappie and white bass , all in water 25' - 30' deep , off docks. lake was starting to lock up but still some open water around docks. i took a dozen nice crappie home. I fished it again on 1/1, and lake appeared to be completely locked up, docks all locked up, hed to drill to fish, same depths not biting as good as during the snow storm on 12/30. the fish do hang out around deeper ends of the docks all winter but it is hit and miss . fish it during a weather front coming in and like anywhere else its better. Should be out there walking on water this weekend. if I were not working i would be out on lake now. As far as baits go i fish mostly with BG 2" shad baits and they hit this all winter. My favorite color there is the monkey milk.

Thanks for the info glasseyes.Sounds like you have figured those fish out.Do you use a fish finder when you fish thru the ice?Judging by the lake map and my lures the docks by the old restaurant are only 10-20 foot deep.I need to try a few of the other docks to see if I have any luck.


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no, lol if i had figured them out i would not go away scratching my head at times. I do have better luck when a weather front has moved in while fishing the docks. i only use a hand held fish finder on occasion, it helps at times. yes the dock right beside old restaurant is probably only 20' deep at end. There is a pretty steep drop right towards end of that dock. if you fish across the other docks there you will find deep water 30' .off ends of them. the fish move in and out , and unless you have open water there your stuck verticle jigging, so when we have ice the fish finder comes in more useful .