Thread: Help with Nightfishing

Crappie are a most cunning and creative species. I often lay awake at night ,thinking of what does a crappie thinks.
What do they see , what do they know ,what they feel, what are their goals in life


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Good tip on the anchors. I have the equipment for that. Prior to spot lock trolling motors we had to anchor on two ends quite a bit for stripers. I really don't miss those days. No big deal setting them once for night fishing but doing it several times a morning with a 28 pound navy anchor on each end was terrible.

Night fishing for crappie can be done year around. For the setup it sounds like you have what's needed but where you are thinking about setting up is not the best place. You want to be able to control how deep the crappie can go and for that reason it works best if you will set up in 25' depth or less. What you are looking for is bait fish and once found wherever that may be is where you want to set up. Bridges is one place to avoid because of the boat traffic and other nightstalkers pulling away your bait and as so the crappie that will come to feed.
Once you pick you place to fish in 25' depth or less (25' to 20' is preferred ) set your light no more than 2' below the surface, the rod setup works best with a single gold hook and just enough weight added to keep the line vertical (maybe 2 #7 split shots ). Now for depth drop a couple lines to the bottom and two cranks up will be good (this is the reason you want to be in 25' of less depth, you know the crappie will never be deeper than you are fishing). Now start working the water column 4 to 6' increments until you have a couple of baits at each depth to within 4' to 6' depth from the top.
With bait already found they will come to your light quickly and shouldn't be long before the crappie follow then you can adjust the depths of your offerings to the bite zone. Crappie will move up and down throughout the water column so be sure to adjust if the bite stops.
Good luck on your nightstalking at the Hill and I look forward to hear about your trips.

Ronie

Excellent tips Ronie, I really appreciate it. There are a couple of cove mouths 50 yards off or a little more off this channel bend that would bottom out at 25 feet. One of the reasons I am fixated on this spot is it loads up with bait that time of year and has been a spot I catch a lot of crappie in the daytime. But it makes total sense what you are saying about pulling them up shallower so you don't have as big of a water column to cover.

Originally Posted by 91tiger

Good tip on the anchors. I have the equipment for that. Prior to spot lock trolling motors we had to anchor on two ends quite a bit for stripers. I really don't miss those days. No big deal setting them once for night fishing but doing it several times a morning with a 28 pound navy anchor on each end was terrible.

Does the spot lock feature work for night fishing?
I’d think the TM would wash over the baits too much or go crazy and spiral the boat


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I know guys who drift at night and do well sometimes. I prefer to anchor but if the bite is slow I'll put the trolling motor down. I've never used spot-lock, but I won't say not to use it. The lights, just use whatever you are comfortable with. I fish water 20-30 ft deep at night, sometimes I'll set up beside a brush pile, sometimes a drop-off. Only a lake I'm not very familiar with would I fish a bridge, too many other boats there plus I don't like being that close to the concrete posts. Different lakes usually makes fishing depth challenging. I fish High Rock Lake NC most of the time and I'll fish lines 10, 12, and 15 ft deep. It's not unusual to catch fish less than 10 ft deep. Lake Norman and Wylie I very seldom catch a fish 10 feet down and the deeper I fish the better. As far as a rig, I just use split shot( not sure what size) just over a hook. I also use corks on some rods, part of that is for light bites and entertainment! Hope this helps!