Thread: Kayak Trip Report, Indian Creek

I fished Indian Creek today, bait fish and Stripe were everywhere. I kept 5 Crappie and 5 Large Gills. Returned a dozen larger Crappie and a couple dozen shorts. Water was clear with visibility of about two feet and 58 degrees.

In muddy water I start with Chartreuse, clear water White. If I'm single poling laydowns I look for a tree that extends from the bank into the deepest water and work it from end to end. Clear water fish are usually deeper, muddy water they may be a foot deep. I usually start around 6 feet but drop the jig slowly and if no bites or the fish finder is showing fish deeper, I just keep dropping. Monday there were Strip and baitfish everywhere, but all the Crappie came out of 8 to 12 feet of water and right on the bottom. Next trip they'll be on the same laydowns but will move shallow or deep depending on if they're feeding, water clarity and light (clear blue sunny days are hard!). I seldom take more than two or three from a single laydown. I keep moving picking up the active fish and will target a good tree several time during a trip. One more thing, I usually keep a small fish marker in my vest pocket, if I cross over deeper (8 to 15 feet) submerged brush showing fish holding on it I'll drop the marker and jig around it. The marker makes it easy to stay on the spot and I'll often find most of my fish on these little submerged spots that everyone misses.

Nothing wrong with drowning minnows in a good laydown that reloads with fish if you have the patience, but I won't, I keep moving.