So many trees in Truman...

[jeff3026]

how do you choose which trees to fish?

My Dad and I spent 6 hours on the water Saturday and got skunked. We tried minnows and jigs with no luck at all. We fished the Osage branch from C bridge to Wright's creek. I read the reports from Saturday and understand the bite was slow...but we got nothing. I did not see any cedar trees along that stretch and have not learned to tell the difference between the other trees. We tried the trees along the river channel in 20-15 foot of water and on the points of the coves.

The day was not a total loss. The weather was excellent and it was still a great day to be out fishing with my Dad but I sure would've liked to get a few bites.

[olesilverside]

As far as which trees, there are basicly three types, cedars, hedges, and hardwoods, most crappie at this time are coming off of the hardwoods and some of the bigger ones are working well, but this is on the Grand..... Unless you get really close to the bank along some of the main channel you will never spot some of the cedars...... You got to be versatile and don't be affraid to go back in like wright creek one of the better ones on the osage, you can look at it like we done sat..... I told chris and sam they gotta be in here we just gotta find them, and it took us a hour or so to locate somewhat of a pattern, then the rest is easy..... rember how deep the water was, what kind of tree it was, and how deep was he.... a good rule is go to the bottom and work your bait up very slow.... . and watch other boats and if they are catching any what are they doing, what kind of trees...etc...... don't be affraid to ask someone, could be a cdc member and you would have it made.....at least with this one......

[DMW1960]

Get A Small Fuzzy Dog Like Ron's And Take Oss With You! Between The Dog And Oss They Will Smell Them Out For You.

Jeff What I Do Is Look At The Reports, Find An Area And Try To Figure Out A Patern. Once You Find A Tree That Produces Try To Find Another One In The Area That Looks About Like The Same You Caught Fish On. Friday I Was Up On Truman. I Tried Some Spots That I Had Caught Fish At Before And Didn't Do Any Good At All. I Then Went To An Area That Oss And Ron Caught Fish At On Thursday And Tried Using The Same Colors That They Had Used. I Caught Fish But Most Were Small I Moved Down A Bluff And Fished The Same Depts And Got More Fish. Sometimes It's A Hit And Miss Thing. I Have Seen Times On Truman That You Pull Up To One Tree And Only Catch One Fish. Then You Go To The Next Tree Or Stump And Catch One More Then Move On! But Then You Hit A Tree And You Will Catch Several Fish. Right Now After A Rain Up On Truman The Patern Gets Ruff For A Few Days. This Spring Up On Truman I Found Fish Around Stumps And Trees That Produced 8 To 10 Nice Keepers Per Tree!

Main Thing Don't Get Stuck Into Something Until You Start Catching Fish Then Follow The Pattern.

[DMW1960]

And If All Else Fails Yell At Oss!

[camo_boat]

when i have no idea where the fish are, i'll try a spot and give it all we've got with regard to colors and presentations, but won't spend too much time. i also like to put a white crappie nibble on the hook with jigs. if that don't work, then i'll try another totally different spot, maybe going from flats to just off a steep drop, or into a thick patch of trees. different depths, and different presentations, and different colors, and different types of trees.

and everything fails, enjoy some cold beer :-)

everything mentioned above is spot on.

[jeff3026]

Camo boat...

Can you explain what you mean by different presentations? I'm very new to this crappie thing. I did try several different colors of jig tubes and we were using yellow and white crappie nibbles.

[sliles]

This is what I do, check for water clarity if the water is dingy use dark colors such as black/chart if its clear use blue and white. Put a red line on the bottom of your jig (red marker) then find the shad. were the bait is then the fish are going to be there. Then find some deeper water such as 13 to 17 feet drop it down to 10 to 11 feet instantly then shake it softly once,twice,three times.If you don't feel the magic then go to the next tree. Think like a crappie Do you like to have the sun blazing on you. Fish the shady part of the tree.Only spend one minute at each tree. Now if you catch one you might spend 2 to 3 ,then get out. Make sure you watch your line if it goes limp set the hook. Jigs are cheap. Thats the first chapter of crappie 101

[rangerman93]

The outside trees are always the top producers for me in the summer.

[MUDDYH2OSLAB]

Don't give up. Read all you can about the fish. As far as which trees I dont get to caught up in type, size, limbs or what not, but more attention to whats on the bottom. Good luk keep after em.

[MarknKC]

Jeff -Although I got a later than I wanted start, I had the same problem Sat. But I met Sliles and he was catching fish which again reinforced to me I got a whole lot to learn! That's why I like this site, Like Sliles the folks I have met or chatted with are always helpful and steer me in the right the right direction. I'm not good, but I'm better than I was