Delta Crappie

[Michael]

Crappie fishing is the best fishing, but I am growing very dissapointed in the delta, I have fished by boat, bank under bridges around boat docks every place my fishing experience says cast too I try it. I learned to crappie fish in Ohio as a kid, we would fish under bridges and near downed trees for crappie but that was in the early 1970's, I spent time in the Navy and was stationed in Illinois and would catch crappie near bursh piles fallen trees near boat docks, I moved to Texas and would fish for Crappie at night almost any lake would yeild good numbers just find the depht. I have good fishing skills but my location must suck in the Delta. I have had good success in the lakes I caught my biggest Crappie ever here in California 4lbs a 16 incher. In Texas they would call it a bondo ( barn door) slab. Any advice on locations and seasonal patterns of the Delta Crappie. I do know that california fishermen/women are very tight lipped about fishing holes and will avoid location infomation when possible, trust me I do understand your location infomation in the hands of the wrong person can lead to disaster for years to come. One year I created a stake bed with X-mas tree branches at a lake in Santa Clara, It worked like a charm Crappie were in that hole I brought a friend along we both limited out in about 1.5 hours, he told 1 person and the next time I went there over 10 people were in the exact location of my stake bed, all from the same neighborhood. I did have a back-up and it was also very productive. I know the delta is large and there are concentration of crappie somewere. attached is a picture of my 16 in crappie its big I am 230lbs

[lee s.]

Nice fish!
In the delta it is necessary to add into the equation tides. Sometimes they feed during a certain portion of the tide and sometimes they are in a spot only during one tide or the other. Sometimes it is the "structure" created by moving water that is important. Sorta like a river that runs both directions, sooner or later.
We seldom actually target crappie, but this seems true of the other stuff (stripers and largemouth) we target in the tides of the delta. And what little we do of the crappie there.
....lee s.