Fishing Drop offs and Ledges

[wheels70]

I am fairly new at specifically targeting crappie and have been suprisingly successful at catching them over and around brush piles but I am ready for a new challenge. I read in another post about finding them along ledges and drop-offs. Can someone go into more detail about this? I would love to try this next time I go out but I don't have the first clue what I am looking for.

I can always find loads of fish in about 20-25 feet of water just off of a hump or drop off but how do I know if I am looking at crappie, walleye, channel cat, etc? In years past we have trolled out in this deeper water until we wore all the paint off of the lures and never did catch anything out there in the deeper water other than maybe the occasional white bass.

Once I do find them, do you fish them as you would a brush pile and just stay right on top of them or do you slowly work back and forth over them while holding your minnow at their depth?

Anyone care to share any information on how you do it and what type of structure you are looking for?


Thank you,
Keith

[wheels70]

WOW!! 74 views already,, please folks dont all talk at once!!

[huntcapn]

wish I knew what to tell you...I think it's a great question...hope you get an answer....I know if I found a bunch of fish, I'd fish 'em till I figured out if they were crappie or not....all I know...good luck

[Chadku]

I don't know much about it but coming up here in a few weeks when the water cools down the fish will scatter a bit before they bunch up again in winter. Strolling drop offs in the 10-20' range will fill the boat. Tandem jigs will start out producing minnows. Just slowly move along the breaks with your TM keeping your line as vertical as possible. Some days they are suspended and other days right on the bottom and you have to knock that jig off the rocks. This will work really well around bridge rip rap.

The same technique will work in the summer but the fish tend to relate to brush more around here I think. But there are days they are just off the piles or in-between piles rather than right on them. If you are a minner guy using a KY rig is a great option for this.

[birddog one]

Cheif is the master at this . Here is what I know (which isn't much) fishing ledges and drop offs I start on the bottom and work up from there I use jigs. I'll work up and down till I find were the fish are holding I'll mark my line with a sharpy drop back to that depth and keep working back and forth over the drop off usally it's a wind blown point.

[PurpleCrappie]

Nice response Chad&BD.I 'am new to the strollin scene.However,plan on trying it in the fall.

[Big Mo]

I'm with chadku. Fish the breaks as the water cools down in October. Some guys use Bobby Garland strollin twisters. I have never done much good fishing the visible fish suspended off the drop offs. Usually the biting crappie are hugging the rocky drop offs and the depth finder will barely mark any fish. Somtimes the shad are on the flat shallows and the crappie are on the edge of the slope ambushing the shad for an easy meal.

[fishlessDan]

wheels, fish the fish at the bottom of the school, but stay a foot or so above them,they are generally the most active in the school.

[crappiedoc]

It's been my experience that fish down at the bottom and off the break are neutral. Yea they'll bite, because every living thing is an opportunist, but their window is small. As stated early, fish on the break are more active, they're hiding and stalking just waiting for the ambush. In my experiences I prefer the top down method. I'll start on the upper fish first and progress down through the school. I've found I catch more fish in a school doing this. When starting down and pulling a hooked fish through the others seems to "scare" the them, they know things don't look right. Another thing, when you locate these schools of fish head to the closest structure adjacent to them, maybe a ledge, pile whatever. Then start just above the depth you located the highest fish in the school using the elevator technique or top down method. Fish located on top of the break or just off are very active, plain hungry. They've exposed themselves to predation because of hunger. All fish go shallow to feed, isn't that where their food is. Baitfish are controlled by water temp and seasons. Since they're plankton/algae feeders they will be up in the water column feeding where sunlight helps their forage. I hope this gives you some help, that's why I'm here anyway.

[HairyVetch]

To your question about how do you know what type of fish are you looking at, this comes from time on the water and looking at your graph and catching what you see. Over time (and this is not an exact science) you will find that you can somewhat determine if you are looking at crappie white bass or shad. When fishing brush many times you will not mark anyting. If you have a good gps map and you see tight contour lines then you have a drop offs. Finding drop offs on undewater points usually hold fish. Some more then others but always a good place to start looking. Many times people drop brush on the end of these points as an added attractant. If you find brush and it is not holding fish, move out to deeper water and look for a drop off and many times you will find them there. We suspend over these fish using kentucky rigs or the cap+coleman rigs and see if they will bite. Sometimes you find bigger fish this way. When moving around lakes always be looking at your graph for interesting locations and when times are tuff go back and check them. You might find some new favorite spots this way.