Need some opinions please

[AIRASSAULT]

Hey all.. I'm a new member to this forum and would like some input from the seasoned crappie anglers on here. I'm from eastern Iowa and we get a lot of pockets of floodwater throughout the year in some isolated backwater areas from local rivers. One in particular I live near and has quite a few crappie in it and one was caught this spring weighing about 2 lbs. I've messed around on it a couple times with my kayak and with my electronics have found that it has some areas with up to 15 ft of water, but, most of it is from 4-8 ft and also has some little coves about 1 ft deep. It's probably only 5 acres or so. I'm wondering what would be my best bet for fishing these crappie in the fall? I tried there a few weeks ago at night with a floating light and bobbers with minnows in the 15 ft spot and caught 5 or 6 little ones. I've never really had a whole lot of luck at night with the floating lights. Should I be fishing in the shallower water? Should I just troll the banks and flip twister tails or tubes? Any help would be appreciated. I've always done most of my crappie fishing in the spring because bowhunting takes up most of my time in the fall. Thanks.

[CrappiePappy]

At no more than 5 acres & no deeper than 15ft ... I'd be casting jigs & Roadrunners, anywhere & everywhere Thumbs Up

Fall fish are going to be wherever the baitfish are, feeding up for the cold water period.
I wouldn't think it necessary to be night fishing, right now. Locally, the fish were/are being caught on flats & around deep submerged brushpiles, and in channels or along channel edges ... generally in 15-20ft of water, and just off the bottom. This was with surface water temps in the 80's. With the cooling off of the water temps, I expect the White Crappie to suspend over brush or channels & channel edges, and the Black Crappie to migrate into the creeks/bays & come a little shallower & closer to the bank. Both will be keying in on the comings & goings of the baitfish populations.

If your fish don't have any place else to go ... and there's no heavy concentration of baitfish in these backwater sloughs, then you might want to use a bait that mimics the fry or young of the year of any other species that's trapped in there with them. While Crappie prefer to eat soft spined fish (like chubs, shiners, shad species) ... they have no qualms about eating hard spined fish (like Sunfish, or their own species), if that's the only food, or most abundant food available.

... cp

[AIRASSAULT]

Thanks... Would you suggest it be better in the early mornings or evenings? Will they bite these jigs aggressively all the way up until it ices over? I can't wait to get the vexilar out!

[skiptomylu]

If you can troll slow with your troll motor if you have on one on that kayak if you can do it with how ever you move your kayak (just not sure how you get around and if you have to paddle this probably wouldn't work) but I love trolling marabou Roadrunner in the fall. I always use 1/32 oz, size and do very well. I would try that 15' or a little less and especially if there is some kind of cover/grass what ever. even near lay downs on a deep bank. If you don't have a troll motor then casting and slow retrieve is the deal. Slow fishing a marabou Roadrunner and you will catch fish.

Skip

[AIRASSAULT]

Sounds good.. I'll try some of those. Thanks for the input. Do you ever try to tip them with a minnow or just fish them plain? Any particular colors work best in stained water?

[BigRiverMarine]

Put a slip bobber on em and a minner and try all of the depths till you find em. Only have 5 acres, should be an easy find. Your vexlar will show you.

PS, Throw out 3-4 poles or whatever is legal, at several different depths. This should give you a wider range to search for them. You might just paddle around with the rods hanging over the boat until you find em. An inexpensive fish finder would be a huge help.

[skiptomylu]

I don't ever use a minnow with mine. I found the Blakemore one that has the FL Red Head/Green Body/Chartreuse tail works great and have used that since the 1970's. Here is a link and the first one that says this...Flo Red Green Chart is it.http://www.basspro.com/Original-Mara...ct/1946/120535

I am a bit disappointed though as when I looked it seems they have now started using the Green Chartreuse and not the FL Yellow one they use to use. I didn't know they did that since I make my own now. Just try to pull them at .8 to 1.2 MPH if trolling.

I should say other colors work well too, like all Chart, Red head and rest Chart. Also Chart/Black/Chart should do well too.

Good Luck,

Skip