Shallow Water Crappie and a Kayak

[Ditch Basser]

I got out in my kayak for three hours this morning before it got hot, I caught a hundred or so and kept 17 that were 10 inches or over. No slabs but a couple of 13 inchers. I fished a Lake Wheeler backwater area again. Fish were within a couple hundred yards of 12 foot water, but I found them on the bait fish in two feet. I was dragging white marabou jigs 18 inches down in 24 inches of water and picking one up here and there.

I think the Crappie are shallow more often than people realize. Anglers just don’t have a way of access them. With a larger boat your either anchored or moving with the trolling motor. The larger size and noise of the trolling motor will spook the fish every time in very shallow water. In a kayak they don’t even know your there. 

Think of how seldom you catch a Crappie at arms length from your boat in three or four feet of water. The one exception is spawning in the spring when the Crappie are distracted by biology. I catch most of my fish dragging jigs in less than 6 feet of water and at arms length from the boat!

[GrantH]

100 fish?? Wow...I do need to get out on wheeler! Do you not worry about the contaminates in the backwaters? I'm leery of wheeler because of this, but that kind of fishing is hard to beat. I got out on Lady Ann for a bit but I didn't get much done. Nice pull.

[Ditch Basser]

I've always wanted to fish Lady Ann in my kayak but don't have access. I even checked to see if I could pay to have access but no go. I'm sure there are some Crappie in there that are begging to be caught!

I hear talk about contamination in Lake Wheeler all the time but there's no warnings about eating Crappie and they test yearly. Crappie are also a short lived fish that's not as bad as some others on picking up heavy metals and other contamination.

[GrantH]

Ditch, come over and join me as a "guest" and we can fish one Saturday until we just can't fish an longer. I am busy this weekend (offshore charter) and my parents will be up the following but fishing will happen that Saturday on Lady Anne. You are welcome to join...I need to learn the lake a bit better anyways.