Catching in the winter?

[Nitro12]

Hi guys my lake has a old river that runs thru it and the deepest part of lake is 35 feet? So my questions is do I need to fish in the river channel in the lake or will there be more crappie on up in the river out of the lake during wintertime? Also where will I need to look on the brakes, flats, bluffs, etc.

[CrappieWhisperer]

Hey Nitro, welcome to the board. Not sure which lake your fishin, but when the water gets below 45 degrees its time to go deep. Look for shad on the ledges in deep water. Even better if you can find brush there too. The crappie will be feeding on the shad, usually just below the bait balls. Sometimes their suspended other times their just off bottom. Use your locator to find the shad then use a 1/4 oz jig to get down to them and fish just above where you see the fish. Last time I went out a couple of weeks ago they were in 28ft of water. You can always catch some fish on deeper brush piles, but finding and fishing the shad balls on the ledges and channel breaks might be your best bet. If you ever fish Oologah give me a holler

[NIMROD]

What he said, I catch them here fishing creeks and main river in deep water around shad. Been fishing Southern Pro Umbrella Tubess on 1/8 oz leadheads and sometimes even 1/4 oz. Sometime they are so bunched up limits can be caught daily once you find them.

[Nitro12]

Thanks guys for the help I just see lots of stuff that says wintertime is time to go out in the main lake. The problem I have is there is very little deep water cover in my lake. The only deep water cover is out of main lake and farther up the rivers.

[shipahoy41]

Welcome from Alabama. Deep is a relavent term. There will be deeper water somewhere on your lake. I do not think the fish just pack up their bags and walk to the next lake. They are still in the lake. Don't make excuses...make it happen. Find some wood with deeper water and have a go at them.

[bowhunter012463]

Nitro12, if your lake don't have any deep water cover then make some. It will benefit you and the fish.

[CrappiePappy]

... there is very little deep water cover in my lake. The only deep water cover is out of main lake and farther up the rivers.

Two suggestions then, if that's the case :

1 - PUT some cover in the lake (if legal)
2 - fish the rock walls/cliffs (if available)

Sometimes it don't take much "cover" to draw a school to it ... even if they're only using it to orient themselves to a particular spot.
And, yes ... there will be fish that stay in the river, as well as those that stay in the lake. They don't ALL travel back & forth between the two.
Use your electronics & follow the main channel in the lake ... if there's not any substantial cover, key on bends & drops (& those bluffs).
Any continuous current in the river portion ... key on slack water areas, current breaks, eddy water areas, and any cover that offers a break in the current. They may even be shallower than you'd think ... since the water temps may well be much the same from surface to bottom, during this time of year.

... cp

Overall ... what you're looking for is some cover/structure that the fish can orient to, and baitfish present in the immediate area.

[Nitro12]

Thanks a lot guys the help is much appreciated I have a pretty good idea where to look know and where to start.

[jsides1979]

The crappie should be bunched in a loose school and holding in deep water close to a break where they will spawn once the water warms up.

[Bricks]

I am not from your area but up here in the winter from mid winter Ice until the water warms we look for mud flats in the deepest water we can find. There will be a ton of larva and tid bits coming up from the mud. These fish are roamers and are constantly on the move so keeping up with them over the basin area is work. Drop the Flasher down no fish move to the next hole once fish are marked get the bait down quick pull one or two fish and the school is gone, time to start hole hopping again. We may be over 40 feet of water but the Crappies may only be at 20 feet so we keep our baits above them and try to make them commit as they start rising towards the bait we will lift it a little more. Usually once we get one coming up to the bait it is very seldom they don`t bite.