Pickwick Landing/Dam

[catchum]

Fished around pickwick landing using sprider rig, with jigs tipped with minnows. Water was down but muddy. Did not do to good. Caught thirteen, some nice size two were 16". Fishing seems slow. Deep water worked the best. Thirty feet seemed to be the best for me. They were hard to find. I guess as the saying goes "the colder the deeper'.

[Moose1am]

Remember that water is warmer a the bottom of the lake when there is ice on the surface of the lake or the water temp at the surface are below 4 deg Centegrade. That is because water at 4 deg C is the most dense that water can be. Water at 3 deg C is lighter than water at 4 deg c and floats above the heavier water. But water at 5 deg C is lighter than water at 4 deg C. So it's a fine line. If not for this fact the lakes would start to freeze from the very bottom on the lake and upwards and kill all the fish.

I suspect that this lake Picwick has pretty clear water when you were fishing it since the fish were that deep. But then again Patoka Lake is only 50ft deep in the deeper spots and it's not crystal clear. It's clear but not crystal clear. The last time out my friend was catching the crappie in 30ft of water too. That was the last of Nov or the first of Dec. Isn't Pickwick down around the very southern part of TN and into MS?

Fished around pickwick landing using sprider rig, with jigs tipped with minnows. Water was down but muddy. Did not do to good. Caught thirteen, some nice size two were 16". Fishing seems slow. Deep water worked the best. Thirty feet seemed to be the best for me. They were hard to find. I guess as the saying goes "the colder the deeper'.

[catchum]

Well thanks for your info about the water temp. Stupid me I have been thinking that in the summer, when swimming, the water is warmer at the surface and gets cooler as you go deeper. I guess I forgot the effect of the sun on the water?? Thanks, catchum

[Moose1am]

Water normally does get colder the deeper you go most of the year. It's only in the very cold months that the deepest water is the warmest water due to a very strange property of water itself. Not everyone is aware of how this works but it makes good sense when we see lakes freezing from the surface downwards. I think that the fish like it that way as well.


Glad that I could help.

The main thing is that maybe the fish will be hugging the bottom when you fish. They will be hard to see on a depth finder. At times when the wate has warmed up a bit the fish will at times suspend. I have been reading about the microorganizm in the lake and how they suspend in the water column and rise up and down with the varying amounts of sunlight. It could be that the crappie are feeding on these microorganism at who suspend at different levels during differet parts of the day. But when the water freezes is shuts down a lot of lifes activities. I suspect that some animals may dig into the mud to get warmer.

Well thanks for your info about the water temp. Stupid me I have been thinking that in the summer, when swimming, the water is warmer at the surface and gets cooler as you go deeper. I guess I forgot the effect of the sun on the water?? Thanks, catchum

[ShilohRed]

Fished around pickwick landing using sprider rig, with jigs tipped with minnows. Water was down but muddy. Did not do to good. Caught thirteen, some nice size two were 16". Fishing seems slow. Deep water worked the best. Thirty feet seemed to be the best for me. They were hard to find. I guess as the saying goes "the colder the deeper'.

Talked with a guy last week, And he was catching them in Yellow creek. Right out form the no wake marker at the marina. And he was catching them in 30 ft of water.
I fish Pickwick all the time. Above and below the dam. Sure hope they cut the flood gates off soon. Would like to catch some fish below the dam.
Pete

[catchum]

Slabmaster; I fished the no wake zone in front of Aqua in past years and have done pretty good. But I am trying to learn the Pickwick landing area, and have experienced the same result as you leave the no wake boat launch area and stay to the edge of channel markers at about 20' deep. It seems there is more fishing done in yellow creek...but I would like to learn of spots around the landing...any suggestions..Thanks, catchum