So, what is your opinion?

[Whaler]

Got into a discussion with a person concerning the crappie bite this time of year. He claims that crappie are on the bite somewhere in the lake this time of year when water temps hit 50. He claims they are biting but most anglers are not adapt at searching out and making the required changes to catch them. For example, the bite is light and the angler will not switch to smaller jigs and lite line, uses cheaper rods that are not sensitive, uses bobbers and line that is too heavy if bait fishing or will not adjust depths of presentation. He said that 2 to 4 pound line on a good rod will make a difference in what you put in the boat. I think water clarity would have a lot of impact too.
What do you think of his comments?

[wannabe fisherman]

I think some of it is spot on. I know I have trouble trying to break old habits and fish differently than I normally do.

[cevans]

I think for most fishermen,,they go fishing when they have time to fish whether its in perfect conditions or not. And,,alot of fishermen just don't know how to adapt to the conditions before them. Look at your tourney fishermen be it bass or crappie. Not everybody fishing is going to limit out or even catch 1 fish to weigh in. And,,at sometime,,the fish just don't want to cooperate either due to the conditions that are before them. Sure, water temp has a lot to do with it, but so does air pressure, wind, sunlight, oxygen content of the water, clarity of the water, feed, cover and lake structure, as well as presentation by the fisherman towards his quarry. As the old saying goes, only 10% of the water holds fish consistently. If we all thought like a fish and consistently limited out, there would be a lot less fish to catch.

[usafret99]

on my lake when temp hits 48 and up if you keep searching you will find some fish, but the rest i dont worry about. I use same equipment no matter what conditions are and find and catch them

[cevans]

fishing can be like a puzzle. Do we solve all puzzles? Sometimes. And when we do,,we catch our limits, enjoy, and have fun.

[Valparaiso_Girl]

I think their are many factors that play into rather or not the fish are going to bite, but for the most part I agree that slight changes will make a diff. Here's what I've successfully experienced: If the water is still cold and I find the fish, even if it's ice out, I will use my ice rod, ice jigs, and tight line jig fish for em from my kayak. A real finesse set up and presentation seems to make a big difference when the water is cold. In contrast, in the middle of the summer, I've fished for muskie and actually caught an average sized crappie (which I thought was a weed while reeling in) on a jig the size of a toaster. Who knows if that same fish would have even looked at my ice jig at that time. I guess it all depends on what that fish wants. I do agree that somewhere, no matter when, there's a hungry crappie and it's our fun task to get that fish to bite.

[danwalleye]

I use 4 lb line all year round when water is cold it s like looking for a needle in the hay stack but when you find them you catch a bunch

[STONETER]

Using the right technique/ gear any day can be a productive day on the lake.

[cford]

I think too that certain conditions favor different fishermen. If your confident spider rigging but the bite is in timber on single pole with jigs your not going to be as confident with your skill to catch those fish. Bass fishing same, if you are very confident fishing a texas rig work but the bite is on spinner baits you may not be as confident. Not that you cant catch the fish different ways but there is a reason we all have that "old reliable" bait, spot, presentation that we go back to and when it does not work its easier to say "just aint bitin today" but betcha they are somewhere or somehow!!

[DukeTech]

I agree with the comments above. I've never seen a fishing tournament where nobody won. Somebody always figures out the right technique/gear and catches a few.