winter crappie help

[Igotem]

I have never fished for crappie in the winter, but am a single dad and my son really wants to go fishing, so I promised to take him this Sunday. We are going to Jackson lake, GA. I have never had alot of success fishing this lake except for bream, etc, I was hoping to catch a few crappie and have only fished for them using minnows and a cork near bridges and docks. I have been reading and it seems that I would enjoy more success with a jig or spoon of some kind, but my son may be too young for that. Can I still have a successful fishing trip this time of the year, using just minnows and a cork? And if so can you please give me some tips that might help? Thanks alot for any help, I hope I can give my son some good memories with a crappie on the end of the line.

[TapOut64]

With the exception of today I have been having good luck fishing bridges with a sliding bobber. Here in VA I'm fishing 10' deep in 18'-26' of water. Just three weeks ago I caught a 2lb 2oz and 2lb even crappie. Water temp at the time was 55 degrees, which is probably real close to where it would be now down your way. I caught most my fish before noon, the earlier the better.

[bama647]

i think you can do fine on minnows if you can find the fish. how old is your son and has he fished before? at the top of the page click on search and type in "pwr198" and read the cold water hints thread.

[Igotem]

What time should we try to get on the lake for crappie fishing? I was planning on getting to the lake about dawn, but alot of reports are telling me that the crappie do not start biting until around lunch, so should I let them sleep in a bit more and wait until 8 or 9am before we drop a line?

[bama647]

i would start about dawn if its not to cold for your son. my best times have been around dawn and around 9-10am. good luck let us know how it goes. if theres any boathouses be sure to try around them. look for the ones with pole holders on them.

[tarheel]

Dawn to about 10:30 works real well this time of year. Remove the bobber completely and just fish straight down 10-14 feet around deep piers and boat houses. A little colder (45 degree water) and you will need to move a little deeper. Don't be afraid to move around this time of year because they seem to be in tight schools right now. When you find them, you will almost always find 3 or 4.

[robert-thompson]

I went from 5 am untill 8 am this morning and God blessed me with 30 fine keepers with a couple of 1.5 lb fish. I was fishing under piers tossing the 1/16 jig out 10 or 12 feet and letting it fall back toward me along and past the post always watching for the twitch of the line. If your line twitches twitch it back and put a hook in that crappie! Most of the fish were in 10 to 12 foot of water but only six to seven feet down. Good luck I hope this helps.