How to know how deep to fish

[livemusic]

That's a pretty broad question. Let's take this time of year and assume they are not on the bank. Say, water 7' deep. I would say fish 3' deep right now but I have no idea why I say that, lol. They say crappie look up. In stained water, would you ever fish a shallower depth, such as 2' deep? And why not 6' deep in 7' of water?

[barrelslime]

Are you bank fishing or boat?
I'm assuming you don't have electronics.
If not a cork can be your best friend set at different depths till you catch one. The fish will tell you where they are

[CrappiePappy]

That's a pretty broad question. Let's take this time of year and assume they are not on the bank. Say, water 7' deep. I would say fish 3' deep right now but I have no idea why I say that, lol. They say crappie look up. In stained water, would you ever fish a shallower depth, such as 2' deep? And why not 6' deep in 7' of water?

Bill ... you are very likely to catch them at any/all depths at this time of year ... depending on the current trend in weather and water conditions.

Yes, Crappie eyes are at the top most portion of their head, so looking "up" is their more natural way of spotting prey (either by direct sight or against the lighter background of the sky). And don't worry about stained water ... they can see many times farther through stained water than we can.

If 7' of stained water was all I had to deal with ... I'd be casting a Roadrunner with a dark colored body & light colored tail (contrast + flash + blade vibrations = an easy target).

... cp

[Cane Pole]

They also look down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlKbvl36vZg

[skeetbum]

A new area and no electronics I would start shallow and if no action after 15 or 20 minutes I would start adding a foot or so to the depth. I've seen times when the fish wouldn't hit anything that wasn't within a foot or so of the bottom. Rate of fall from different weight jigs helps trigger a bite sometimes too. Pegging a float with a 1/32 jig has a completely different presentation than a 1/8.

[Crestliner08]

I agree with skeetbum. Good advice.

[TwainGang]

I've been using an Aqua-View Micro to see what level the fish are holding at. Go to an obvious piece of cover, drop the camera down and look around! I have colored tape at 5' increments on my camera line so I can tell how deep I am. This is especially handy on deeper fish that are below the level of being spooked by the boat alone.

[NIMROD]

They can be scattered at times . This week I caught fish 3 to 20' deep and others catching about 1' under a cork . Try different depths till something works or use electronics if you have them in your boat. The bite can change quickly even in winter . Weather can bring them shallow or push them deep in same day .

[blue-jig]

A new area and no electronics I would start shallow and if no action after 15 or 20 minutes I would start adding a foot or so to the depth. I've seen times when the fish wouldn't hit anything that wasn't within a foot or so of the bottom. Rate of fall from different weight jigs helps trigger a bite sometimes too. Pegging a float with a 1/32 jig has a completely different presentation than a 1/8.

Good point. I've also completely worn a bed out without a hit then deepened up 3-4 times in 6" intervals and finally nailed them just with that little bit of depth change. Happens more for me personally going from shallow to deep instead of deep to shallow...