The common factor and the week in review

[Ketchn]

Those of you that follow my threads and posts on the various social media sights know I lost my little minnow hull and am boatless currently . Now most folks would say well its to hot anyway to ketch them and its impossible to find them from the bank and etc etc etc .
This of course is not who I am and I will pursue the crappie by whatever means needed to ketch a few . This week I found them at several locations and the one common factor was ......DEEP !
I tried off the bank and some public fishing docks and even got a boat ride from a good friend . All four waters I visited yielded fish and all the fish were relative to the bottom for the most part . The fish were always about a foot or 2 off the bottom no matter what depth of water I hit . Early one morning they were about a foot of the bottom in 6 to 8 foot of water and yesterday the same venue in 30 plus foot of water . This held true in 16 foot of water and all points in between . I found very few fish suspended and the bites ranged from ripping hard thumps to non existent slack line bites .
I kept a few yesterday when we went on a boat ride and donated some to some public dock folks and released the others .
I used predominantly a Bonehead stump bug in citrus at all four lakes and I liked it best on a 1/24 oz ballhead jig with a gulp brand glo white crappie nibble. Tested a few other colors but most were pail in comparison on the bites ....I did go to a 1/32 in the shallower water on a lighter 5 6 abu vigilante rod and I used an 8 foot Bonehead for my long rod gig . I have all rods currently strung up with 6 lb clear stren mono ....
stay tuned but don't stay thirsty my friends
p.s. note bladder of fish that got the bends to further authenticate what I previously posted ....

[murdok]

wish i could catch em like that. i have a hard time getting any kind of consistent bite when its hot like this. the lakes around home that i mainly fish are all stratified with a thermocline that changes day to day. fish are suspended from 2 to 25 feet.

[BarryG]

Nice!

[Crestliner08]

Good observations. I do believe what you are finding may be a characteristic of your regional waters. Up here, most of the decent crappie are suspended well above the bottom. Sometimes as much as 8' above. Here is a typical example of what we find most often:



It may have something to do with a thermocline, but I'm not buying that entirely. According to most fisheries experts, a pond or lake will not stratify if the water is moving - i.e.: most reservoirs.

However in talking to some salmon & trout folks that fish our reservoir, they are adamant about there being a definable thermocline. Who's right? I believe the fish are! And you just need to find them and give them what they want.

Excellent report by the way. Wish we had white crappie up here that large!

[ET Fish]

Nice catch as usual! My fish haven't cooperated the past two weeks!

[Cane Pole]

I must have permanent Bends!!


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com

[murdok]

Good observations. I do believe what you are finding may be a characteristic of your regional waters. Up here, most of the decent crappie are suspended well above the bottom. Sometimes as much as 8' above. Here is a typical example of what we find most often:



It may have something to do with a thermocline, but I'm not buying that entirely. According to most fisheries experts, a pond or lake will not stratify if the water is moving - i.e.: most reservoirs.

However in talking to some salmon & trout folks that fish our reservoir, they are adamant about there being a definable thermocline. Who's right? I believe the fish are! And you just need to find them and give them what they want.

Excellent report by the way. Wish we had white crappie up here that large!

The two lakes I fish most of time are small (100acre) lakes with a small creek feeding them there's no current at all. Last week water temp was 92. On 3D sonar the thermocline Is very definable. On top of that we're getting pop up thunderstorms every evening which drops the surface temp quickly. Hard to make em bite with that going on.


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

[hdhntr]

great story and pics as usual. you don't need no stinking badges, I mean boat to Ketch your fish outlaw! you just adjust and keep bringing them in. WTG

[genec]

NICE REPORT

[scrat]

Wow! Nice crappie.