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Thread: Do Crappie leave brush piles at dark

  1. #1
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    Default Do Crappie leave brush piles at dark


    I have often wondered, do crappie leave the brush piles at dark in search of food elsewhere? My bite always seems to come to a halt on a brush pile about dark. If so, what type of structure do the head to? Channels or points?

    Thanks,
    Greg

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    I suspect both thinks happen but I couldn't tell you when or where. I have seen them stop and start at dark and the same thing a daylight.

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    Many fish will have a peak activity period that starts toward sunset and they will will quit about the time it gets dark. Sometimes considerably before dark...sometimes a little after dark they will still bite. Then they will have another period maybe later that night.

    All game and fish have periods of activity...the two primary are sunrise and sunset and are the generally most reliable,repeatable times.

    But it's not always...the number and periods and their duration vary...to the extreme of the species being active almost non stop for periods. Time of year...lunar phases ...weather...breeding...the sudden availability of a large food source...can trigger it.

    That's just hunting and fishing. I have fished and hunted for fifty years and sometimes I would fish or hunt all day and night...and it's all about being in the right place at the right time. Like a switch sometimes...it turns on...it turns off.

    I fish 12 to 15 hours straight a lot of times...and I fish A LOT at sunset...it's like this the biggest part of the time...stops at dark. Doesn't matter if you're fishing a grass bed,brush pile,flat,point,open water...fish are actively feeding...then just sull up...don't always leave though sometimes they do. They will just shut their mouth...draw tight to cover or bottom...or just suspend...become sedentary..and stare at your bait. What they could not resist 5 minutes ago they now have no interest in. Until the next cycle.

    If the fish are primary night feeders then it may pickup after dark...but for a lot of fish species they do feed after dark...but it is not their preferred time. I have seen catfish bite good at sunset...then quit...then an hour later turn on.

    No 100 percent fool proof rule.
    Likes skeetbum, Texmann1, chippo LIKED above post

  4. #4
    sinkermaker is offline Crappie.com Legend * Crappie.com Supporter
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    Good info doggone thanks
    Likes bwest90 LIKED above post

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    Yes Do Crappie leave brush piles at dark doggone


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    I have experienced bass doing the same thing based on the body of water. I have 4 local quarry & borrow pit sites. In 3 of them the bass will feed more heavily after sunset and keep on until the sun comes up. The 4th completely shuts down with the last of the sun. The waters are within 15 miles of each other.

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    Quote Originally Posted by doggone View Post
    Many fish will have a peak activity period that starts toward sunset and they will will quit about the time it gets dark. Sometimes considerably before dark...sometimes a little after dark they will still bite. Then they will have another period maybe later that night.

    All game and fish have periods of activity...the two primary are sunrise and sunset and are the generally most reliable,repeatable times.

    But it's not always...the number and periods and their duration vary...to the extreme of the species being active almost non stop for periods. Time of year...lunar phases ...weather...breeding...the sudden availability of a large food source...can trigger it.

    That's just hunting and fishing. I have fished and hunted for fifty years and sometimes I would fish or hunt all day and night...and it's all about being in the right place at the right time. Like a switch sometimes...it turns on...it turns off.

    I fish 12 to 15 hours straight a lot of times...and I fish A LOT at sunset...it's like this the biggest part of the time...stops at dark. Doesn't matter if you're fishing a grass bed,brush pile,flat,point,open water...fish are actively feeding...then just sull up...don't always leave though sometimes they do. They will just shut their mouth...draw tight to cover or bottom...or just suspend...become sedentary..and stare at your bait. What they could not resist 5 minutes ago they now have no interest in. Until the next cycle.

    If the fish are primary night feeders then it may pickup after dark...but for a lot of fish species they do feed after dark...but it is not their preferred time. I have seen catfish bite good at sunset...then quit...then an hour later turn on.

    No 100 percent fool proof rule.
    Thanks and good explanation. I just wondered if maybe there was a pattern they follow. I seem to catch crappie on brush piles pretty much from sun up to sun down with a few highs and lows and of course seasons and weather have an impact but as a general rule I fish the brush piles in the day and at night I have some flooded timber in deep water where 2 creeks meet that is about 60 feet deep and at night I can do well there under lights. Now I do not do well there at all in the day. I was thinking maybe they use the underwater creeks as highways and move at night off the piles and such. I had also heard they feed on the points at night but I have never seen that nor spent much time looking at my graph at points at night. It could just all be what you are saying where they have lock jaw in one place in the day and lock jaw in another place at night. Some bridges I used to fish in April and May you could not buy a bite prior to sunrise but the first crack of light and it is one after another and I know they did not just all show up, they just decided to bite like you were saying.
    Likes bwest90 LIKED above post

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    Cane Pole is offline Crappie.com 2011 Man of the Year * Crappie.com Supporter
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    Our dock is brush pile heaven. Right after sundown is our most productive time year round. I throw back anything over 6 inches.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cane Pole View Post
    Our dock is brush pile heaven. Right after sundown is our most productive time year round. I throw back anything over 6 inches.
    That is interesting, maybe I need to stick it out for an hour or so after sundown one evening. I do have a question, what do you do with fish under 6"? Here they have to be 10" to keep except a couple months a year on certain lakes when you have to keep anything you pull up due to the depth they are at the mortality rate is high.
    Last edited by fishingreg; 10-19-2017 at 01:09 PM.

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    I can't seem to catch anything over 6 inches anymore. ha!!!! 10 inch keeper limit here too. The asian carp have invaded our area big time. The carp have destroyed the fishing. No answer in sight for eradication of carp.
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