6/01/04 Report

[Bill2]

As promised...but not proud of it. And let's hear how others are doing. You don't have to be specific but maybe weather conditions, type of baits, deep or shallow, etc.

The weather was 'right", overcast with light rain, but the best we did was a couple in the keeping range (over 11 inches for us). And they ended up catch and release. I'm not sure what was going on but we tried about everything. Not real disappointed because I've gone and not caught any. Oh. One crappie on a bee moth fishing for bluegill. We have caught more on bee moths than I thought we would over the last year or two...and not just through the ice .

Bill

[Indy-Travis]

No crappie action to report, give me a couple weeks and I will be back after them. I leave Thursday a.m. for a pike/walleye fly-in trip in Ontario. Not crappie, but I will report on the trip when I get back next week.

[Moose1am]

I fished Blue Grass Fish and Wildlife's Pits this week. I went from 2pm until around 9 pm. I caught over 30 small crappie. Fished in 20ft of water with structure coming up 10ft off the bottom. Fish were suspended at 10ft below the bottom. Water was stained in color and the surface waters are warm. The pits are extreemly deep so not all the water is warm. Not sure what the water temp was at ten feet below the surface. Air temps were in the low 80's and there was a mild south breeze early that died down later in the day.

I caught the crappie in a White Lightning Squirmin Squirt with a chartruse crappie nibble added to the jigs hook. I used unpainted 1/16oz lead minnow head type jigs. I also added a Bass Pro Shop 1/4oz finess drop shot weight to the line below the jig. The jig was tied directly onto the fishing line with a palmar knot where I left an very long 18" tag line. The jig is positioned between the drop shot and the end of the fishing pole to enhance bite detection. I keep my hands on the rod at all times.

Spider rigging is great for locating the crappie but once you have thier position I believe in only using one rod and keeping my hands on the rod to feel any bites.


NOTE: One guy caught a 13" long White Crappie out of Blue Grass Pit and gave the live crappie to me before he left. I kept the big crappie in my livewell until it was time to go home. I gave the fish and about 10 other crappie to a family at the boat dock. The little kid was happy to get such a nice bunch of crappie.

Hey Indian Fisherrmen. Lets start giving more reports to help each other. There are plenty of crappie out there.

I also ran into one of the DNR guys who was doing a creel survey. He informed me that Dan Carnahan had been at Blue Grass this spring doing his fish studies. Hope to see updated report some day in the future.

Check out the Indiana DNR web site for the fish study reports online.

As promised...but not proud of it. And let's hear how others are doing. You don't have to be specific but maybe weather conditions, type of baits, deep or shallow, etc.

The weather was 'right", overcast with light rain, but the best we did was a couple in the keeping range (over 11 inches for us). And they ended up catch and release. I'm not sure what was going on but we tried about everything. Not real disappointed because I've gone and not caught any. Oh. One crappie on a bee moth fishing for bluegill. We have caught more on bee moths than I thought we would over the last year or two...and not just through the ice .

Bill

[Bill2]

Thanks Moose and Indy...let's show those North Carolina people (they have a high posting rate) we catch crappie in the midwest too. And we talk about it.

Moose I've enjoyed your posts over the last year or two on numerous board, i.e. fishin.com, crappie.com, and heck even on my site indianasmallmouth.com. Crappie is what I fish for when I don't fish for smallies. And of course we can fish for them all year long( except the water is frozen at times :D ).

Anyway all are welcome to join in. No one person has all the answer and I'm sure we can learn something from everyone.

And Purdue isn't all that bad :rolleyes: ...my son graduated from there. And have a great trip Indy-T and let us know how you did in Canada when you get back.

Bill

[Indy-Travis]

Will do. I graduated from Purdue as well, May 1993. When was your son there?

[Bill2]

Will do. I graduated from Purdue as well, May 1993. When was your son there?

Small world huh? Moose is a Purdue grad so the little "slam" was against him. My son... a long story. He was suppose to graduate in 1989 but quit with one semester to go. He just finished that long lost semester this last year so I guess he is a 2003 graduate? My daughter and I are Ball State grads...nice school but not on Purdue's level in some ways. Of course the fish don't care if we quit school in the 8rd grade :D . Which I considered at one time. The Army brought me around .

Bill

[Moose1am]

Bill:
My late Father got his Masters degree from Indiana University and he played basketball for Evansville College back in the early 1940's. So we always bet on the Indiana Purdue Games in the past. I root for IU when they are not playing Purdue.

My stepdaughter used to kid me about Purdue and was an IU fan until it was time to go to college. To my surprise she enrolled in Purdue's Pharmacy School and is now a loyal Boilermaker.

It's always fun to have some good instate competition.

And of course we can always root for Kentucy when IU and Purdue don't make it to the finals.

Small world huh? Moose is a Purdue grad so the little "slam" was against him. My son... a long story. He was suppose to graduate in 1989 but quit with one semester to go. He just finished that long lost semester this last year so I guess he is a 2003 graduate? My daughter and I are Ball State grads...nice school but not on Purdue's level in some ways. Of course the fish don't care if we quit school in the 8rd grade :D . Which I considered at one time. The Army brought me around .

Bill

[Bill2]

Well...still looking for more posts. C'mon everyone you all have to be fishing once in a while. Moose and I will eventually get tired of talking to each other.

My pond was on fire this evening and bass were hitting topwater like they have never eaten in their life. And a big catfish devoured a jig. So I'm figuring on a three day week-end up north as surely the crappie will bite. I'll post when I return.

Bill

[OldTyme]

Hello everyone. 1st time poster.
I fish up in the northern part of the state at Lake Worster located in Potato Creek State park. (367 acres)
I've been out a few times over the last month & have found most my fish around 12 feet of water near standing timber (and there's a LOT of it at this lake)
I usually fish between 4-7 feet. I usually start early am (I'm on the lake before the sun even starts to rise)
I mainly fish with a slip bobber,split shot & regular hook baited with a minnow & a Crappie Nibble. I've had similar success with a bobber & jig with minnow.
However, after a few times out I've mainly caught smaller fish. No real keepers.
I feel this lake may be a victim of over-fishing. As you can imagine this is a popular lake. No outboards allowed, 2 boat loaunches, boat rentals.... a real popular place.
Tommorow morning I am going to try a smaller lake in Plymouth,IN (33 acres, Lake Dixon). This will be the first time at this lake so I'm sure the first couple hours I'll be trolling around looking for some hotspots.
Looking forward to being a member of this forum. I'm glad I found it.

[Bill2]

Welcome OT...and please feel free to ask or report any crappie info you might be interested in.

I can tell you that you are in a good part of the state to catch some nice crappies. If you need some recommendations as to where to go give us a shout.

Bill