That same bridge should work. 26ft is plenty deep enough. I would anchor in the 26ft of water, preferrably near a drop off. Put out your lights and start out fishing around 8-12ft deep and you can adjust as the night goes by.
Hi All,
I've read most everything I could find about night stalking but still have a couple of questions. On the typical Saturday, I fish bridge pilings for crappie. Lately the fish I have been catching are in about 7-9 feet of water and biting pretty well. Should I try fishing this same bridge at night and should I fish deeper water at night? This bridge has water from 2 feet to about 26 feet deep. Any advise would be helpful.
Thanks,
Buzz
That same bridge should work. 26ft is plenty deep enough. I would anchor in the 26ft of water, preferrably near a drop off. Put out your lights and start out fishing around 8-12ft deep and you can adjust as the night goes by.
Thanks for the reply FishLine. The fish must move into deeper water at night. The only thing I can catch during the day in the deeper area is small catfish no matter what depth I'm fishing the minnow.
Thanks Again,
Buzz
I would tend to think that the Crappie would be in the same water depth, or possibly even shallower, at night. I also think that the brighter lights, even though they draw in more baitfish, may also send the Crappie deeper.Originally Posted by Buzz
Some ways to find'em :
Drop your minnows at staggered depths, with a minimum of 2ft difference between each line's depth.
Fish the minnows in/around the circle of light, while casting a jig to the dark side of the bridge pilon (followers that don't bite jig, may find your minnows).
Vertical Cast a 1/32oz marabou jig, from the 26ft bottom ... all the way up to the surface ... in the dark, and under the light (you can do this while the minnows are out, too)
They're around the bridge pilons for several reasons :
COMFORT - eddy water created by pilon, which brings in baitfish and also allows them protection from having to fight any current ... and vertical structure is present from surface to bottom (which means they have something to "relate to", at any chosen depth)
FOOD SOURCE - algae likes concrete - baitfish like algae - Crappie like baitfish
SHADE = cooler water temps, security
SECURITY - depth range of 2-26 FOW = good range of water temps to choose from, security of depth choice (without having to move any great distance)
.... cp
i would anchor in the deeper water as close to the piling as my rods wuld allow. you gonna find that even tho you are anchored in the deep water, most of your fish caught is gonna be in the 8-12 ft range. thats the depths id start at.
listen with your eyes---its the only way to beleive what you hear...
My biggest problem is this. The bridge has pilings (somewhat solid) about 12 feet apart and about 20 feet wide. I have to decide which one to setup on because I'm gonna set the batteries with the lights attached up on the ledge of the concrete piling letting the lights hang in the water then tie the boat off to the next piling (in the deeper or more shallow water depending on which way I go) then cast/drop over to the lights. I'm guessing it may just be a trial and error thing which may take several trips to fully master. I'm sure things will be constantly changing as the temp's climb also.
Any more advise is appreciated. If not, I'll come back with a report sometime tomorrow.
Thanks,
Buzz
Great post!Originally Posted by crappiepappy
D
My Wife Fillets The Fish! I am a fortunate man.
I'd Listen To Rango, And Also Fish The Deep Pilings
With Green Submergable Lights, Fish Different
Depths And Tie Up To The Same Piling I'm Fishing.
Get 100 Ft Of Cheap Rope Tie Something That Floats
To One End, Drive Around The Piling, Catch The Float And Tie Up. Fishing Vertical Is A Good
Thing At Night. I'd Also Put A Couple Of Plastic
Attractors On The Bottom At The Base Of The Piling. Just A Thought.
John B.
Well my first night fishing experience was a bust. As soon as the lights went in the water the minnows showed up. We fished from 6:00 til about 2:30 in the morning and never even got a bite. We had two floating fish lights and one underwater green light. We fished the deeper water at all depths. I guess they just weren't hungry last night. On a positive note.....We have all the stuff we need for the next trip.
Buzz
That is interesting , read an article where they said crappie was the most active from 10:00pm to 3:00am. Thought you would have done better than that
Coony