Water Dropping Out Fast! Any Advice?

[slabbandit]

We've been holding at about 6 feet above normal for a couple weeks now until the Arkansas River could take more water. Now they are dropping the lake almost a foot a day. What is this going to do to the crappie and where should a guy try to fish? Deep brush, river channels, shallows or what?
Might just break out the Bandits and troll around...any ideas?

[Ken Kinser]

fish the river channels, at the bends will still produce with falling water

[Glowgood Jigster]

They've been doing the same thing to our favorite crappie lakes for the last two months. Dropped the water right off of fresh spawning beds and killed all those eggs. Now it's almost too shallow to launch your boat. I'll have to try the above advise to see if there are still crappie to catch out there.

[Jerry Blake]

Greeson is dropping about 6-inches a day and surprisingly the bite has improved a bit the last couple days. We're having to put our bait way down in the cover to get them to bite and we're still not wearing them out but the ones we're catching are pretty decent size. We're also getting quite a few small Blue Cats to help fill our stringers.

[john h]

We've been holding at about 6 feet above normal for a couple weeks now until the Arkansas River could take more water. Now they are dropping the lake almost a foot a day. What is this going to do to the crappie and where should a guy try to fish? Deep brush, river channels, shallows or what?
Might just break out the Bandits and troll around...any ideas?

hire an indian and do a rain dance

[Fishn N Wishn]

hire an indian and do a rain dance

ROFLMAO you just aint right lol

[NIMROD]

My suggestion David is to fish creek channels leading out of the bays and backwaters. Hit the brushpiles in the 8' to 10' range ,present baits tight to cover and 1' above the bottom. That's where I usually look. But then it's not usual to have high falling water almost in August.

[Speck]

Channel edges with cover would be your best bet

[CrappiePappy]

the falling (or rising) water levels ... and react accordingly. Rising water creates new feeding grounds potential, and they move shallower ... falling water reduces that potential, as well as triggers a security reaction, making fish move away from the shallows; so as not to become trapped. Fast rising/falling water conditions usually shut off the feeding habits, for a time, until the fish have a chance to react and change their habits, or move to different locations. Under slower rise/fall conditions, this isn't as big an issue, and the fish have more time to adjust accordingly. (my opinion, anyway)

I think the channels, deep brush, or mouths of bays/creeks suggestions bare merit ... depth & cover = security. And, the baitfish are going to react much the same as the fish ... so that would put them in closer proximity to the predators. Once the changes cease, or slow down, the fish will return to their normal habits (given the prevailing conditions and season). Falling water creates current, and given that Crappie are "slack water" fish ... cover, or structure, can create eddy water conditions --- and that's where I'd be inclined to look.

.... cp

[The Lip RIPPERS]

Here on Eufaula lake we have experienced these same conditions , for a couple of weeks current concentrated shad & Crappie in these areas...the bridges are still producing good numbers of fish. But now summer pattern fishing is coming on strong standing timber adjacent to creek channel breaklines is the ticket.