Finally Getting Into The Fall Feeding Frenzy - I Hope!

[Jerry Blake]

It seems like it is taking forever for our water temps to get down enough to put the crappie in a fall pattern. We're just now showing some early morning surface temps around 70-degrees.

The crappie are finally starting to act like they've noticed the cooler temps and we're starting to see the very first signs of new egg development in the females and new milt in the males.

Today we caught a male white crappie that was even sporting a little spawning color so we should finally start seeing some serious Fall Feeding Frenzy action, which should then continue until the water temps fall below 60-degrees.

There has been an exceptional supply of shad this year and the crappie we're catching are really fat and healthy so by the end of January I'm expecting to see quite a few crappie well over 2-pounds showing up.

[TheCrappieGuy]

temps are 74 here and I found a few up the smaller creeks but not like it should be the last week of October. I just hope it is cold by Thanksgiving.
The crappie we kept yesterday didn't have any eggs or color. Guess it will be a little longer here.

[Jerry Blake]

Hey Robert:

We're not seeing a whole lot in the way of eggs yet but what is in the egg sacks now is tangerine orange rather than the brown pasty goo from the remains of last spring's eggs being re-absorbed.

We don't see very many males that darken up in the fall but when the temps get down in the 60s we'll see a few more. They won't get near as dark as the do in spring but it's very noticable on some of them. When the temps fall below 60 they'll lighten right back up and we won't be able to tell the males from females (except when we clean them).

When your temps get a little cooler I bet you'll see a change. I suspect that where the crappie are holding in 15 to 25-feet of water here the temps are already down in the mid 60s.

[crappielimits]

We have been catching females with eggs forming lately at Talquin. The water temp is around 72 in the morning and 75 in the sunlight. Strange for males to have color this early in Arkansas. Ours don`t show till Jan.

[DENNIS BOWERS]

Jerry, Saturday morning here the water temp. finally hit 70*. Like there the Crappie should start turning on now that the temps. on a downHill slide!!Finally got some rain Yesterday and its raining now-Maybe the Crappie Gods are finally smiling at us!!!

[Marks]

Jerry, can I expect to find crappie in the feeder creeks off the main lake as water temps. fall below 70 degrees? This will be the first fall we have fished for crappie.

[Jerry Blake]

Jerry, can I expect to find crappie in the feeder creeks off the main lake as water temps. fall below 70 degrees? This will be the first fall we have fished for crappie.

Hey Marks:

We basically fish the same areas during the Fall that we fish during Prespawn, Postspawn and where they stage during the spawn. We don't get way up the creek arms and backs of coves like we do when they are spawning but on channel drops, inside bends of creek channels and points that extend into the creek channels not far from spawning areas.

This morning we caught them from 10 to 19-feet deep in 20 to 30-feet of water but as the water temps fall through the 60s we'll catch them as shallow as 5 or 6-feet deep over condos that are in 10 to 12-feet of water. Even when they move shallower though they still seem to want to be near some deeper water.

We fished for about 3-hours in light to moderate rain, with 5 to 10-mph NW winds and the air temps in the mid to upper 40s this morning before heading to the dock with these:

[DRPEPPER]

Hey Marks:
We fished for about 3-hours in light to moderate rain, with 5 to 10-mph NW winds and the air temps in the mid to upper 40s this morning before heading to the dock with these:

I understand it is what you do for a living. But, anybody that went fishing today is the man. I thought CEB was the only one that would fish in this stuff.
DP

[Jerry Blake]

I understand it is what you do for a living. But, anybody that went fishing today is the man. I thought CEB was the only one that would fish in this stuff.
DP

It was a bit cool and damp yesterday but fighting the wind was worse today. I leave it up to my clients whether or not we fish in the rain. As long as there's no lightening around I'll fish in any conditions that my clients are willing to stay out in.

[Knappy]

This is my first fall trying to really get on the fish--thanks for all the tips--we have been watching the temps here as well---cant wait to try our hand at it