Beaverdam 3-27...I finally did it

[PanMan_VA]

I got my chores done and checked the weather. It looked like the rain was going to hold off long enough for me to get in a little fishing. I got the boat in the water at Beaverdam Swamp around 11:30 and went to the north end where I started trolling. I had some new Kalins in the John Deere pattern that Dave ad Brad turned me on to and I wanted to try them out. I put one on and tipped it with a wax worm. I had the usual tube jigs I use on four of my other 5 rods and an acid rain Kalin on the last rod.

At the intersection of the main reservoir channel and the Route 606 channel, the rod with the John Deere Kalin bent back and started bouncing. It fought like a nice little bass and that is what I thought it was when I saw the huge mouth come out of the water. Then she rolled and I saw the silver speckled side of a slab crappie. She was 16" long and weighed 2 pounds 4 ounces. I caught two more nice crappie, 11" and 12", within the next half hour by trolling up the route 606 channel. One was on the acid rain Kalin and the other was on a green/chartreuse umbrella tube jig.

The 606 channel is usually the warmest water in the lake since it is shallow and is at the north end. The water temperature was 52 degrees there and 50 at the boat dock. All three crappie were females full of roe. They are definitely in the pre-spawn pattern and should really turn on within the next couple of weeks.

The quantity was less than desired, but the quality more than makes up for it. Here are a couple of photos.

[Barnacle Bill]

Way to go Keith! Nice fish!!

[squirrel hunter]

That's a good fish Keith! How long does that usually go on? I fished it once in Feb. in high winds without much luck. Congratulations to you!

[PanMan_VA]

They will probably start heading into the timber to spawn within a week if the weather predictions hold true. I did not get to fish there much last spring because of work and my involvement as a volunteer with the local soccer clubs. Before that I took a 15 year vacation from fishing to help my wife with our kids. The short answer is I don't have a good answer for how long it will last. I would guess just a few weeks.

I do know that I can fill my boat with crappie pretty much any day of the week from April-October by trolling over top of the coontail grass beds. I caught many 10"-12" crappie every trip out last year, but nothing over 14". In a normal 4 hour trip in the afternoon, I would catch 40-70. Things really got interesting when I started trolling crankbaits on two of my rods in open water. I got some nice bass and catfish along with the crappie.

I plan to get back out there one afternoon this week and maybe on Saturday. Kerr on Friday is a possibility. I gotta go as much as I can while they are there.