49 degrees..........

[slabbandit]

Right now the water temp of our muddy to stained lake is 49 degrees. I'm going fishing in the morning and don't really have a good idea where to fish. Locale anglers have not brought in any impressive catches although we have a lot of big 2 lb class females that mysteriously show up during the spawn.

Our lake has 10 foot flats with a 30 foot deep main river channel. According to my fishing log I caught a 2.5 lber last Feb. 28, 2007 on a deep brushpile in the juncture of a major creek channel and the river channel.

I think I will begin there in the morning and then work shallower as the evening temps here in Arkansas reach 70 degrees. I have several spots to fish in 8 to 10 feet of water along the river channel and the bigger creek channels.

I also remember seeing some fish some guys caught up here at Lake Nimrod years ago in late February that were awesome. The six biggest all weighed 2.75 lbs!! They showed me there rigs in their boats and they were only spiderrigging about 18" deep! They were trolling on some very shallow flats adjacent to deeper water and had had several days of unseasonably warm weather.

This is my first time to get to spend any length of time out fishing so I was wondering if anybody was fishing the kind of lake and water temp. that we have and if so how and where are they finding fish right now?

[Darryl Morris]

Check the shallows brother. They might not be there long or they'll only be there in the afternoon hours but they are headed there for sure. I'd call'em scattered so vary your tactics accordingly.

[ceb]

Sounds like you've got a good plan sb. And those other folks are right, those crappie can sometimes be found suspended only a foot or two deep over deeper water. Good luck and be sure to let us know how they do.

[slabbandit]

Appreciate the tip Darryl! I sure was thinking about those shallow flats later in the day.

[slabbandit]

Yea your right ceb, that's a pattern that a lot of fishermen don't pick up on but its sure worth trying on these sunny warm days.

[Blue Duck]

Our water will be 49 degrees.... In april or may.

[crappiekiller2]

Our water will be 49 degrees.... In april or may.

Ours too, ice is probably still 12" thick.
I don't like ice.....

[Eager Beaver]

Ice is still 16 inches thick here. Be awhile before we have open water.

[Brush Buster]

Ride the creek ledge next to the flats. The big females are out there waiting on the temp to come up.