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Thread: Good Day Yesterday except for the high winds

  1. #1
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    Default Good Day Yesterday except for the high winds


    Crappie in the shallows at 5 pm on small strip pit yesterday evening. I found some nice crappie full of eggs in shallow water on Otter Pit yesterday. They were in 6 to 4 ft of water close to a drop off that went down to 10 to 20 ft. They were only about 100ft from the deeper water and can easily move out to deep water if scared or a front comes though. They were associated with submerged brush and there is a lot of this brush. Water levels are up to the pits highest levels these days due to lost of spring rains. Water temp in the shallows at the surface was 60 deg F. I caught them on a White Lighting Squirmin Squirt Jig body from Bass Pro Shops and an Oldham weedless jig. I used thrill bobber stops on 6lb test trilene Iron Silk Line. Added a small red bed and a small Betts Foam Bobber and trimmed some of the lead off the nose of the Oldham 1/16oz jig head as it was too heavy for my small 3/4" to 1" long oval foam bets bobber that I get at Walmart. I used my Richard Williams Signature Seriese Crappie Wizzard Company 10ft graphite rod this trip. Richard needs to have them increase the side of the last tip guide on his rods. I can't even get the thrill bobber stop to go though the rods last guide as it hangs almost every time. And I trimmed off the tag and standing line on the thrill thread type bobber stop after I pulled them tight and tightened the nail knot on the line. I was fishing tight line at times and using a thrill bobbers top on the drop shot rig as a depth marker. I set the thrill bobber stop so that it was just at the tip end of the 10ft rod while my jig hung down to the end of the rods handle. Exactly 10 ft from the jig to the bobber stop. Then I could easily adjust the jigs depth in the water column by seeing where the bobber stop was compared to the water's surface. I just wish that the last guide on the rods were made a bit larger. However if you make them too large then the red bead will go though the guide and get in the way on the next cast. I could get larger diameter beads but then the bead holes get too big and the bobber stop will pass though the bead's hole and that is not good. It's a delicate balancing act getting the proper setup. Who would have though that crappie fishing was so compliacted LOL. Well it's not unless you go after those big old smart slabs and then it's the little things that can make or break a trip.

    I want to go fishing again today but I have to go out to the other side of town and cut some weeds out of a 1/8 acres asparaus patch. That is if I want some fresh asparaus this summer. I have yet to get my garden tilled and I need to dig it up with a shovel first before I can get my little 1HP tiller to break up the soil. I plan on planting some egg plants, summer squash, and tomatoes. I planted some green peppers last year but they didn't start to produce until almost sept. By that time I had peppers coming out of my ears. LOL

    And the dandilines are growing like crazy. I sprayed the yard with a 1qt bottle of weed-b-gone but that didnt' seem to work very well. I will repeat the application in another week

    I need to start weight lifting so that my right arm won't get so tired holding my long 10ft crappie poles. Those poles are light until you add about 1 oz of weight on the line then they get hard to hold after about 8 hours on the water. My right hand was cramping yesterday from holding the rod and pulling in so many nice crappie. Not that I am complaining.. just making a note that I need to do some strenght excerises on my right hand and arm. LOL Fishing is tough work guys.

    Oh yea. Yesteday the winds were predicted to be from 5 to 10 mph out of the west but they increased to 20 mph and came out of the sw after noon. They didn't die down until around 4:30 PM CDST and after that my battery was worn out. I use the blue top optima deep cycle ( smaller of the two deep cycles.. wishing I had opted for the larger one) and it lasted me all day long. Now this lake is trolling motor only so I depend on my Minn-Kota All Terrain 50A trolling motor to get me around this 90 acrea pit in high winds. I had to use the highest setting 1-5 almost the entire day until the winds died down. So that tells you something about the reliablity of the new Spiral Cell Technology that is used in the Optima Batteries. I had to charge the battery all night long last night. Well it started out charging at 10 amp and by the time I went to bed last night it was down to charging at 5 amps. The trickle charge kicks in when the charger's meter reads zero amps on the meter.
    Regards,

    Moose1am

  2. #2
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    Wow! Now that is a report! You went from fishing in the first paragraph to spraying dandelions and weightlifting. Hey, thats alright with me. I thought I had long reports. Now you gave me something to shoot for. Lol.

  3. #3
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    Rule of thumb: If weather man says 10 to 15 mph, he means just that, which is to add 10 to 15 which equals 25 mph.

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    Just to let you know dandelions are a natural bug repellent so you don't want to get rid of all of them.

  5. #5
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    CrappiePappy is offline Super Moderator - 2013 Man Of The Year * Crappie.com Supporter
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    Lightbulb Moose ....

    you need to have your own "informercial" show... you'd have an endless supply of sponsors ...LOL!!! Glad you got to go out to the pits and catch some fish!

    You might want to do the opposite of what I do - on the slip float beads deal .... after I place a "stop" on the line, I add a small bead - but, since the hole in the styrofoam float I use ,is so big the bead would slip right thru ... I add a slightly larger bead on there, next (one that won't get thru the hole in the float) - then add the float, and tie on the hook and sinker. You might consider putting the beads on in the opposite manner (then you might not have to shave your jig lead) .... and/or get a slightly larger sized float. Most every time I've ever used a float, of any kind/size, the Crappie pull it under and take off with it. :D

    Maybe I'm not getting the gist of how you are working your jigs - if the fish were in 6-10ft of water, or less, why would you drop a 1oz weight on them ... or use a 10ft pole ? You've got casting rods - Oldham's weedless jigheads - BPS Squirts ........ CAST TO THEM !! If nothing else, use the 10ft rod - with nothing but a jig on it .... flip cast it out (10ft of line out and reel closed) and just let it swing back to you.

    Hey big guy ... I'm just playing with you :D ... just jealous that you get to go and I don't ...LOL!! You catch 'em your way ... and I'll catch 'em mine ........ and luck2ya, my friend ..................cp

  6. #6
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    Hey crappiepappy, I do the same thing you mentioned with my slip bobber set up. Problem is, if I have to use a larger bead to keep from slipping through the float hole, usally the hole in the bead is too big and allows the stopper string to go through the bead. So, I make sure I get floats that have a hole small enough to keep the little beads from going through.

  7. #7
    CrappiePappy's Avatar
    CrappiePappy is offline Super Moderator - 2013 Man Of The Year * Crappie.com Supporter
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    Lightbulb Hey Crappster ....

    that's why I don't use the "string" thingys :rolleyes: ...

    I used to use the red/tan rubber ones that come on a wire loop (wire loop attached to a plastic ring) .... can't remember the brand -- but, anyway ... they deteriorate after a while, plus they slip down on the line when you're reeling in a fish - so you would have to reset your depth after each fish, and that got "old" quick
    Now, I use the little plastic ones - the one I have is black with a hole in each end ... you run the line thru one hole - around the middle of the stopper twice - then out the other hole. They work fine for my applications ... and since I don't "cast" baits under a float, I don't worry about them getting hung up in the line spool or rod guides.
    I just found another little "bobber stopper" thingy, the other day .... it's a red plastic stopper with 4 holes - you thread the line thru the holes and it stays put. I have a spinning outfit rigged for "float/minnow" use, with one of these 4hole jobs on it ... hope to try it out on some Watts Bar Slabs, soon.

    You might want to put a real small bead on first (after the string thingy) then a larger bead (that won't stick or go thru the bobber hole) ... I doubt the knot, of those strings, is any smaller than the ends of the little plastic stoppers I use - so the "two bead" setup should work fine for you. ......... luck2ya ........cp

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