Suspended Crappie Techniques

[Nightprowler]

I have a situation where crappie are suspending 17-22 feet down in 30 feet of water, over a tree stump that's comes up 5-7 feet off the bottom. I'm only marking fish in just this one small area. Seems there just hanging around this perticular tree for some reason. It is about 30 feet out, from a popular boat ramp. My question is, First, how is the best way to catch these fish, Second, How to stay in the tiny strike zone?, and third, how to keep it under raps without everybody and there brother discovering these fish? I have been asked alot if I was doing any good, but I just say I was waiting for my buddy to show up. But it's kinda of hard pulling up larger than lake average size crappie without some of them wising up. Thanks for any tip and help.

[SteveJ]

I think suspended fish are in a negative or neutral mode and the best way I have found is to get over them and hold your lure as still as possible with a crappie nibble. Has worked for me before, still hard to catch with a very light bite. Just MHO. Can't help with keeping the spot a secret, my main lake is a 3500 acre COE lake and there are very few spots not known about.

[Kman]

I was going to say the same thing about fishing straight down under the boat with one rod (tite lining) with a jig tipped with a minnow or (nibbler).

If you dont do the next thing, you WONT keep it a secret.
Fish this spot ONLY at early morning or LATE evening on week days when traffic at the launch is lighter than normal. Watch who is launching. Is he getting a rod with a buzz bait ready, or is he putting together crappie poles? Get your bait OUT of the water and wait for the crappie guys to go!:D
Or, fish it at night. But, if you sit there and pull in fish in front of a 10AM packed launch on a saturday morning, you won't be doing that long.