CJ WATER TEMPS AND FISHING THREAD!

[crappiemax]

The swimmers I use don't float like normal plastics, normally the weight of jighead I use is only dependent on wind!....1/16th-no wind, 1/8th-low wind, 1/4-windy.

As you know, lots of variables come into play when choosing a head size. Wind is one example and speed/depth control is another. Especially with deeper fish a heavier head will allow a faster retrieve while maintaining a deeper presentation. With a lighter head a much, much slower speed would need to be used to maintain that same depth. I have seen where just a slight adjustment in (faster/slower, deeper/shallower) presentation could mean a significant increase/decrease in catch vs. hits ratio.
Last weekend we fished a school that was 9-12' deep in 14-16 FOW. Most of the time we had very little (if any) wind to contend with. We started with 1/16 oz heads. We got bit but it was pretty slow. Even though we were getting hits we weren't hooking many, maybe 1 out of 10 or 15. In a short time we switched to a slightly heavier 3/32oz head. Action immediately picked up and we were hooking about 60% of our hits. We switched plastics around too from stingers to swimbaits to tubes. Eventually orange/chart tubes won out.
More than anything I suspect the larger heads allowed us to give the faster action the fish wanted in the deeper water.
I will say we even tried some 1/8 oz heads to see if we could improve our success even more but it seemed to have more of a negative effect so we switched back to the 3/32.

[INTIMIDATOR]

As you know, lots of variables come into play when choosing a head size. Wind is one example and speed/depth control is another. Especially with deeper fish a heavier head will allow a faster retrieve while maintaining a deeper presentation. With a lighter head a much, much slower speed would need to be used to maintain that same depth. I have seen where just a slight adjustment in (faster/slower, deeper/shallower) presentation could mean a significant increase/decrease in catch vs. hits ratio.
Last weekend we fished a school that was 9-12' deep in 14-16 FOW. Most of the time we had very little (if any) wind to contend with. We started with 1/16 oz heads. We got bit but it was pretty slow. Even though we were getting hits we weren't hooking many, maybe 1 out of 10 or 15. In a short time we switched to a slightly heavier 3/32oz head. Action immediately picked up and we were hooking about 60% of our hits. We switched plastics around too from stingers to swimbaits to tubes. Eventually orange/chart tubes won out.
More than anything I suspect the larger heads allowed us to give the faster action the fish wanted in the deeper water.
I will say we even tried some 1/8 oz heads to see if we could improve our success even more but it seemed to have more of a negative effect so we switched back to the 3/32.

Yep, lots of variables....I mainly bank fish which has a whole different set of rules, than when I fish from a boat with friends!
From the bank wind is my biggest concern, line bow effects the feel and action, but you also have to understand that you are dragging shallow...too heavy a head and you are donating to Mother CJ. In a boat you have more flexibility to adapt with weight and do other things.
I've always said that if you become a good bank fisherman, you'll be "Hell on Wheels" in a boat! To be a good bank fisherman, you have to know the lake, the fish, patterns, etc, and how they all work together....you fish all your keys, you learn to carry light, and adjust....in a boat, you can easily move...on the bank, your guesses better be educated and correct or you have that "Pepe Le Pew" smell.... ALOT!
With my swimmers, since they sink, you learn quickly how to adjust speeds, and learn how to make them look like they are injured or dying to get that reaction strike while you are in the zone. I do use them under a bobber sometimes, just after ice out for cold water Crappie....but normally Gators are moving then so I go after them!

[crappiemax]

....I mainly bank fish which has a whole different set of rules, than when I fish from a boat with friends!
From the bank wind is my biggest concern.....

Yes it is a whole different game. I used to fish out of a 12' jon boat with a 5hp motor. I always said that boat helped teach me how to fish. I would exhaust all my possibilities in an area since moving to a new part of the lake wasn't much of an option.

[Lowellhturner]

Don`t let Sir Intimidator fool you; have seen him on more than just Tuesdays catch 80+ crappie including 1s big enough could tell 200` away they were nice crappies and then post "I got a couple...". The only thing he hasn`t (yet) perfected is laying his empty bucket down opening next to the water and yelling "It`s me ! Come out with your fins up, or ELSE..." and having them meekly just line up and fill the bucket...

[murnjr13]

Making some of the whites you showed Brent. I got skunked both outings this weekend deep and shallow.

[INTIMIDATOR]

Making some of the whites you showed Brent. I got skunked both outings this weekend deep and shallow.

I'll let you know how tonight goes...headed out after Dale goes to practice for a couple hrs.

["G"]

Take your camera lol

[Chuck71]

Little off subject, but does anyone know when they will start the draw down?

[INTIMIDATOR]

Little off subject, but does anyone know when they will start the draw down?

It's already started....almost a foot down....this sucks, winter is coming!

[INTIMIDATOR]

First pic is my tackle box....figured they wanted THE BARELY ELECTRIC CHICKEN. ...so I decided to try everything else....in the first 45 minutes I had ZERO bites.
Put the Electric Chicken on and caught fish for the next 2 hours. AMAZING just how picky they can be....I used other combos of Gummy colors and nothing, used a white swimmer with the nose barely Pink/Orange and the paddle Chartreuse and they just knocked the Gewbers off it!
Fish were ALL DEEP, AND COLD...I could cast a mile....took a dozen 11's home for the weekend.
Good fishing to all!