CJ WATER TEMPS AND FISHING THREAD!

[INTIMIDATOR]

Nope...this is two in a row.
Go look in the Marina at all the dead small crappie...there were hundreds upon hundreds Thursday night....that is what you cannot afford with bad spawns. I'll stop now!

[crappiemax]

...so why are the crappies dead. (just curious)

[INTIMIDATOR]

...so why are the crappies dead. (just curious)

Too small of hooks, leading to gill or gut hooked fish, then people just pulling them out...bobber fishing and not paying attention allowing fish to take the bait deep....poor handling, and throwing fish on the rocks....idiots killing small fish, thinking that will make more big fish! We've seen it all!

[INTIMIDATOR]

Cajun Willie and I fished tonight until it was pitch black out....just another weird night! We caught fish in bunches, then the bite died and we moved, and caught more! All colors were working then died, then new colors worked and died....caught big fish and ALOT of small fish! Still in deep water.

We got to see the CJ Phenomenon of Turn-Over! The dag-gone weirdest thing we have seen in a weird year....We were fishing in 78 and 79 degree water, from mid lake to the South....at sunset we headed back to the far south end, on our way we kept hitting SUPER COLD air in areas....we got to the South end deep water and Bill ask me to look at the temp in the back. To my amazement the water temp was now 58 degrees....yesterday the same area was 76. The water dropped 20 degrees with one flop....heck, we caught more fish in the cold water than anywhere else.
So when we went back to the Main Boat Ramp the water was 64....it dropped almost 16 degrees from when we launched....the Water looked like thick pea soup....We just laughed in amazement!

[INTIMIDATOR]

Daniel is trialing a new product and technique that Keitech is looking at....he's been killing Bass lately....and he's a Kitty Kat guy! If we can turn a Kitty Kat guy into a Bass catcher, just think what it can do for "Real" Bass guys!

White is working again...finally. I still haven't caught anything on chartreuse...it should be turning on soon also!

[crappiemax]

[QUOTE=INTIMIDATOR;2978291]Too small of hooks, leading to gill or gut hooked fish, then people just pulling them out...QUOTE]

Collateral damage.
I only use #2 hooks on jigs or minnows and it still happens.
Nothing will ever prevent it all the time.

[INTIMIDATOR]

That many dead fish is not collateral damage...that's ignorance or stupidity.
Since I moved to larger swimbaits and jig heads with #1 Sickle hooks in cold water, and 1/0 Sickles at spawn and warm water, I have not even come close to gut hooking a Crappie...look at the pics I post...right in the side or upper lips. I honestly can't remember the last time I gut hooked a Crappie.
Besides too small of hooks, bobbers cause gut hooking also...with bobber fishing people don't react to the bite...they wait til the bobber is under and by then the fish is eating the live bait.
The way I fish is all set up to "feel" the bite and react immediately...many others are doing it also...it's the perfect science!

[Yepper2468]

Made it out to CJ on Friday morning. I've never seen the lake with so much stuff floating around. It was a floating lumberyard! My buddy's prop got boogered up from a large limb unseen while going across the lake. Water was thick Mocha colored. I tried many different baits but nothing was really getting it done. Also no drift at all. I don't use live bait and my buddy does, and the difference was just 2 fish. We only kept two just for a sandwich apiece. One 12 1/2 and one 11, and the rest were dinks. Keitechs are not new to me as I used the swimbaits for river smallmouth. I couldn't get even a single nibble on my swing impacts. I tried jigging, 3-way slow reel, and slow troll. Nothing. So if anyone has a technique that works better I'm all ears! I'm in search of one of those mystical toothed creatures! Good luck out there.

[INTIMIDATOR]

Made it out to CJ on Friday morning. I've never seen the lake with so much stuff floating around. It was a floating lumberyard! My buddy's prop got boogered up from a large limb unseen while going across the lake. Water was thick Mocha colored. I tried many different baits but nothing was really getting it done. Also no drift at all. I don't use live bait and my buddy does, and the difference was just 2 fish. We only kept two just for a sandwich apiece. One 12 1/2 and one 11, and the rest were dinks. Keitechs are not new to me as I used the swimbaits for river smallmouth. I couldn't get even a single nibble on my swing impacts. I tried jigging, 3-way slow reel, and slow troll. Nothing. So if anyone has a technique that works better I'm all ears! I'm in search of one of those mystical toothed creatures! Good luck out there.

Welcome to all the stuff on the bottom, being released to the top...then add some heavy inflow from last week and you have Wooden Pea Soup!
Don't worry to much yet....Crappie were still deep and sluggish, and with pea soup they were hesitant to bite. We couldn't figure out all the weird stuff going on either until we saw it "Turn Over"!
The water will stabilize, and the fish will feed, and your techniques will come into play.

We have been able to catch fish this year by hanging swimmers off the side of the boat leaving them stationary, slow bouncing light weight jig heads with swimmers off the bottom, and barely reeling then twitching, or stop and start slow reeling. No one yet has got a good mess of Slabs...Big Fish are holed up somewhere where we all haven't been fishing!

Very few times have any fish taken a "moving" bait...yet!

I haven't seen a Gator either, since their spawn....I imagine this screwed up Spring has them messed up also.

[Crazy4Crappie]

May 13th! That is the day CJ historically comes alive. I know you've heard me say it before, but according to the posts in the OGF thread that is the day that those nice catches begin. Sure you can catch a some here and there before the 13th, but catches are more consistent and fish are bigger after the 13th. The 13th is this coming Wed!