Thread: cold weather crappie

aj...thats a good idea...I like what you and crappierookie are saying...I think I'll try that next time I go. I love the bobbers and will still use them but I like the idea of being able to tighten the line, ecspecially when there is some wind and you have to move the boat around some. the bobbers with light weights on them tend to drift a little too much.

Originally Posted by Scrapper

aj...thats a good idea...I like what you and crappierookie are saying...I think I'll try that next time I go. I love the bobbers and will still use them but I like the idea of being able to tighten the line, ecspecially when there is some wind and you have to move the boat around some. the bobbers with light weights on them tend to drift a little too much.

Here in Little River above Lake Millwood, it is almost impossible to use a cork unless you fish beside the boat, the current is pretty strong. Trolling motors are used instead of anchors, just fish to the side of the main channel.

Trolling would be very hard here in the river due to current and the width of the channel. If you move to the sides you will be in deep water, but plenty of underwater trees, not stumps--these are in 15-20 feet of water where cypress once stood. The main channel with the buoys is pretty clean.

The places I fish have big time brush and underwater objects. Slow is the rule in a boat--you get fast--make sure you hold on to your boat paddle--if you sink a boat you will need the paddle to beat the gators off of you. Deer usually can not swim this river from the islands, but they try anyway. Some do make it.----I am not kidding about the gators, especially in the back waters, creeks and the oxbow lakes.

Can you post some pictures of your tightline rigs? Being kind of dense, I'm not entirely sure I'm following you correctly, particularly about the leads and what you mean by that.

Originally Posted by crappiehog

i am new to the cold weather crappie fishing thing. but want to learn it badly, i have been filling my brain with all kinds of articles on year around crappie fishing , any good advice on this is appreciated, i have been placing crappie condos (bamboo) and (pvc) in my favorite spring time holes ,but they have not produced up to now . but its only been a few weeks since placing these condos. i am fishing the back water sloughs of okane island off the arkansas river in western arkansas. thx crappiehog

Good advice guys, But dont give up on those sloughs. If the sloughs are land locked and they get flooded by the main body of water, they can be real honey holes in the winter.
I fish a few sloughs in the winter quite often and I do well in them.

I am attempting to download a drawing of the deep water drop I use for CrappieAttachment 22513

The lead can be attached to the 2 way or 3 way swivel. The 3 way are expensive at Walmarts. I use the lead because the minnow swims around on the line only with a hook, no weight holding him down. The size of the leads and drops is up to you as long as you do not have the minnow on bottom with the weight than you will get bass and catfish.

I do not leave the weight on the bottom, but I bump it and than reel upwards. Why I used the numbers 1 and 3 is because if you get into real thick stuff than you can place the hook on the very bottom and use an in line slip weight about the in line swivel.

With the hook on the bottom you can get hung-up a lot if you rest it on the bottom or raise it to fast. I like the system in the diagram cause when you lower it the weight hits the bottom not the hook and when you raise it up the lead line and minnow usually follows the main line up. The minnow you can see it move the line if your weight is too small.

Thanks for the diagram and explanation. I was wondering how you could fish this in thick brush or brush at all without getting hung up a lot with a side lead.

Originally Posted by blairarnold

Thanks for the diagram and explanation. I was wondering how you could fish this in thick brush or brush at all without getting hung up a lot with a side lead.

When I fish in tree tops there is usually several holes in the top that have no visible limbs in sight. I insert my line until I find one that goes to the bottom or I will fish to the outer edges of the top, right next to the visible brush. A lot of times you can catch them before you bottom out. These tops I fish in are probably 15-25 feet deep, entire huge trees that have fell in the river or creeks, so you have a lot of outlying brush underwater that produces crappie.

Some of these trees cover a large area in the water-at times I can drive my boat around the tops to look at it on my depth finder to see how far out it lies.

The side lead you mentioned--when you drop the lead in the water with a weight on the bottom the lead will follow the weight and the main line to the bottom. Once down there I raise it slowly a couple of feet or until I find the crappie. If it hits something, drop it down and move your line around until you work it out. Most of the time the crappie on the hook will keep you from hanging up. It takes practice to figure out how to fish in the brush. If it is to bad than move to the other edge. When your rig is stationary the minnow moves about on the lead line, but I also tempt them by raising it up and down.

I am not going to constantly lose rigs in heavy brush that is impossible to fish and I have found a couple like that. At times you can break off a couple of limbs to allow you to drop down. I use 10 lb. test line, so it is pretty strong and wire hooks will bend also when pulled real hard. Some hooks will not bend, than either you break the hook or line.

This works for me and believe it or not I do not lose hardly any rigs, maybe 2-3 a month. I have had big bass or cats to break the line and they are in the brush also--Watch out for runners they will tangle you up in the brush

This has really been helpful. I appreciate it very much.