When fish stop biting

[Alphahawk]

I do one or more of the following :

Move to another location where the conditions are the same or similar to what they were when the fish were biting.

Change tactics & methods & even baits ... when those same/similar conditions can't be found.

Fish for another species that's more inclined to bite under the prevailing conditions.

Use this method to try and coax a few more fish to bite: Crappie Pappy Article

They don't ALL quit biting, all over the lake, at the same time, so when the spot I'm fishing stops producing ... I consider the possible reasons & change location, tactics, and/or bait, and start hunting for them again. I also don't go looking for "obvious" spots, or community honey holes, but look for spots that may not be well known. How much time I'll devote to "searching" for them depends on how many I've already caught, or how long I've already spent on the water. Most lakes that I fish are a 1.5 to 2hr drive each way, so that can be a deciding factor in how long I stay on the hunt.

... cp

Great read...I am going to have to try that.


Regards

[NIMROD]

My take is they seldom stop biting but can be finicky. Crappie can move alot , I call them nomadic. Here they follow bait fish such as Shad. Find the feed and they are usually there. I look near cover for them even more on bright sunny days, Depth means everything and water color. I have found dingy water helps when searching shallow in spring or fall fishing as they can be spooky. I love it when folks throw in the towel here and I keep searching till I find them. Most never change location , depth , presentation, and ect, just blame the fish. You have to be willing to change or you will have many low fish or no fish days. On days where they seem to quit, try changing spots or just take notice of the weather and change depths.

[RiverSlabber]

How about when they never start biting

Had a slow day yesterday, 3 dink gills and one average size largemouth (1 1-1/2 lb). Never could get the crappie bite.

[lcookie]

ON my lake the crappie relate heavily to structure/cover. We find that they tend to move vertically moreso than horizontally. As an example. There are a few submerged trees that hold fish in the summer and in the winter. Our tactic is to run pass the tree and scan it with SI/DI to determine depth and position to the tree (inclose to the trunk or scatter out around the limbs). We then pitch baits on slip corks based onwhat we found.When the bite tapers offwe will pass over the tree again to relocate the fish and start overagain.Most of the time the fish havesimply moved deeper, but sometimes they move up as well.If you hit a spot that is loaded but you can’tget any takers no matter what you try that is a good time to drop the cameraand ID the fish.Juvenile stripers,bluegill, and gizzzies can all put off a signature that looks likecrappie.Some trips we do this all daywhen we are out hunting for new places to fish.

[Tracker22]

Brilliance! thanks everyone. You are very helpful.