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Reply With QuoteOnly thing I throw at "shad" is a cast netOriginally Posted by LedHed
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So much great information!!! thnx
The lake I'm fishing is a deep reservoir (water rising) but small compared to what you guys are probably fishing. There is a lot of threadfin shad and shiners - we follow them for Coppernose Bluegill but don't ever catch Crappie. I know they are there. Usually crappie are caught in less than 15 FOW in the Spring. I know (from a friend) they are starting to catch large Crappie in some of the San Diego lakes - they warm up a little bit earlier than here.
What do you guys throw at flipping shad?
thnx again for all the valuable advice.
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Only thing I throw at "shad" is a cast net
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Any number of presentations will work. You can cast a tube jig under a cork.Here you will want to use a fixed cork and reel it slowly through them. You can cast road runner heads with a curlytail, or a slider grub or minnow shape body. Early in the year they seem to care less about the exact lure...but later can be picky. Keep three or four rods on deck rigged with different lures and then keep three colors or so in each lure type. You are going find something will work most of the time. It can be difficult to get close enough that you can long pole them. You get too close your going to disturb the whole process most of the time. Especially if you having to stay on the troller because of the wind.
I have been doing really well the last year or so on the mr crappie shadpole CT in refrigerator white and a couple other colors. Sometimes on a 1/16 oz plain ball head and sometimes on a roadrunner head in Chartreuse. A white or chartreuse color road runner head with a smoke glitter curly tail is one that consistently fools . I always tip the hook with a chartreuse chromaglow crappie nibble. And I want that nibble on the hook where that crappie is going to see it.
You can live and die fishing deep all the time. And many guys do. They are fishing under the shad too a lot of the time it just looks different watching them on sonar then on the surface.
But there are White and black crappie to be caught by the hundreds if not thousands shallow every year if you learn how and you think you might enjoy the added technique. I know I do....I haven't thrown away my long poles..in fact I just bought a new one this week.
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Above 50 degrees three nights in a row . or rising water that is muddy (find the clear ).jmo
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Crappie Wall Hanger II
I had them start to spawn at 58 degrees this year.
Trophy King
We just had ice out, not sure water temp but after spring break I want to try fishing. Where would you start in the Midwest finding them, I would imagine our water is super cold from 12" of ice.
Two lakes my area, one is a reservoir flood control with some structure planted. The other is a smaller lake "no wake" with a bunch of planted structure.
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Just Depends, I honesty believe find the minnows find the crappy. Some people say it has to be the right Barometric Pressure, the moon has to be right, the temp must be this. All that's well and good, and quite possibly true, but if it's breathing, it has to eat...find the schools of baitfish and there are going to be something eating it....
Crappie Wall Hanger II
Fish the planted structure and use the same methods that you used for fishing on the ice. A lot of vertical jigging. I fish the same type of water. We had ice out than the last week and a half there is a thin coating of ice over most of the lake forming each night. Water temp just jumped a whole degree this week 37-38 degrees. Right at ice out some lakes you can hammer the fish in the shallows but it depends if this is common on your lake or not. Usually last about a week or two.
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Good and Interesting info. Thanks
