Water temp 45 degrees. Outside temp 39 degrees. Little to no wind. Sunny.
First fish on at 0700 and left them biting.
Fished 20'-30' of water and the crappie were 10'-13' down from the surface near structure.
Had minnows but they preferred Bobby Garland Blue Ice today!
Loaned a few to others that were not catching and they started to catch finally.
One guy left to go buy some. LOL
Caught about 40 total with lots of dink throw backs.
I wanted to pass along some tips for winter crappie fishing in Texas.
The cold weather makes the water temps drop and the shad will be bunched up to stay warm and look for bait to feed. The crappie know the shad are bunched up and follow them around the lake, deep usually as the water is warmer the deeper you go. The crappie will suspend on the out side edges of the shad bait or just under them. The crappie bunch up the same way the shad do but they want to feed. The shad can be seen early morning hitting the surface feeding on plankton and bugs. and the crappie are there with them. Find the bait and you will find the crappie.
Cold water makes crappie lethargic and will not usually "chase" your lure like they do in the warmer weather. The lure or jig or live bait needs to be right in front of their face or just above them to feed. They want a very, very slow moving jig or one that moves very little if at all. Most crappie will "thump" the jig and all you need to do is "set" the hook to drive it into the paper thin mouths of the crappie. You can feel the thump and if you don't set the hook the hook could miss or be spit out or catch only the paper thin outside edges of the mouth and tear out. Setting the hook drives the barb deep into the bony head of the crappie making catching and lifting easier and more productive.
The shad will hold in deep water usually along river channels or structure on the bottom. The crappie will be close to the shad and when the shad "settle" in around structure the crappie feel right at home and will be right there amongst them. They crappie can be anywhere from 8' deep to 20' depending on the depth and structure present.
If you catch one crappie in the winter there will certainly be more than just one. Try different depths and colors to find what they like the best and you can be pulling crappie in on every "drop" of your jig!
I wanted to give you a bit of my experience without having to go find the info somewhere else or have to sit through any videos that don't tell you much except someone is catching crappie. I believe in helping others. If you need a few spots to fish just PM me. Ask if you have any questions! I love helping others catch fish for their families!
Tight lines ya'll!
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