fishing. The schools are bigger and more tightly compact, so you can sit in one spot and catch
fish-after-fish. Crappie feed heavily in cold water. And, quite often, you’ll have the lake to
yourself (the main reason they want to keep this a secret).
Sure, the spawn provides the heaviest fish up shallow where everyone can get to them, and
they’re easy. But that’s the problem – everyone can get to them, and often do. But during winter,
once you find the fish, it’s usually just you and the slabs, and you can anchor over them and fill
the livewell. The key is finding them; the catching is easy.
Mid-Depths in Clear Water
Winter fish may go down to 30 feet or deeper on many lakes, but these depths can pose problems
both with locating and catching crappie. There are plenty of fish between 15- and 25-feet deep,
and they’re much easier to catch.
“Early winter crappie are starting to stack up on brushpiles,” says pro bass fisherman Mike
Wurm, from Hot Springs, Ark. “These fish have been roaming around, but as the water continues
to cool they get into tight groups. Once you find them it’s not uncommon to catch one every cast
for a while.”
Temperature, light penetration, food source and other factors determine where you’ll find them.
Wurm begins his search by checking out brushpiles around 20-feet deep. The most productive
have limbs that stick up 4- to 10-feet off bottom.
“Today our electronics make it easy to find productive brush,” Wurm said. “You can search
areas and pinpoint the size and location of a brushpile. I use a marker buoy as reference point.”
The clear water of his home lake, Ouachita, makes anchoring over the brush less productive
because he believes it can spook the fish, so he prefers to cast rather than vertical jig. Using a jig
like the YUM Teeny Shad or Money Fry, he casts, counts the jig down to the depth of the brush,
then slowly brings it back. The clear water also requires a light, invisible line – down to 4-pound
fluorocarbon.
“The angle of your casts is important,” he says. “Vertical jigging lets you probe all areas of
a brushpile, but you can’t do that from one spot when casting. Crappie are seldom randomly
located in a brushpile. They will likely be in one spot, so you may need to make casts from
different angles to find the critical spot.”
He says there is a subtle pattern shift that begins in February. The big females move into
shallower water and he begins looking on the flats near brushpiles, which normally are placed on
breaklines.
Wurm’s bait guidelines are simple. He wants the bait to have a natural look and imitate the shad.
When I fished with him on Ouachita in late November last year, the majority of his fish came on
a YUM 1.5-inch F2 Teeny Shad in a light color. Similar YUM baits in 2-inch imitators are the
Houdini Fry and Minnow Fry.
Shallow Approach
Barry Morrow guides on Truman Lake in Missouri and Eufaula in Oklahoma, and often begins
his search for cold-weather crappie in shallower water.
“A lot of my winter fish come from 6- to 12-feet of water,” he said. “Go back into the creeks and
big coves where the deepest water is typically 15 feet. These are naturally shallow areas anyway,
so crappie don’t hesitate moving up to shallower flats to wood cover and brush.”
Morrow pays special attention to small breaklines. Even a drop from 7 ˝- to 8 feet is enough to
hold crappie.
“In their minds they are in a comfort zone where they can be safe and feed. Find a breakline and
you have a potential hotspot,” Morrow said.
He says that a big factor this time of year is their holding depth. In winter they’ll hold 2-inches
off bottom, 2-feet from the top of the water, or anywhere in between. He always checks all of the
water column when he’s confident there are fish nearby.
Morrow prefers a single pole presentation and targets specific brushpiles, stumps and trees. The
murkier water of Lake Eufaula allows him to vertical jig straight up and down and results in
fewer snags than casting. He does utilize a long, 10- to 12-foot rod to eliminate any spooking of
the fish, even in chocolate milk colored water. Vertical jigging allows him to move the bait at the
pace the fish prefer, which at times can be nearly motionless.
When he does cast to cover, Morrow uses a slip-float to keep the bait in the strike zone. Slip
floats are misunderstood by many Southern anglers, but can be tremendous tools for winter
crappie fishing. There is no other tool that allows you to vertical jig a spot from a distance.
Every fisherman wants to know the secret bait and color to catch fish. But, there’s no one perfect
bait or color. Color is often dependent on water clarity.
“It’s not the same for all bodies of water,” Morrow said. “Where I fish (murkier water), a big-
diameter bait like a fat Lindy Watsit catches a lot of fish. It’s something the fish can see, gets
them excited and they hit it.
“The situation in ultra-clear water is totally different. On crystal-clear lakes it’s best to match
the size and color of the baitfish. Crappie are sight-feeders, and see their prey from a long
distance so it’s important to pay attention to details to make it look as natural as possible.”
More Tips
Wurm says concentration is critical in the winter because strikes can be incredibly subtle.
“It’s almost like the crappie comes up and licks the bait before they decide to bite,” he said. “A
lot of times you won’t feel a bite but just a sensation. If you’re not focused you won’t even
notice it.”
While the strike might be subtle and the jig may need to hover in the strike zone for longer than
normal, Morrow says that the bait needs to act natural.
“In the winter I tie on a jig with a loop knot. Instead of being cinched down tight, a loop gives
the bait freedom to move. Fish aren’t aggressive when it’s cold but they do want to see a bait
action that looks alive.”
The most important tips for cold-weather crappie fishing are to wear plenty of clothes and
always fish with a partner who knows how to drive the boat. Bring extra clothes and coats and
keep them handy just in case. Wear a personal flotation device even when anchored because the
cold water can zap your strength quickly, or even cause a heart-attack on contact.
.
Forum Statistics
Articles and Stories
vBulletin Message