• Catching Late Winter Crappie by Brad Wiegmann



    Predictions that winter will extend well into March have been confirmed by Groundhog Phil. For crappie anglers waiting for a break from arctic air this year that’s bad news. However, cold weather doesn’t keep professional crappie fishing guide Barry Morrow from taking clients out.

    Groundhog Phil of course saw his shadow this year and quickly scampered back into his home. “Shadow or no shadow, the crappie are still going to bite especially if we can get a few warm days,” said Morrow

    Colder water temperatures have had an influence on crappie anglers unwilling to challenge going outside, but that will change quickly once this last arctic cold front moves through. “The cold fronts moving through have dropped water temperatures resulting in a lot of shad dying. Once that happens crappie get harder to catch since they have been feeding on dying shad. However, we will still catch them by working our lures slowly and methodically,” said Morrow.

    How deep Morrow fishes his Lindy Jigs depends on several things including wind and sunlight. “How much sunlight an area gets makes a difference to the depth I will fish. Early in the morning the water may only be 30- to 40-degrees so I will work the lures keeping them down around 12- to 14-feet. By the afternoon if the sun is out on that area, the water may warm up one- or two-degrees and I will only be fishing my jigs in 6- to 8-feet deep,” said Morrow.



    Productive areas for Morrow during this time are up creeks arms. “I will start about half way back in the creek and work up to the shallow end. Normally that’s where I will catch them, but if I don’t catch any I’ll go back to the middle and fish my way towards the mouth of the creek,” said Morrow.

    Certain areas in the creek will be where the crappie can be caught. Morrow is always looking for baitfish on his graph as he fishes structure. He likes to keep his jigs right off the bottom or just above the structure.



    Normally, Morrow will fish with two Lindy Jigs on one rod when trolling with the electric trolling motor. “The top jig weighs 1/8-ounce and the bottom jig 1/4-ounce with 12- to 14-inches separating them. I use two different color jigs like a black and chartreuse on top and black and pink on the bottom jig. The key is to move slowly looking for bait on the graph and watching for a strike,” said Morrow.

    Usually, Morrow will have a long 11’ Todd Huckabee series crappie rod rigged with a baitcasting reel lined with 12 pound monofilament fishing line in each hand as he moves along fishing. “The two jigs weigh enough so I can fish with heavy line and use baitcasting tackle,” said Morrow.

    When not fishing with the longer rod, Morrow uses a spinning rod with 8- to 10-pound test fishing line. “Most of my clients are more comfortable with a shorter, spinning rod,” said Morrow. On the spinning rod, Morrow use a Lindy Thill balsa wood slip float.

    Instead of feeling a strike, the angler watches the float to see a bite. “Thill balsa wood floats have a bright top making them easy to see while the balsa is extremely sensitive making seeing any strikes obvious. The Thill slip float comes with one bobber stop you can use to set the depth with,” said Morrow.

    Morrow uses only one jig when fishing a Thill slip cork. “I like to fish a 1/8-ounce Lindy Watsit Jig or Fuzz-E Grub,” said Morrow. Most of the time, Morrow will be casting towards shore working the jig or grub back towards the boat around structure. His favorite colors with Lindy Watsit Jigs and Fuzz-E Grubs are contrasting. “I like black and chartreuse or bright yellow and pink,” said Morrow.

    Once Morrow knows what color the crappie are biting, he will use a Lindy Watsit Jig or Lindy Fuzz-E Grubs (www.lindyfishingtackle.com) depending on how aggressive the fish are that day. The Lindy Watsit Jig mimics a crawfish or minnow with limited action. On the other hand, the Lindy Fuzz-E Grub has a lively action created by its marabou tail.

    Just because Groundhog Phil saw his shadow doesn’t mean you have to go back inside for six months before you go fishing. Although it may be cold outside you can still catch late winter crappie.

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    Comments 19 Comments
    1. Dave and Lynn's Avatar
      Dave and Lynn -
      Good read. Thanks for posting.
    1. free bird's Avatar
      free bird -
      That's a good article slab. Thanks for sharing.
    1. Rsw's Avatar
      Rsw -
      Great information. Thanks for posting!
    1. hawgdog's Avatar
      hawgdog -
      Nice info
    1. callmecamo's Avatar
      callmecamo -
      Thanks for sharing!
    1. DCottrell's Avatar
      DCottrell -
      Great Read
    1. NYHellbender's Avatar
      NYHellbender -
      Good stuff as always Brad.
    1. MoJo JoJo's Avatar
      MoJo JoJo -
      Thanks for the article and winter motivation!
    1. RetiredRR's Avatar
      RetiredRR -
      Will give it a try. Thanks.
    1. jackie53's Avatar
      jackie53 -
      Thanks for the post!!!
    1. specktacklure's Avatar
      specktacklure -
      Great info, thanks.
    1. "D"'s Avatar
      "D" -
      Good lessons in this story. Thanks.
    1. Trent's Avatar
      Trent -
      Thanks for the lesson
    1. OtterMama's Avatar
      OtterMama -
      Great artical, tons of info - Thanks Brad
    1. boatdocksam's Avatar
      boatdocksam -
      great read
    1. usafret99's Avatar
      usafret99 -
      Great info thanks
    1. kycreek's Avatar
      kycreek -
      Good info
    1. pontooncrappie's Avatar
      pontooncrappie -
      A very good article,I also favor the black and chartreuse jig but 1/ 16 oz..
    1. kickingback's Avatar
      kickingback -
      Very Nice!
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