Thread: Deep or Suspended Crappie

There was a ton of good advice in these few posts. You will find that most long liners like to do that regardless of the situation and pushers like to do push regardless of the situation. A few of us will change from one tactic to the other as needed, but it is a lot of work and a pain in the rear. You mentioned anchoring and I actually do that quite often when I find fish in treetops or schooled up tight in one spot. Often in the spring I will catch my biggest fish tossing minnows to treetops in 3 feet of water. I like to be flexible, but one of my friends says if he can't catch fish long lining, he would just as soon go home. To each his own right? This time of year you will usually find the fish on the channel ledges or suspended in the middle of the creek mouths, but the water will be cooling from now on and these fish will move more closer to the places you found them in the spring. I will start out pushing this time of year just like I do in early spring and start in the creek mouths that have 30 or more feet of water. Sometimes the fish will be suspended at certain depths and you just have to look at you finder to see where they are. Often times these suspended fish aren't feeding and if you don't get any bites, move on. As the water cools a little, I will look for cover that is off the banks and in a little deeper water but in the same general area where I found them in the spring. Fish relating to cover are more likely to be biting than those suspended fish. They are in ambush mode and I like to slowly drift a minnow right under their noses. If I pick up several fish on one piece of cover then I will move over it a and drop anchor. The long rods allow you to cover nearly 40 feet of area and it the fish are there and biting you should be able to pick up some. Many times I will have a few rods just off the bottom and will pick up fish that I can't see on the finder. Of course that means you will add a few catfish to the bag, but hey they eat pretty good too. All this talk has me thinking Oconee Saturday morning. I have to run to a meeting, but I maybe more in a bit.

Guys thanks a bunch I cant tell you how thankful I am for the advice and the help. Ill always remember to pay it forward for the next guy. Going to start the long journey of becoming an effective fisherman this weekend. Ive ran the final cabling set up for the trolling motor tested all lights, bilge pumps and the fishfinder so we are a green light. My set up is more for tightlining right now with my rod holders installed near the bow.

Great weather good luck guys, see you on the water.