Thread: whats up with crappie on oconee

I longline most of the time, all year long except when I work in some dock shooting mostly in the summer and early fall. At this time Oconee crappie are still holding to structure. If you get down to them they will bite, not fast and furious but steady. You got to lose some jigs to the under water Christmas trees. We had a great day last tuesday. Kept 54 good uns. Going back tomorrow.

i have spent most of my time in sugar creek. i have trolled, spider rigged, shot docks and tight lined in the timber. i have tried all depths.and all times of the day.when i go i usualy get on the water about daylight and stay till about 530 .so maybe its just me i see a bunch of posts of people killing them. but i am not having much luck.i have been using 1/16th jigs of all kinds and colors and tipping them with a minnow.if im trolling i put on a splitshot about a foot above the jig to get it down to the depth they are showing on my sonar. when i do get a few it doesnt seem to matter what color i use.i also use a grub on the jig head.a twister tail or something similar.if anyone has a better tchnic i would love to hear it.cause one thing is for sure i will stay at it no matter what.cause lets face it a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work anyday of the week

I'm Spider rigging now and I'd look at the following items:
How long are my rods and is the bait getting there before the boat?
What kind of knot am I tying? Loop knots give the bait 100% better presentation!
What about my leader? Don't use one? I'd suggest starting and use a 3-4 ft fluorocarbon one below my weight so the bait will "float" up and down with the slightest movement of the boat...
How slow or fast am I going? I "bump around" at best...keep in their face for as long as possible....I sometimes get reactionary strikes by simply "bumping" the TM right , left, forward....

Run your bait 1-2 ft above the cover...or at least where the fish are holding...You know crappie bite "up" nearly all the time....

I too am tipping with live bait....just improves your odds.....

Hope these things help....If you can see em on the graph and your time of day is right....you should catch em.....but i'm a real firm believer in presentation!!!! It better look lively and "good enough to eat!"

i use 10 12 and 14 ft crappie maxx rods with a small spinning reel and 4 lb test.when i spider rig i dont add any extra wieght just the 1/16th jug tipped with a winnow. i do go slow and keep them out front. i am marking lots of fish sometimes suspended and sometimes closer to the bottom.i use six rods and stagger them from the depth i see the fish to a few feet above. i buy the crappie minnows. is it better to try small shad or is there something im missing. thanks for the advice i will try the loop knot and leader idea i can see how it might make for a better and livelier presentation

Sounds like ur dead on! The only thing I forgot to mention was that Ive been using 1/32 oz jig heads on that floro leader. Below my egg sinker,bead,and swivel. Once again makes the bait "swim" better. But I know what you mean,,,,I,ve fished sinclair with the graph loaded and felt like i couldn't buy a bite! Even at oconee lately....fish are active and want to eat....move 100 yds and no bites.....cover....fish on graph....?????go figure....after all we are after game...we can't see!!!!!! Fishing is good.....I like catching better!