Lake Shelbyville

**bogdipper_2** · 11-15-2022, 09:27 AM

Hey guys, Dan here with Tight Lines Guide Service. I haven't posted in here for a while so I thought I would update you guys on how the fishing has been on Lake Shelbyville. Well, it's November and as usual in November the crappie fishing has been on fire! We are catching them shallow, deep and everywhere in between.

For the shallow fish I've been opting for a slip bobber and a minnow set about 18 inches deep and fishing it around cover in less than 2 feet of water. For my slip bobber set up I am using a pole made by another guide here on Lake Shelbyville called the Hotspots Megaeye Crappie Rod. If you haven't heard of this rod yet it was designed for slip bobber fishing and has oversized eyes so your bobber stop won't snag on them and I highly recommend it if you like to fish slip bobbers. I use the 10 foot model but he has 8 and 9 footers available if you want a shorter rod. I have it paired with a good spinning reel spooled with 6# mono. I tie on a 1/4 oz. trolling weight made by 32 South, and a 6 inch flourocarbon leader with a #4 gold aberdeen hook. Just make sure you have a big enough slip bobber to hold up the 1/4 oz. weight. You can also down size to 1/8 or 1/16 oz. for the weight but I like the 1/4 oz. because it casts easier and if you get hung most times you can bounce your line and the heavy weight will pull your hook free.

We have also been vertical jigging fish in 8 to 20 feet of water on structure. Cubes, laydowns, and stumps in these depths are all producing fish right now. I tie on a 3/16 oz. Deep Ledge Jig Head in white or pink with a black/chartreuse plastic and go to town picking apart the structure. If you can't get them to bite just holding the jig still in their face try backing off your target and pendulum tossing the jig over the top of the structure and that will usually get them fired up! I use a variety of plastics and sometimes switching it up really can help, so before you give up on a group of fish try either upsizing or downsizing your bait profile and if that doesn't work they are probably fish that just don't want to bite and it's time to move on to the next spot.

I hope this helps somebody catch more fish and if anyone wants to get out there I do still have openings available for guide trips. I will guide all the way until ice up. If you can brave the cold temperatures the crappie fishing right now is as good as it gets!