and a lot of times you've got all to our selves. Thanks for the post.
Many fishers think of cold water crappie as fishing deep in the many lakes and rivers throughout the country. While this is certainly true, the marsh here in southern Louisiana is a whole different estuary. The many bayous and canals are typically shallow. Finding deep water may mean finding five to eight foot pockets that have been dredged by oil companies. Thinking deep for cold water fish may mean fishing two feet or less. A fellow fisherman had told me many years ago, that on the coldest days, he would prefer a bright sunny day and would fish extremely shallow. This thinking goes against everything you read about catching fish in freezing weather. Marsh crappie and many other species adapt to their environment. This means finding fish in places that some may not think about fishing. This past cold snap has been no different. Most people fishing were beating the bank fishing two to three foot under a cork. While this can be affective, a lot of fish simply get passed over. Many times the fish may be feeding on the numerous bait fish and not holding to anytype of structure. Fishing the middle of the canal can sometimes be the most productive place to catch crappie. The day started with water temps in the upper thirties and as the solar effect took place, warmed up to forty four. When this occurs, you may find feeding fish a foot less under the surface. On this day, it was no exception. Not only did we find fish shallow, but also feeding in the middle of the canal. The cold temps forced shad and other bait fish into the many dead ends where the water temps were a few degrees warmer then the rest of the area. Fish follow the feed into these same areas and when you locate them, it can be easy to catch limits of really nice crappie. Dead-ends aren't the only spots fish can be located on those bitter cold days. Finding shallow flats off of the main canal can be productive also. The thinking is the same. These cold water crappie are looking for slightly warmer waters and on days when its sunny, can be found on these shallow flats. We certainly have a unique fishery where on some of the coldest days crappie can be caught shallow. Color schemes seldom change and what works in the summer will also work in the winter. The fish in the shallow marsh are either feeding on shad, small minnows, or grass-shrimp (which is a micro version of saltwater shrimp). Adapting your lure choice depending on the forage can be very beneficial. So next time you are fishing the cold waters of the marsh, think dead-ends, flats, and never over look the middle of the bayou. On those bright sunny days, think solar heat and try shallow. On a side note, we were in Paw Paw Genes favorite location, Orange Grove. Good luck fishing. Hope to see ya on the water.
Skippa Chippa, B&M BOBM, fishervet, "G", Redge, Tracker123, prefers shiners, NwLa sacalait, Bayoudog LIKED above postshadow, Retired2Fish thanked you for this post
and a lot of times you've got all to our selves. Thanks for the post.
Ephesians 1:13shadow LIKED above post
Thats good info. I look for still water as in oil field canal dead ends and definitely check out the middle of the dead end pocket. If sunny pay attention to the north side of the pocket as this area gets more sunlight. This goes for the early spawn of wp and bass.
prefers shiners LIKED above post
Nice write up Bobfish, I always look forward to your posts.
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So many people wait until March and April to fish for sacalait thinking that’s when they spawn. The truth is they do catch some egg laden females but it’s usually the younger and smaller fish. The larger fish spawn much earlier, starting near the end of January with February being the month for both numbers and size. These are a few pictures from the past. The first one is at the old Theriot boat launch near Marmande plantation. That is ice on the dock. The second picture is of my Buddy driving the boat. The third picture is the proof of cold weather fishing.
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Last edited by PawPaw Gene; 01-17-2018 at 09:21 AM.
"G" Gone but not forgotten!!
You guys give a lot of food for thought. Now all I need is some warmer weather.
Nice fish Bob we used to catch a lot of fish in the dead end canals in the cold weather. The water always seemed to be warmer there and the fish more active.
A Bad Day of Fishing is Better Than a Good Day of Work!
Excellent write up Bob
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