High pressure system winter time crappie fishing by Brad Wiegmann

[Slab]

It’s every crappie angler’s worst nightmare. A high pressure system moves in after a great bite with falling pressure. You go from catching them to just praying for a bite.

There’s nothing you can do about the weather or colder water temperatures in the winter time. A prolong period of stable high pressure normally results in good fishing, however, with high pressure (high barometer pressure) crappie will often migrate to deeper water depths. Add to that falling water temperature and it’s not a great time to be fishing.




“Although crappie like cooler water temperatures and migrate to deeper habitat in the winter time high pressure conditions will often drive them down even farther. In most states south of the Mason-Dixie line except for Florida with it’s shallow water reservoirs, crappie will typically be 20- to 25-feet deep near or suspending off the bottom. Crappie just don’t like being high in the water column with all the sunshine and their large eyes,” said professional crappie angler Dan Dannemueller Sr..


Even putting the barometric pressure aside winter fishing can be more challenging when fishing in deeper water. Dannenmueller uses two techniques to catch crappie during the winter months. Utilizing Garmin LiveScope when fishing out away from under the boat or DownVu (down imaging technology) when fishing directly below the boat.


Garmin LiveScope allows Dannenmueller to see the crappie he is trying to catch before making a cast. Once he has isolated the individual or group of crappie, Dannenmueller will make a cast past the crappie allowing the lure to pendulum to where the fish are located. It’s important to make a perfect cast so the lure swings right to the crappie so they don’t have to move to strike it.


Dannenmueller other technique is to locate the crappie on DownVu and dead stick lures vertically above or in them to get a bite. To keep his rods steady and in one spot Dannenmueller will spider rig 2- to 3-rods out while in rod holders typically in 20- to 22-feet of water. The key to this technique he noted was keeping the lure extremely still.


“Often crappie will lie on the bottom or suspend just off the bottom of the lake during the winter months. Amazingly, I have watch crappie just come off the bottom and strike a lure not moving suspended above them. It’s often super light strike or just a tick on the line you feel and you set the hook and have a crappie,” said Dannenmueller.



During the winter months Dannenmueller focuses on water depths around 20 feet or deeper. “I like to fish deep flats, edge of channels, mouths of feeder creeks, docks and of course around or under shad. After a couple warm, bluebird sunny days when the water is warming up on north-northwest banks protected from cold northwest winds around schools of shad can be really good,” said Dannenmueller.



As for lures Dannenmueller likes to fish with 3 different Road Runner lures (www.ttiblakemore.com) when fishing for crappie in the winter months. First is the Team Crappie Slab Caller. It’s triple wrapped chenille center with a chicken feathers in the rear. Slab Caller looks alive even when you are dead sticking because of the chicken feathers sticking out the back of it noted Dannenmueller.

[stormcloud]

I can not wrap my head around barometric pressure. I have caught them shallow on high pressure and I have caught them deep on high pressure. I read they
come up to take pressure off their swim bladder during a high and go down to put more pressure on their swim bladder during a low. Then I read another
article that tells me just the opposite. I wish someone would explain it to me in layman's terms. I don't pay any attention to it anymore. The only thing I
figured out was whether high or low, they will adjust to it in a couple of days and go on with their normal activities.

[z520tom]

Can't explain it but have witnessed it for over 60 years. I believe it definitely affects fish activity.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

[Fridays86]

The key notes I get from this article are using your electronics to locate the fish and then adjusting your presentation compared to the fishes activity. High pressure affects activity levels whether they are deep or shallow. Very good read! Thank you Slab for posting it.

[Rojo]

We NEVER fish the day after a front especially in winter. Find something else to do. Lockjaw Day is what we call it. I personally like science but understanding it is not required. Also the "Blind Hog even finds a Acorn" theory, there are instances where the fish bite defies logic but you are getting advice to the fish "patterns of behavior" not instances to the contrary. If it was all science the same anglers would win every tournament, doesn't happen because there is a certain unpredictability to Sac-a-lait's behavior. It would be called "harvesting" instead of fishing it we caught fish every time we went.

[NIMROD]

Bite still good if fishermen can figure it out . Like he said they tend to hug the bottom behind a major cold front . They do not always migrate to deep water in many lakes . Some live their whole lives shallow . May move real slow till later in the days as sun warms up . I took a friend yesterday fishing flats about 6 to 8' of water . It was lower 20's air temp with water temp at 40 . Fish were tight to wood right on bottom . We used livescope to put a jig on them and hold still as possiable . The Crappie moved sluggish but would bite a jig . As the sun got brighter later in the day they moved up a little and bit . Here is our biggest fish right behind a major cold front . Slow down and work the bottom even shallow .

[trypman1]

My dad taught me about barometric pressure when I was a young kid. They used a glass and a coke bottle, put the bottle in the glass and fill with water about halfway. If the pressure is high the water would rise in the bottle, if low it would sink in the bottle or reverse- that was more than sixty years ago. I study the pressure every day. It makes a big difference, believe me. Very good post.