Where did the crappie go?

[jm_middleton]

I've been fishing standing timber since mid November. I could pull into an area with standing timber and in just a few minutes I would find a big school of crappie around a submerged tree. I would catch at least 5 keepers every trip. Now I'm not seeing any schools on livescope. The water temp is around 43 and the smaller shad is starting to die off. I just started crappie fishing in 2020 and haven't learned where they are at throughout the entire year.

[CrappiePappy]

On sunny days I'd be looking around rocky banks or rock cliffs & on cloudy days I'd be looking out in the channels ... but, in either event I'd be looking for large schools of Shad first & expect to see the Crappie under them or in close proximity.

[GoTennTitans]

With all the livescopes out there now, most of those crappie you used to catch are probably in somebody's freezer. I know a guy in South Arkansas who brags that he has over 100 quarts of frozen crappie fillets that he's caught just since deer season ended..........found their pattern using his livescope and now they're not swimming anymore! What would he want or need with over 100 quarts of frozen fish? I also know, for a fact, that this same guy was written a ticket for being over the limit on at least one occasion. My gosh........throw some back for next time OR for someone else.

NOT IMPLYING that you are such a fisherman. Just kinda ranting about the goings on down here where I live. I hope you find some fish, middleton. My family and I have all been quarantined with close contact to a friend who tested positive (none of my family got it) and another friend showed up last Thursday and left me his ice chest with 13 crappie and a longneck Carta Blanca beer in it all iced down. Fresh fish sure were good, and the CB too! I need to get out and catch a mess for myself, I guess.

Good luck to you, Sir.

[shurt]

Following this ... I'm new to crappie fishing and curious about the replies.

[jm_middleton]

I appreciate the replies. Your situation is not much different than here. I went crappie fishing last February. I had never been before and after bass fishing all fall/winter it was nice to catch something. There was probably 15 to 20 boats all in this small area about the size of a football field. When someone would catch one the boats would slowly gravitate towards that boat. Craziest thing I have ever seen. I had fun but these guys did this day in and day out. Not just one weekend. The pictures of foldout tables with 40 crappie or more on them started popping up on facebook. I took my son and father-in-law back in late march. There had to be triple the amount of boats this time and everyone said they seen it on facebook. People had drove from Michigan to crappie fish in Kentucky.
I have been back to this river a couple times this year. I have not caught more than 3 keepers out of almost a 100 fish. They are all in the 7" to 9" range. Our limit here is 10". I don't know if they caught all the big keeper size fish out or what. I live real close to a lake and prefer to fish it when I can. I thought I had the crappie figured out but as soon as they moved off the standing timber I'm back to square one. I have 3 quart sized freezer bags of crappie in the deep freezer. That's all I need until my in-laws ask for some.

[GoTennTitans]

I have 3 quart sized freezer bags of crappie in the deep freezer. That's all I need until my in-laws ask for some.

I’ll get in touch with this goofball miser down here and see if he’ll send you some of his.

Seriously.....how long could it take to eat over 100 quarts of crappie fillets? Gives me the pink bottom every time I think about it. GRRRRRRR!

Hey, my uncle used to teach at Campbellsville University. He and some of his college professor buddies invited us Arky guys on a Canada fishing trip a few years back. Now that was fun!!!! My arm was literally tired from catching smallmouth bass all day for 10 days straight! What a blast!

Take care, Man.

[Gone Fishin']

If I have that many in the freezer I'm about to have a big fish fry. I usually stop keeping them when I get around 15 fish. My limit is 25 but unless I'm saving up for a planned fish fry I don't keep that many. To be honest, I don't catch many limits but it's happened.

[GoTennTitans]

If I have that many in the freezer I'm about to have a big fish fry. I usually stop keeping them when I get around 15 fish. My limit is 25 but unless I'm saving up for a planned fish fry I don't keep that many. To be honest, I don't catch many limits but it's happened.

Same here. I, personally, haven’t kept 30 crappie in a single trip in probably two or three years. I did hit em once in late February in 12 fow on a jig under a cork......they were all 1.5 lb fish and they bit like I was in a big bluegill bed. One after the other for over an hour. My friend P.R. and I knew we had to be getting close to a limit each so we quit keeping them. Got back to the truck and had kept 58. Next day after we had cleaned all them big slabs, we gave fish away to friends and swore that we wouldn’t keep that many at one trip again. Now, 10-20 is just right for my family & friends that I share with.

[Ketchn]

they are right under the boat ....or were until i wrecked their day yesterday
all kidding aside yesterday the were in open water close to drop offs on large schools of bait ....
but EVERY lake varies a bit and to be sure one of 2 things has occured ...the went shallow up a creek after bait
or they went deep in the open water after bait ....most probably
typical winter program

[ezgoing]

As Ketchn said, every lake is different. In my lake last year, I found them on the slopes of 50-75 foot barrow pits between 30-45 feet. Can't say if they are there this year as it has been too windy to fish the open lake the days I have fished.

I can say that they have not been in the slips, the brush piles on the south shore of the lake nor the bridge pillars in any numbers since late November.