The temperatures have been cold.....

[LazyKB]

....but the fishing has been hot! I have been watching fishing reports on the lake on FB. Folks have been making good catches of striper and crappie. I forced myself to go Monday. It was 33 degrees when I launched. The wind chill was brisk on the ride. I checked out a couple of docks, nobody home, then went to where I caught some a month ago. They were waiting for me! I started shooting under individual slips and they started biting. I caught several then something grabbed the jig and headed to the bottom. I brought in a 14 7/8 inch slab, my personal best....until my next cast when I caught a solid 15 incher, a citation crappie here in VA. I caught a few more keepers and called it quits. Its a long drive to this lake and I usually take a day off between trips but I was back at the dock at sunup. The weather man said it was going to be colder but no wind. He missed it on both counts, warm but with a stiff breeze. I went directly to my honey hole. They were there waiting for breakfast. I shot the slips and used Pappy's vertical casting. Some would slam the jig, others would merely kiss it. Some would try to sneak off with it and some just sit there and hold it. They were hitting minnow imitations. They liked the crappie assassin alewife in minnow colors, but they would also hit Bobby Garland, blue ice and one black and silver with sparkles. G sauce was a help, hits came faster. I caught a limit. In the catch and release stage I experimented to see what they wouldn't hit. The only thing they seemed to ignore was a neon pink. They hit most anything but not as fast as those minnow imitations. This whole process has had a steep learning curve, frustrating at times, but the last two days has been ridiculously easy. I would like to think it was all about me improving, and I know some of it is, but it has to be the time of year and how much they eat.

Apologies about having to turn computer sideways, Don't drop it,

[DockShootinJack]

Congrats on the citation fish

[Chuck Adams]

....but the fishing has been hot! I have been watching fishing reports on the lake on FB. Folks have been making good catches of striper and crappie. I forced myself to go Monday. It was 33 degrees when I launched. The wind chill was brisk on the ride. I checked out a couple of docks, nobody home, then went to where I caught some a month ago. They were waiting for me! I started shooting under individual slips and they started biting. I caught several then something grabbed the jig and headed to the bottom. I brought in a 14 7/8 inch slab, my personal best....until my next cast when I caught a solid 15 incher, a citation crappie here in VA. I caught a few more keepers and called it quits. Its a long drive to this lake and I usually take a day off between trips but I was back at the dock at sunup. The weather man said it was going to be colder but no wind. He missed it on both counts, warm but with a stiff breeze. I went directly to my honey hole. They were there waiting for breakfast. I shot the slips and used Pappy's vertical casting. Some would slam the jig, others would merely kiss it. Some would try to sneak off with it and some just sit there and hold it. They were hitting minnow imitations. They liked the crappie assassin alewife in minnow colors, but they would also hit Bobby Garland, blue ice and one black and silver with sparkles. G sauce was a help, hits came faster. I caught a limit. In the catch and release stage I experimented to see what they wouldn't hit. The only thing they seemed to ignore was a neon pink. They hit most anything but not as fast as those minnow imitations. This whole process has had a steep learning curve, frustrating at times, but the last two days has been ridiculously easy. I would like to think it was all about me improving, and I know some of it is, but it has to be the time of year and how much they eat.

Apologies about having to turn computer sideways, Don't drop it,

What do you mean by citation fish?
Slot limit or something?
Thanks
Chuck


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

[LazyKB]

VA has a recognition program based on length and or weight. Each species must be a certain length minimum, 11 inches bream, 15 for crappie, etc. Anglers submit photos and details of the catch and the state issues certificates via email.

[BuckeyeCrappie]

Very fine! Thanks for sharing

[TBass89]

Those are some beautiful catches congrats on a successful trip out! Thanks for sharing dock shooting is my favorite way to catch them.


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com

[Ketchn]

Looking good for sure
Remember to never give up , it will reduce the learning curve greatly
Congrats on getting it done
KABOOM is the word