Where Do Crappie Go In Muddy Water???

[Gill Fisher]

This Winter, since New Years has, been pretty rainy in Upstate SC. Lake Hartwell is a clear water mountain lake on the SC/Ga border. From our house in SC, we can look across the neighbor’s yard and see the Georgia State Park. For the last month or so, with all the rain, our clear water lake has become very muddy. And the crappie have disappeared. We have fished brush piles, docks and break lines that usually produce fish, but not now. We haven’t gotten so much as a bite in several weeks. My buddy has lived here a lot longer than me and knows the lake better than me. We are both retired and can fish several days a week, but he fishes more than me. But the crappie have disappeared. He has a Garman fish finder in the boat, but we don’t have the latest live scan technology. But we do have side scan as well as down scan, mapping etc. The fish have either left our whole area, or else, they must be widely scattered. So, what do you guys think our strategy should be? What can we do to catch some fish? We both fish jigs and we usually fish straight down while moving slowly. We know of one dock that almost always gives us some catches. There are flooded creeks where we know the location of several brush piles. We have put in Christmas trees for several years, and he has been doing so for 15 years. But where are the crappie and what can we do to catch some? Any suggestions, tips, tricks, etc? Thanks.

[Grainraiser]

What's the water temperature. They may be hugging the bottom which makes them difficult to see on DS or Livescope. Here is Texas they come more shallow when the water gets real muddy.

[Ketchn]

my guess is open water roaming , can be tough stuff , might be 3 or 4 foot down just kinda wandering around , seen that a time or 2 trying to get after them in a cup of coffee with too much creamer .....
or the opposite and they sit down so tight to things you can't really see them well ....
hard to say for sure

[BON TEMPS]

They still have to eat. Follow the food and they will be there.

Without the bright sun pushing them to the shade of structure they could be spread out swimming and not bunched up in the typical pattern.

If it’s cold I’ve caught them with mud on their bellies because they are on the muddy warmer bottom.

BON TEMPS !!

[Ketchn]

most bait fish rise up in terribly silty waters trying to avoid the settling sediments and lower oxygen associated with those conditions ,,,,,so yep ,,,,, follow that bait is the word

[NIMROD]

Here when water rises and gets muddy they tend to suspend in open water .

[NIMROD]

They still have to eat. Follow the food and they will be there.

Without the bright sun pushing them to the shade of structure they could be spread out swimming and not bunched up in the typical pattern.

If it’s cold I’ve caught them with mud on their bellies because they are on the muddy warmer bottom.

BON TEMPS !!

I have heard fishermen say they were sitting on the bottom with mud on their bellies . I catch them deep and when bringing them up fast with bellies full of Shad . The pressure change caused them to empty their bowels .

[bugman]

Look for them to be shallow even if they are out roaming chasing shad like they are here sidescan creeks(coves) i'd bet they are pushing shad right now and if you see a school of baitfish you can bet they will be around some where without livescope it will make it tough to locate them but they will be close drop a black/chartreuse or an orange/chartreuse under a bobber and fish em slow.

[DrNip]

I was going to say buried in the mud and hard to see. Have you tried two pole trolling with a double jig on each rod? Keep the bottom jig close to the bottom.