Crappie fishing California Style + Youtube Video

[LouisianaFishNut]

I watched the video. Looked like you spent the entire time in one spot. What was significant about that spot that was holding the fish? I saw what looked like bait fish in a school. Was it that or some good structure and depth that was holding the fish? I'm heading fishing this weekend and will try the twitch to see if it works for me. Thanks for the pics/video and tips.
Scott

[GRIZZ]

So many things about this post that make me smile.

1. Stella!!! You rock!! What rod were you using? See that people?? Thats a real reel.

2. Thats how to crappie fish. Jigging light line with light jigs, using touch to detect bites. Yes!! great vid and pics BTW.

3.

Thanks for the good comments guys. The crowding wasnt too bad actually on Sunday. Saturday there were about 15 boats and some tried to muscle in and cast so close some of their jigs landed INSIDE our boat. Most were very courteous and respectful.

Thats what its like fishing in NY with the other boats. They come right up on you and often circle you when your gettin em good. You guys discussing guns and doing donuts around people in the rude people post should take note that when you fish in states where there are more people you have to learn to deal with large numbers of boats.

Does Clear lake have any white crappies and do you ever get any of those legendary clear lake bass when your crappie fishing? For those not familiar with California's trophy LMB lakes. Clear lake is one of the lake a world record LMB could definitely come from. Thats 22 - 25 lb LMB. Clear is definitely on my list of must fish lakes someday.

Could you give us a thumbnail sketch of the crappie fishing scene on Clear and other lakes you fish in your neck of the woods?

I see you've been here for a year, but you haven't posted much. Welcome to crappie.com and I look forward to your future posts.

[skiptomylu]

Good Video work and also a good job catching the crappie.

I would love to fish that lake sometime, but really doubtful I will get the chance.

Just how clear is clear lake? Looks pretty clear on the video, but it's hard to tell very much.

Skip

[russ]

Nice fish and video!

Russ
www.midwestcrappie.com

[mighty]

Boy i wish I knew about crappie when I lived in Oakland.

Nice catch their and I will definitely be using that twitch.

[DENNIS BOWERS]

I too enjoyed the pictures and video!!Like the others I will be trying the twitch tomorrow!! Welcome and look forward to your post!!

[skleppe]

I love that reel, but its very hard for the wife to understand why I need another one. Very nice job and post.

[SheldonS]

Cool video....and neat hook set. How does one do that twitch? You hold the line and just twitch it with your finger?

[Grass Hopper]

Hi Grizz,

Yes its overkill, but I fish with a Stella SR 2000S. Thats the Japanese version of the 2000FB, but with a shallower spool. It has a one of the smoothest drags which comes in useful when you accidentally tangle with the huge bass that inhabit the lake and even with crappie, spooled with 2lb fluoro, you really have to depend on that drag. The reel I used in the video was actually a Twinpower Mg. Its the magnesium Japanese version of the Sustain, but unlike the Stella, its pretty different than the US version. Basically it has the guts of a Stella, but with a lighter reel body and its missing a few ball bearings. Its actually a tad bit lighter than the Stella, but not quite as smooth. The reason I use a 2000 size reel instead of a 1000 is I throw VERY light baits, on occasion 1/16oz in windy or rough conditions, but usually 1/32, 1/64, or lighter and found the smaller spool of the 1000 size reel to causes the line to coil and will not cast as far and won't handle as smoothly.

The rod I use is a G.Loomis SR-841 in IMX flavor. Super light, sensitive, with a fairly fast action and is not at all noodley like many UL's so I have excellent control of my lure and sensitivity isn't compromised. I also picked a rod which was 7 feet because unlike the tiny 4-5foot UL rods, I like a rod that moves a lot of line on a hookset because sometimes I have a large amount of slack between myself and a fish. A 7 foot rod also has the advantage of giving delicate 2lb line a bit more protection from sudden runs and a tarpon-sized hookset. lol. But also nothing longer because then it starts becoming unwieldy and I lose some sensitivity. Yeah, I know I'm kind of particular, but for my style of fishing with small artificial lures, the Loomis 841 is a perfect match. And as sensitive as that rod is, there are MANY hits that occur which are so light you cannot feel them with rod alone, however, with your finger tip on the line twitching it, you will not only feel with greater sensitivity, but you can also detect bites visually by observing the motion of your line. Kind of hard to explain. I guess this is a variation to your normal line watching technique such as when shooting docks where you look for the tell tail "tic" after reeling in the slack to maintain contact with your lure. However some of the delicate takes won't actually register a "tic". With the proper twitch, you actually hold the line slacked and twitch at the slack. This will impart a very subtle ticking of the bait as it descends and swings back toward you in a pendulum path, but more importantly it imparts a regular motion to the line so that it almost vibrates. Watch the last few feet of line right where it enters the water. With each twitch, you'll see the line vibrate in almost a sine wave pattern. With a vicious hit, you'll see a distinctive jump in the slack line outside of the normal wave pattern, or with the delicate takes, you'll just see the amplitude of the wave suddenly decrease or become muffled. These are the hits that most people miss. A fish mouthing your bait will not register a tic on the line, but if you are twitching the line you WILL see the line behave differently when a fish is on. As the line swings in, drop your rod tip down. If you KNOW the fish are under the boat, hold the lure there and deadstick it. Give it the occasional twitch and concentrate switching from line watching to "feeling" for the bite. Your jig will almost be motionless and any bump you feel, set the hook. Similarly, any time you feel the weight of your lure disappear, set the hook. To practice, tie on a jig while at home and leave 3 feet of line out. Hold your rod horizontal to the ground and feel the weight of the jig. Slowly set the jig on soft carpet and see if you can feel the difference in weight. If you can, not only do you have a sensitive enough rod, but you'll be able to catch the fish most people miss. Watching the video, you'll see huge schools of of shad. These are well fed crappie and they won't actively grab at your bait. But if presented correctly, crappie will grab your jig as if in a reaction bite. The secret to catching these well-fed, tight-lipped fish is 1.) convincing presentation and 2.) being able to detect the most delicate of bites.

The twitch



Fish on!




Yes, crowds are not only a big part of Clear Lake fishing, but California fishing in general. Some people are courteous, but many will literally bump boats with you. What most people don't realize is that the crappie are everywhere, and they only need the correct technique to catch them. But when they see you pulling in fish every single cast, they will motor up and cast next to you thinking the fish are only around your location. Kind of annoying, but something I've come to accept. Fishing in a crowd forces you to change and refine a technique that makes your lure stand out amongst the ones thrown by other people. Once you've got that locked down, you can fish a crowded spot and still produce even when no one else is getting hit. Still wont gun the motor or return the rudeness because I refuse to stoop to their level. What I will do is try to show them the correct technique and that the fish are everywhere, not just where we are at.

Crowds




The float bite is actually pretty decent and a great equalizer for folks who haven't learned the twitch, but for some reason I don't see many people use that technique. When I do use one I use a long European style float and depending on the size/weight of lure and the delicateness of the bite, will weigh it with ring weights accordingly. The float sits motionless with exception of very light pops to it with the rod tip. Any sudden jump not imparted by myself or if I see the float begin to rise will result in a hook set.

As for white crappie, Clear Lake does have them, but not in large numbers and I believe there may be some interbreeding between the species. I have yet to see a white crappie with distinct bars in its color pattern, but by counting spines on the dorsal fin I know not all of the crappie we catch are purely black crappie.

The crappie fishing on CL is phenomenal and each winter thousands of fisherman descend upon the lake. Those in the know can catch a lot of fish and 100 fish days are very common. Otherwise it can be an extremely frustrating experience because you are seeing hoards of crappie underneath your boat with your graph, but they won't touch your jig if not presented in a way that they want. This is truly a lake where 10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish. The unsavory characters will snag fish because the crappie are so thick each time you cast out you will feel your jig will bump across the bodies of multiple fish. I remember one day when the bite was particularly slow. Even I thought they had moved off. A bass angler who was pre-fishing dropped in an Aquavue camera and told me to hop in his boat and take a look. The crappie were SO thick below it was unreal!

And yes I've tangled with the legendary bass here at CL.







First only accidentally while crappie fishing, but this summer I finally decided I'd try and target them specifically with bass gear. Bass fishing is a whole different ball of wax and I still don't know what I'm doing, but because CL is such a bass rich environment I was still able to land a few lunkers. I think the bass fishery at CL is amazing because of the immense amount of forage. There is an enormous amount of threadfin shad and once the juvenile bass reach decent size, they start chowing on hitch, which is CL's version of stocker trout.

Living in the Bay area I'm truly lucky to have CL so close to me. This is my third season fishing crappie there. The first year I had no idea what I was doing and just did a lot of watching and not much catching. Last year I finally learned and locked down the basic technique. This year I hope to refine it and maybe add a few new tricks.

I stumbled upon this website a while ago while researching crappie. I haven't been on here much or posted because the techniques and tackle discussed here seemed foreign for a California guy. Spider rigging? What the heck is a Wally Marshall? How the heck can you fish more than 1 rod at a time? Why doesn't everyone use 2lb line? I hope to spend more time here in the future and see what I'm missing. Crappie truly are a beautiful and amazing fish and who knows, one day I may find myself fishing in the South spider rigging with Wally Marshals. lol.

Hope you guys find some of this helpful and applicable. Kind of curious to see how Cali techniques fair in other waters.

Tight lines,
Nelson

[gooch]

Awesome post man thanks for sharing.

Get you a ice chest for the next trip and take some home will ya?