Thread: Thunderstorm crappie with The Duke

I had plans to go to Saginaw Bay walleye fishing with Steve today but, after seeing a forecast that called for thunderstorms and stiff winds, we decided to stay local and catch some crappie. As luck would have it, Jeff also had the day off so I picked him up at 7am and headed to Morrison Lake to meet up with Steve.

When we pulled into the launch shortly before 8, a thunder head was building in the western sky and flashes of lightning could be seen in the distance. After checking the radar, we made the call to not launch the boat until the front had passed, which wound up being less than 30 minutes.

Once the boat was in the water, we motored to the south east corner of the lake and set up for some long line drifting. Another front had moved in so we deployed the bimini top and Steve and Jeff nestled under it, leaving me to sit in the rain. The bite was slow but steady and after a couple of drifts, we had a few in the box and lots of throw backs. The next front brought more thunder and lightning so we headed to shore and tied off at the dock of a distant relative of mine until that front passed.

That's the way the early part of the day went, rain and thunder then clearing skies and hints of sunshine. The bite continued to be slow but steady, with white, watermelon and cricket being the preferred colors of Sliders, all on 1/16 oz jigs. Around noon the skies started to clear and the wind picked up and the fish got a little more picky, wanting white over any other color. We caught a lot of fish, many that could have been kept, but threw most of them back, keeping 10 crappie for Steve and Judy and 5 bluegills and 9 crappie that I will give to a customer of mine. Even though my fishing partners made me fish in the rain, it was still a fantastic day on the water with lots of laughs and harassment. One of the highlights was when Jeff hooked up at the same time I hooked up and we caught the same crappie, it had eaten both of our jigs. Minutes later, the same thing happened but my jig came out at the boat. Strange but true. And if you're wondering where The Duke comes into the story, well, that would be in reference to how a carpenter walks after a long, hot, sweaty day working in the sun. Right, Steve. Here's a few pictures of our day on Morrison Lake. Enjoy.