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I took a good deal of liberty with Mr. Lightfoot's lyrics to get to my point: where do the crappie go in natural mid Michigan lakes after Labor Day?
I simply can't find them. I'm not marking many fish and suspect that the ones I do are gills.
On a positive note, the warm spell we had in Sept and this one now have had the bigger pike on the prowl. In three outings I've boated 37 with only 11 being sub-legal.
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Cool title! Love the "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" he sang and got to hear it on the radio again a few time after his passing in May. Haven't been out in the last couple weeks in Michigan. Just returned from a perch fishing trip in Minnesota so not much help for Michigan waters. But I will probably try my usual long lining along the weeds when I do. I too have caught some nice bi-catch this time of the year in the past doing that. The walleye and the pike are putting on the feed bag for winter. Glad your getting out. My favorite time of year to be on the water. Colors are cool, very few pleasure boaters and fishing pressure is light as most are headed into the woods now.
The long lining jigs doesn't seem to be producing any crappie, either along the weed edge or working over deeper water.
After a lap of no crappie I switch over to the pike lures.
If it weren't for the hot weather I wouldn't be fishing at all, but it's too hot to take the dogs hunting for grouse. Looks like that about to change so yesterday may have been my last day in the boat for this year.
I was just curious if there's a pattern shift of where crappie go in fall from summer.
Happy finding all!
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I would think that they would still be in the weeds but like Jeff I haven't been out in close to a month(other than the Minnesota perch trip). Hoping to get out soon.
BB, here in CT I'm finding them suspended over the deeper holes of my lakes. Deepest water around here that I can fish with my little rowboat is about 35' and lately they've been schooled up out there rather than along the edges and shallower areas where I had success over the course of the summer.
Over the last few trips, they've been between 10 and 20' down over the deep holes. Our surface water temps are in the mid to upper 60's or so.
Went back to night feastingAttachment 472618
Those look like Lake St. Clair crappie.
They are
I go every week but I didn't go last week. The two weeks before that I was finding fish suspended. However I couldn't get them to bite on anything. I did notice up until 2 weeks ago the suspended fish I found were sitting below the thermocline which indicates to me that they aren't very active. I fished 3 different lakes in Montcalm County where I have been catching them all summer just off the weed lines. Two weeks ago, October 6th and 7th, I found that the thermocline had dropped from around 4-5 feet down to 12 feet. The crappie still weren't biting (on my presentation) but since then I have watch a ton of fall crappie fishing videos and realize I might have been moving my bait too much. When they have that turnover headache they might still bite but I think you might have to hang it right in their face and slow down a lot. I'm hoping to get enough work done today to be able to get out and do some scouting and dial in my new electronics (moved up the Garmin 73 SV from the little Garmin Strike 4) but I might try to fish crappie if I feel I've found them. I will definitely be out Friday morning. If I figure anything out for these mid-Michigan inland lakes I will make a post.. Tight Lines!