First Crappie Trip

I did my first trip this year to lake Western Branch if Suffolk. I found plenty of fish and plenty of lock jaw.

I found fish suspended in the main channel and over stumps. I fished with minnows no takers. I fished 3 hours moving around I didn't get a bite until I put a jig and minnow on Red and chartruse. 5 minutes later I got a nice white perch. Nothing much after that except pinhead yellow perch stealing minnows. Tried reeling up into the suspended fish still no bites. :confused:

Seeing all of those fish and no bites was frustrating, water temps were 72 in the morning and 76 by 2 PM.

We never fished Western Branch, but fishing Prince under similar conditions figured out by using nightcrawlers that a lot of the fish deep like you described were bluegills and shellcrackers. We did find active crappies suspended 8' to 12' around the bridges and dead trees in the Girl Scout cove. I think the depth was a function of light pentetration.