Low H2O, GO!

I went out to one of my favorite lakes in Durham County yesterday, hoping to get into some crappie. The parking lot was empty when I got there, because the water level was so low the ramps were out of the water and trailered boats couldn't launch. I had to slog through knee deep mud to launch my kayak, but that also meant that I'd probably have 300+ acre lake to myself. It is all about desire, you gotta want to go.

Mist was shrouding my way as I paddled down the channel, allowing me to get closer to cormorants, kingfishers, and herons. A Bald Eagle took flight when it saw me coming. It was shaping up to be a great day already. All those birds are the best fishermen on the lake, so I figured my chances ought to be good if so many of them were hanging around. There were a lot of snags and dead trees washed up in the shallower water, so I waited until the deeper water to set any lines out. The low water helped concentrate the fish and limit cover access.
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I pull Flicker Shad crankbaits mostly because this lake is loaded with black crappie, which hold shallower than the white crappie do. I went with a flashy pink on the left rod, a slick mouse color crankbait on the right rod, and set both back around 100 feet behind the boat, running 8 feet deep. I caught a few small crappie to start, but not the number or size I expected. About an hour in, I left one reel in free spool longer than usual, which immediately drew a strike from a thick 12 inch fish. The lightbulb in my head went off and within minutes I recognized the pattern. The crappie were holding off steep ledges and points beside of deep water channels. Man, did they want that Flashy Pink Flicker Shad in a bad way. Some of the fish were hooked down in the throat or with both sets of trebles on either side of the mouth.

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I ended up catching 40 crappie and 3 small bass. Fifteen crappie were over 12 inches, with the biggest three measuring 14 inches. Twenty one crappie were between 10 & 12 inches. I had to leave at 1:30 because of planned family obligations. Considering that I wasted the first ninety minutes paddling around, fishing at the wrong depth, and the ones I missed or pulled off the hook, that's some steady action. I hate to have to leave the lake. It was a great day and definitely worth the effort. Now, I need to go clean the mud off of my boat the the fishy smell off my life vest.

Good luck next time you go.

Jim

Awesome. Great report. Sounds and looked like a great day. Congrats on a super day and super pictures. Hate the water is so low though. Makes it hard for boat and bank fishers to share your fun. Water down this way is getting lower daily from what I see crossing the upper end of Wylie/Catawba river.

Sent from my XT1650 using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

Great lookin fish!
Carefull what you Pray for, earlier in the year, super low water here.
Everyone was Prayin for the June / July boomers to start.
Now with the flood from the hurricane, ramps are closed and homes are flooded.
You got a GREAT lookin lake there!

A great trip. I need some of that!!