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What month of the late spring or summer seems to be the best for hanging some lanterns and doing some crappie fishing? I only get 2 or 3 weekends with my fishing buddys a year and want to find when the best time to go night fishing is.
I also would like to know if anyone would suggest any of the glow in the dark type jigs for night fishing. I have never used them.
I don't know anything about Arkansas. Here in Bama the hotter the better for catching quantity but winter and spring produce the quality bigger slabs just not that many fish. Any night is a good night if they are biting. That can be at anytime of year. But July is one of my best months by number of fish.
good night stalking techniques will work in any state you use em in if there is crappie in the lake you fishing. you may have to make some small adjustments for your particular situation tho. we fish for em year round, 12 months a year. big fish come year round, but in the late winter and spring the females will be a little heavier due to being full of eggs. the big fish are easier to catch this time of year is why id say it is the favorite time for most fishermen. If you only fishing for em several weekends a year, it would be hard to reccomend which ones to do it on, just like it would be hard to pick a weekend more than a day or to ahead of time thats gonna give you good weather. sucessful night stalking requires attention to a lot of small details that when combined together is gonna give you a good night. if you are tightlining, use rods thats gonna show you the bite, no matter how soft it is. good rods are able to show you the slightest bite, just like a balanced bobber will. choice of rods is not as important if you using em with bobbers. this pertains only if you are using minnows as in my opion you cant match for fish catching ability nightstalking. leave the jigs for daylight use. good luck and let us know how you done..
Do you change tactics when the hot weather hits? Last year the nitefishin sucked from July 1st 'til late September. When the water hit 90 degrees is when they seemed to shut off.Quote:
Originally Posted by FalconSmitty
Kunes I dont think my water heater gets the water up that hot. Man you must be fishing some shallow water. The Lake Ouachita where I fish is so deep that I guess the wind and current mix the water below the thermocline and the surface water cause it is late in August before the water gets that bath water feel. Last year the second weekend in August it was so cold you couldnt swim in it. Now last year was the exeption. Also what difference does the surface temp make if the fish are at or below the thermocline?
The thermocline is not a single temperature, it is the barrier that separates temperature bands. In a deep lake there may be more than one thermocline. The surface temp is an indication of the trend in the water temperature throughout the water column. I don't really see the need to try and identify the thermocline since fish will be where you find them. If crappies prefer 60 degree water, but the shad prefer 70 degree water, guess where the feeding crappie will be. Is your lake known to be a good crappie lake? If it's that cold maybe smallmouth or trout are a better bet.
kunes the lake is mainly known for stripers and bass. However the crappie and catfish are also a favorite. I would deffianately not say this is a cold water lake. It is really no different from any other lake in the south. Other than the lake temp just doesnt seem to get as warm as other area lakes.
The main problem for crappie addicts fishing Ouachita is there is a ton of standing dead timber back in the creek arms. This allong with the coon tail grass and hydrilla seem to really scatter the fish cause there is a ton of cover for them.
It would not be my first choice for a crappie fishing but it is a beautiful lake that we have a party barge on. I just have to fish there cause its a great place to spend the weekend with the family. There is no development on the lake, or any that can be seen from the lake. And agian the fishing is real good if you know what you are doing. Unfortunately I dont.