Thread: Searching?Puzzled on Old Hickory

I think I'm just gonna have to wait to tightline the bushes,the fish aint on'em and I see tons og baitfish out roaming the river and creek channel. I think I'm just gonna go out there with a light at night and catch some stripes and maybe a few crappies. The cooler water will be here and a couple months then maybe the bushes will start producing.

Go to Drakes creek and never leave. Its the best one on the lake.

Originally Posted by Hairjig

Howdy fellers, New to Crappie.com but it looks fun so I joined up!
BUT.....here's how I feel banghead I got some bushes out in the lower part of Old Hickory and have had a time finding any fish either on the bushes or out on the creek channels. I've caught a few but I just don't know where these Old Hick crappie go when the heat is on??? My bushes are in anywhere from 11 to 21 FOW along the channels and in ditches but it seems the fish are not in the creeks period! Any idea where they go in the summer? I know they are there somewhere.

Hairjig,

I wouldn't spend much time back up in the creeks in the summer on OHL. You'll pick up more of them if you focus on the mouths of creeks and the creek channels of large creeks like Station Camp and Drakes Creek. They tend to hang in the deeper water (12' - 20') and they'll move up and down the water column all day. I pick up most OHL summer time crappie by trolling 200 and 300 series Bandit crank baits in black, chart, and white. Trolling also allows you to pull your lures on a even line through the water as opposed to tight lining or spider rigging, which will bounce your bait/jigs around with each jet skier/wake board boat that passes (which number by the million on OHL). Crappie don't fool around with a jig that's bouncing all around.

Try the crank baits. They'll look too big, but I promise they're not.

Good luck. And welcome to the forum.