Thread: Pre-spawn Crappie Kicking In on Chickamauga

My preferred crappie fishing technique is longline trolling during the pre-spawn. I usually start in early February but I'm getting old and extreme cold kept me off the water. Temps have finally moderated and recent trips have been paying off well. I moved North so I'm exploring some of the areas farther north on Chickamauga that I have never really fished before, so I'm having to get "zoned in" on the best key areas. I'm getting there and recent trips have been good. Two patterns... sometimes trolling steep creek channel ledges that are 12 feet, dropping into 20 feet. But found real good numbers of fish yesterday in the back end of one creek, trolling 9-12 feet flat. Things should do nothing but get better for the next month or so. Heavy rains can be problematic, turning water to chocolate milk. But some of the creek on west side of the lake, with clean water running off the mountain, are staying reasonably clear, for now.

You can't go wrong taking your shadow fishing. Good job. Thanks for sharing.