Thread: July crappie 7/02/23

Dr Phil and I started early to try and beat the heat and the revelers that are on vacation during this holiday week and it was a slow start. One and a half of fishing only yield 3 keeper crappie, so we moved around in search of more active fish.

It was warming up fast and the water chiggers were already out and the skiers and tubers were about to make the lake look like the inside of a washing machine. So we headed up river to a spot that we wanted to fish first thing this morning but someone had already claimed it.

This time though our spot was open which has about 1/4 mile open water on all sides so we dropped a marker buoy for a reference point, moved the boat into the proper position to present the lures correctly and put Ivan (my crazy TM) in the spot lock or anchor position and started catching crappie and about 3 yellow bass.

We ended up with 14 keepers in the live well and would have had a couple on the second limit, but the fish have learned how to jump over the net and throw the lure at the same time. I was lucky enough to catch a 14” black crappie (TARP) and a couple over 12”. Most were in the 11” range which is perfect keeping size. I have given away 9 bags of crappie in the past few days so these fish will help me restore some more. Grin.

32K cfs flow rate, 81 degree surface temp and 3/32 oz jigs with BG blue Thunder and eclipse colors were both hot lures. Fish were over 15’ deep on a drop off near the main Tennessee river channel. Chickamauga lake.

Nice box of groceries. Some good ones!