please help

[redman]

i have a 40 acre spring fed pond on a ranch in eagle lake. i catch huge bass on a regular basis, but there are HUGE crappie as well. the problem is that i can only find the crappie after a couple of days of good rain. there is an irrigation pipe that drains out of a rice field after it rains, and if you catch them at the right time when the pipe is flowing you are in for a fun morning. the fly rod is a blast. i guess they hold in deeper water regularly? anyway i cant find them and i need some tips on tackle and depth please, any help would be appreciated.

[fishjohn]

hey redman i'll put my 2 cents worth in. #1 when you catch those green carp knock'en in the head and feed them to the raccoons.#2 crappie change depth with the seasons (temperature). Deeper in the dead of winter and the summer months, shallower during the milder months. The easiest way to find them is with a good fishfinder and a boat. If you are fishing from the bank and don't have standing timber you should probably think about putting some brush piles out within casting distance from the bank, preferably atleast 10' deep. As far as tackle goes ultra-light to meduim light with minnows or tube jigs for vertical fishing, and thripple ripples for cast and retrieve. This time of year you should find them about 5-7' deep early and late, and around 10' when the sun is high. Sorry I don't know a thing about fly-fishing. Anyway congrats on having a great place to fish and I hope this helps a little. Good Luck and good fishing, Fishjohn


P.S. Take a kid fishing that doesn't get to.

[BRITT]

i have a 40 acre spring fed pond on a ranch in eagle lake. i catch huge bass on a regular basis, but there are HUGE crappie as well. the problem is that i can only find the crappie after a couple of days of good rain. there is an irrigation pipe that drains out of a rice field after it rains, and if you catch them at the right time when the pipe is flowing you are in for a fun morning. the fly rod is a blast. i guess they hold in deeper water regularly? anyway i cant find them and i need some tips on tackle and depth please, any help would be appreciated.

Hey Redman.

In my opinion:

If your flyfishing for crappie, your only going to catch them when their shallow. That is why you catch them when the pipe is flowing fresh/ cooler water into your pond. Also it is dumping insects, crayfish, ect... in there also. After it settles down and warms up again, they will go back to deeper water, except during the spawn. ( Probally in Feb. for your pond.) If you want to catch more crappie, set out some brush or stakebeds in the deeper parts of your pond, and you can predict their whereabouts. You will also pick up some bass on the structure also. ( providing you change to a spinning reel with your choice of tube bait, or jig.)
An ole wise man once said about crappie " If your not snaggin, your not baggin.

Good luck. I hope this was some help. :p

[percher]

I live on a little 20 acre lake and the only way to consitantly catch Crappie is to put out some brush tops to concentate them. I don't use any pine, cedar, or soft woods. Willow, gum, or hardwoods will work best. I weight the bottom and put a two liter cola bottle in the top to keep em standing up. this way it covers most depths that Crappie will be using. You can take a piece of PVC and bolt a block about three feet up inside it to use to place bambo stick-ups in an area. Just put the Bambo up in the PVC and use it to drive the stalk into the bottom. Be sure they are placed about 4 feet underwater to keep others out of your spot. This works very good on my pond. Let us know how it goes. Seeya, Don