surfacing crappies

[ozzie]

I have been out on a lake recently and have been having the crappies surface to the point where I can see their back fins sticking out of the water. We have tried everything and can catch a hand full but the action should/could be better. I have tried setting the bobber to be anywhere from 3" to 2' down and have also tried floating jigs and casting small jigs with no bobbers at all. I have used minnows, waxies, gulp baits and a variety of plastics.

Am I missing something here? There are litteraly thousands of fish in this area and like the other night there were 3 of us and I think we ended up with maybe 15 crappies......the tough fish have been over the 4-8 ft depths....I also found the same situation in the shallows and they tend to be easier to catch in the shallows when they are surfacing....any ideas besides getting a fly rod and learning how to do that?

Thanks

[Jim Uran]

I wonder what they are chasing? That must be frustrating!!! A fly presentation might be in order. Or some tiny jigs, 1/64 or so w/o live bait. A hair jig or something in that category might get them buggers to bite.

[OnAFly]

Did it look like they were eating anything off the surface? There are some small flies that will be hatching right about now. They might be eating them as the are emerging.

If you've got a fly rod, throw our a small dry fly. See what happens.

Try throwing a dry fly on a casting bobber if you don't have access to a fly rod. Basically, try to get something that is small and sits near the surface.

[ozzie]

you know it is hard to tell if they are actually eating anything as the water has alot of junk in it right now but they aren't slurping on the top but rather you can see the fins and then they will scatter and the surface will just explode!!! sometimes the area that explodes is around 5' wide and 15' long.....it is just amazing and frusterating at the same time but I have been just sitting back in awe watching them surface and when I get in the middle of them I will have 3-6 groups all around me causing alot of commotion on top of the water!!!

I have not tried hair jigs yet but I will have to tie them to bobbers as they are so lite and I have to cast a good distance most of the time. If I get too close they scatter and if I place my bait in there area they scatter so I have been casting past them and then retrieving into the packs sometimes continuing through the group and other times stopping in the middle....it is a very frusterating scenario but it is a better scenario than not being able to locate or have a bite at all and wondering where they are.

Last night before the lake went calm I did catch a few on the first drop 5-6 ft of water with tube jigs and then switched to a bobber and minnow 3' down in 6' of water and had a little success. Then I went shallow for the last 45 minutes of light and caught a good amount untill it was really hard to see the bobber.

Thanks for the insight guys!! gotta love the challenging spring season bite for crappies.......everyone thinks they are so easy to catch but on this lake this year I have not seen alot of success but then again when I am finding the fish I am usaully the only boat on the lake!! must be the reason why this population of crappies stays so healthy when the lake takes alot of pressure especially in the winter months and the spring.......

[Jim Uran]

They are definitely a challenge to find! When you do find them, you definitely have to work for them most of the time. It when the water temps reach the low 60's the fish are more aggressive and susceptible to us. Isn't it great just to get out and challenge yourself though!!! Let us know when you figure them out. Good post ozzie.

[whitebassman]

On my lake they are doing the same thing and exploding. Though i believe most of those are bluegills. The crappie bite has slowed now perhaps due to other forage available now. I have had luck with just casting a plain black hook and minnow and slowly working it back. Even with fly hatch, the crappies still cant resist a minnow. Gotta be a lively minnow though.

[carpmanjake]

i have experienced several occassions where crappies were feeding topwater, and ONLY topwater. its fairly easy to tell them from bluegills by the way they take the fly.

use a bubble bobber, you can fill the bobber with water, making it very easy to cast. its basically fly fishing with spinning tackle

use surface flies that immitate minnows, flies, ants, etc.

i have had some success with zara pooches (2" zara spooks)

[pushbutton]

topwater usually means they are in complete feedbag mode......i know you mentioned this.... but i always take the bobber off and pitch a 1/32 and reel in a steady consistent motion with the rod way up trying to keep the bait as high in the water column as possible.

[Big "T"]

Try a small beetle spin, with small jig and small white mr. twister tail. Reel fast enough to keep the lure close to the surface. If they are in feeding mode they will hit it.

[ozzie]

thanks for the tips guys!! it is hard to think outside the box when you have several approaches and when you throw the tackle box at them and they still don't bite.........sometimes it is very hard to think of tricks that you have never been exposed to......I guess this is why I like to fish with some different people at times just to see new techniques or learn how they present a bait or attack a situation!!! Good luck this weekend!!!