weather article

[CrappieJohn]

I have an article on the front page of this site regarding how weather can affect fishing. To show how it can do so, listen to this.

Right about the time the crappies would have spawned this spring at my pet puddle, we got heavy, heavy rains. Not just once, but about three rounds of this non-sense. All the extra water drove the water levels much higher than usual and filled the lake with thickly colored colder water. The main lake rose by about three feet and a no-wake enforcement was put in place. The amount of debris was incredible.

Rick and I fished this "favorite" lake yesterday in the morning for a couple hours. In that time frame we simply hammered crappies. Of the many we caught- some up to and over 12"- I weeded out seven in the 11 inch range for dinner as well as four 8 1/2 inch sunfish. The water clarity in some areas was not too bad- almost back to normal-yet in other areas it was still simply "thick". We fished cleaner areas and spots that offered deep water and wood....typical post spawn fishing by casting jigs and slowly retrieving them. The crappies were suspended at six feet over 19-21 feet of water.

When I was cleaning the fish at home I got a real eye-opener....five of the seven crappies and all of the four nicer sunnies kept had eggs in them. Not just small skiens, but heavy, loose, runny, ripe, eggs.

The day before the rains began, I fished this same body of water and found males on nests and even caught some hens that had already spawned. The water was at 67 degrees in a few spots, but 70 was more the norm in the majority of the lake. Spawning had begun in earnest and was well underway. My assumption was that the fish would be through the ritual within a few days based on what I was actually finding thru catching. And then the foul water came.

Simply rising water does little to change what the fish do. Water laden with silt and chilled by days-on end of rain and hail, up radically and heavy with current, spell out a different story though. The silted water cannot get enough sunlight to any nests, even in very shallow water. The water rose so much that the nests were no longer in viable nesting water. Silt settles out of the water and covers eggs that have been laid and suffocates them. The dirty water had dumped 14 degrees in temp over four days! When all of these factors get combined, things just get hairy for the fish and they retreat back into deeper water where current breaks can afford some protection from the current and water temps are a bit warmer. BUT...they do not even attempt to spawn in water bearing these conditions and simply hold the spawn.

Now whether it is too late in the season for these fish to resume what they started or not will remain to be seen. The male fish were of normal color once again, having lost thier black attitude. The fish were a long way from traditional spawning waters and were caught in what can be best described as "post-spawn" waters and using techniques favored during that period. The one other time that I can recall this sort of event happening when the crappies were spawning resulted in a dud year.They did not attempt to get it started again. I think that this will be the case once again. The water is not entirely back to normal depths, has not cleared sufficiently in the better spawning areas, and is yet too cool for any serious activity to be apparent.

The bottom line for you who read this is to consider how weather can change things in one swift blow. For those who rigidly follow a calender, this can be a shock. Not only can the weather keep you off the water for longer than you like, it can change the way a lake produces for years to come! This mentioned body of water has basically been unfishable for almost a month. Now when we should be seeing "summer fish", we are finding spawn laden fish. Not all of this is on the "down side". Nature takes care of her own. The lake will return to normal and things will become as we expect them to be. It just takes time.

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Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom

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[Matt Johnson]

Well put Tom

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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Matt Johnson Outdoors
Metro Area Ice Fishing, Team Catch-N, and more...

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[BUCKNAKED]

Great post Tom, Thanks