C-Tom

[LOWinEYEin]

Crappie Tom
I have been tring to find Craps in a small lake/pond. The depths are mostly 14'. I think there is is a 20' hole. Where to start?

Thankx

[CrappieJohn]

If you know there are craps in there in the summer time you can catch them now as well. If a map of the lake is not available, I'd start by running around with the locator and try to find the deeper water or some breaklines, but don't necessarily look for the fish to be deep. It is early in the season yet and they could be anywhere in the water column. They will,however, have a strong relationship with deep water. Weeds? If they are present, look at the deeper edges. Mud, rock or sand bottom? Rock and sand will give you a better night or evening bite after lights out. Mud will be good for the first couple hours in the morning, last couple before dark. Water color/clarity? Dirty water will allow for a longer bite in the dayime hours. Ice/snow...how much is there? If you have good ice, but lots of snow on it this too will extend the productive hours. If you know where the 14' max is at, I'd be heading to that spot unless there is a good weedbed with some deep stuff, then I'd start there... as I stated, on the deep side of them. Do a rod with small minnows and another with a jig/waxie or maggots. If this puddle has a lot of daytime activity on it, I'd wait to fish until the activity is not so much...perhaps during the week or during iffy weather. If you do not have the electronics to do your looking for you, plan on fishing the whole water column everywhere you settle.

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Sure life happens- why wait....The Crapster....good fishing guys!
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[This message has been edited by CrappieTom (edited 12-17-2003).]

[LOWinEYEin]

Thanks Tom

I did find the smaller craps. I think there is a 20+ hole somewhere. I caught a slabber this fall. Would the bigger craps be schooled seperately? I have a FL8. How do I know if there is weeds? May be possible moving water(culvert to other pond ect.)??

Thanks again

[CrappieJohn]

Think back to this fall...were there obvious signs of weeds then? If one of the ponds has a source of water- regeneration (spring etc) then you may find some current between the two. Use care in those ares where you suspect the current, springs will have much warmer water than the lake and can erode the ice in areas of current with little forwarning. Something to consider if you are having trouble touching base with the fish in a connected water is that the other puddle may have the bulk of wintering crappies in it. Or they may have daily lines of travel that you haven't yet crossed at the right time. If you have a vex, look in the manual for a clearer idea of how to decipher the weeds from other bottom rubble. Weeds will still be quite apparent as it is too early for them to have degenerated enough to be hard to distinguish. The big key is persistance. As to whether the larger and smaller fish are together...yes and no. They will hardly ever be very far apart from one another, but the larger fish will definely be in thier own company. They may be higher up in the water column than the tots or they could be underneath , hence my suggestion you fish all of the water top to bottom. Again...be persistant and really work the puddle. The rewards will come to you.

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Sure life happens- why wait....The Crapster....good fishing guys!
[email protected]

[LOWinEYEin]

Thanx Tom

[CrappieJohn]

WhaTT...You indicated that you had caught a very nice fish there earlier. Something that I would caution you on. In small waters, you will often find that there are a mixture of fish sizes...tons of the tots, a bunch of mediocre ones and once in a while a line breaker. By not keeing those biggies and taking a few of the mid-sized fish for the table, you can help improve the odds of increasing thier numbers ( the big ones). You will be removing the fish that are in an over-lap as far as food sources are concerned. The mid-sized fish are able to feed on the minnow life, but also are still small enough that they actively feed on the micro- plankton and smaller invertabrates in the water....they are the ultimate form of competition with thier kind within that particular biome. Reducing that md-way fish is going to create more food for the small fish, thus allowing a bit more growth on that end, and will greatly increase the amount of "meat type" food that sustains a solid large crappie population. When you figure this spot out, take some fish for the table, but I would urge you to consider letting the larger fish swim. And don't let the cat out of the bag!

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Sure life happens- why wait....The Crapster....good fishing guys!
[email protected]