skunked again

[jt24]

I took my annual trip to my favorite crappie lake last week end and came home without a crappie. I only get to this lake once or if i am lucky twice in the winter and the last two years i have been blanked! 3 years prior to these i have done good to excellent. Its a 540 acre lake with a maximum depth of 29ft. I have fished the same general area as always and i know they are there but wont bite. I have pulled my permanent these last two years so i dont move much(but am willing). It was nice weather this past week so i did try swallower but didnt have any success. This lake has kicked out a far amount of 15" slabs the years prior with most being 12-14. I know the sooner to get on the ice the better the fishing has been but why would they just quit biting? I would be willing to email the lake map to someone to help me figure out where to look after the good or typical bite has stopped. One other note is that i have only once and by accident caught slabs in open water. I have tried to find them but maybe i am looking in all the wrong spots. Thanks for any help. Jamie

[Matt Johnson]

Drop me an e-mail with the lake map, maybe I can help you out.

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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First Choice Guide Service

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Catch-N Tackle and Bio Bait
MarCum

[rockhardinmn]

Matt,,, you shouldnt need the map ,, most all the lakes in mn are mapped on the dnr site( not the best thou) .Matt hope you dont take offense to me throwing in my 2 cents worth . if ya care to have me take a look i will also give ya the spots i'd hit 1st. email " [email protected] "

[fishnutbob]

jt24, Hope I can help, I have won several crappie tournaments on many different Lakes summer and winter, from waconia to Minnetonka to little cut foot on winni and the best for hughe crappies Rainy Lake. Are you seeing fish on your finder come and look at your bait and not bite? I usually fish a bobber with a # six hook glow white or red with a minnow I also want a hook so the minnow is horizontal, hooked at the tail or top of the fin and the other hole with Fl-18 I fish a number 10 or 12 with larve. and I use at least 3 or 4 larve. change your larve often after each fish put on new bait. When its a tough crappie bite Larve will out fish minnows, if you see them come to the larve I hold it in their face if i dont get a bite I work up to get them to follow then I drop it slow bellow them and let it sit, you just need to work them, if your on fish. Location is important fish will move each year as water level changes.on your small lake not seeing the map I prefer to fish The deepest hole first that has soft bottom or mud because crappies feed on small plackton which hatch in the mud. Next I would look at the map and see if a feeder creek flows into a back bay which means water is moving the feed and if its on the north end the sun warms these areas faster in winter, I would find the first break and move off it to the deepest hole if its thirty or twenty after the break fish the deepest hole. Again if you see fish and they wont bite down size and use Larve youll be surprised, When I fish Rainy which has huge crappies on Larve they run 1lb 2ozs to over 2lbs most come on the Larve. Good Luck. merry x-mas

[Matt Johnson]

rockhardinmn,
No offense taken. I just didn't want jt24 to have to give up the lake name here in the forums if they didn't want to. The DNR lake finder sure is nice to have, makes things easier when searching a new lake outside of your area

jt24,
I e-mailed you back. Let me know if it makes sense.

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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First Choice Guide Service

[email protected]
Catch-N Tackle and Bio Bait
MarCum
Stone Legacy

[CrappieJohn]

Jt24... If you are using minnows and they do not seem real interested in them...go way down in minnow size, using the tiniest ones in the buchet and try fishing them on a beaded hook. I use a small chartreuse and a small glow bead on a #6 tru-turn Aberdeen panfish hook. Simply slide them on the hook and turn thr hook eye down and put a spot of super glue on the bead whish is facing up. Whem the fish get funky, the respond better to the glow and colored products, but the also are going to want small. The glow hooks can appear much larger than they are because of the glowing, as can some of the jigs that boast the "new glow" finishes. That tiny glow bead will guide them until they can see the color and that tiny bait offering. When down sizing is mentioned, it is not only in the literal sense that we speak, but in a perceived sense as well. Any thing that is glowing in water dark enough to see it is going to come off as much larger than it is because the water will absorb some of that shine...the same effect as the sun shining thru thin clouds. Another key is to remind yourself that all waters are not created equally....what works as a "preferred" bait for crappies in one lake may not so much as turn a head in another. And too, when you find the fish in one situation ( say, over a mud bottom early in the season) on one body of water, you may never see a fish over mud early in the lake across the road. The savy angler will go to the ice prepared to fish in ways that may not be considered "right" to other anglers. They will fish different waters when needed and will most certainly use a variety of bait / lure options. Ice fishing is full of generalities that have been proven over the years. But they are, none the less, generalities. By staying adventuresome and being prudent, you can expand well beyond the general and enter into some phenominal fishing. This is how the "great" fishermen got to that point. You can go there as well!

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

[rockhardinmn]

,, Matt ,,,hehehe you are right about that also ,,,, it is why i included my email for him.... opps forgot to check that yet today ,, must be that xmas thing that got in the way

[jt24]

Guys thanks for all the help. Now if i can get away some weekend again. There were fish on the vex but not sure if they were crappies or gills. We have caught them both in the same spot and the gills are nice sized. 9-10" I tried small jigs with waxworms and minnows, minnow heads with angel eyes but not just a plain hook or colored hook. They seemed to just stare at the hook and move with it alittle when i raised it up. Whats wierd is i have caught crappies in late january in this spot but not like early ice but they still were there. Maybe to much traffic the weekend before could had something to do with it. Matt has pointed out some spots that i want to try. I am not trying to hid this lake from anyone just have seen 5 gallon pails of fish come off and then the same group comes back the next day and does the same. Not that anyone here would do that. This lake is tied into a big lake and thats where the big crappies are coming from so i dont think that a town of 15-20 houses is gonna hurt it. I will say it is in the ottertail area. Sure would be nice to have guys like you all to fish with. Thanks Jamie

[Matt Johnson]

Good luck Jamie! Let us know how you do.

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

------------------
First Choice Guide Service

[email protected]
Catch-N Tackle and Bio Bait
MarCum
Stone Legacy

[fishnutbob]

Jamie,Dont give up on those crappies, do give the colored Larve a try, also if you can find pin Minnows at your bait store I have had good success with those, but they are hard to find.Good Luck Bob

[jt24]

Pin minnows? Never heard of them. What color larve works? I know alot of you guys use maggots for bait but dam i dont know if i could touch one! Grew up on a farm and have seen what those little buggers do and its hard to imagine having to handle them. My brother is suppose to of hit some of the spots this weekend that Matt pointed out but i havnt talked to him. Maybe in a couple of weeks i can get it a shot.

[fishnutbob]

jt24, Pin minnows are about 1/2" long its a tiny version of a crappie minnow ask your bait store if he can get them.Larve comes in mixed colores red blue yellow orange and white you hook them thru the head with the two dots and let them dangle down I hook three or four different colors on a hook adds a different color to your jig