Larvae vs. Minnows part II

[Corey Bechtold]

It happened again tonight. A real lite bite on the lake. I had good numbers of Crappie action all on larvae. An interesting thing happened to me today though. Early in the afternoon when I was searching for the spot on the spot I was lowering the camera down the hole and saw some suspended fish coming my way. Sunfish! A few sucked and blew the bait then I couldn't see any longer because so many were in front of the camera! Then they did an about face and slowly swam away. There must have been at least 40 in a tight group. I tried to jump in front of them in some of the holes I drilled erlier but I couldn't find them. Aargh! I switched around at least 10 times with teeny tiny jigs but they wouldn't take. Oh well back to searching for crappies. Right at dusk I managed one 9 inch Gill in a brief flurry. There were lots of fish with that one, I'm guessing that they were the sunfish from earlier because they retreated again. Then while hole hopping I saw some marks, dropped in the jig, and started catching Crappies. Talk about light biters! I caught enough for a meal and released at least 25. Size was mostly 9-10 inckes with a few aound 11.5. My dad was deeper and had some success mostly on larvae. His crappie minnows only caught 2. I guess an old dog can learn new tricks. A good challenge getting them to take tonight but that's the fun of fishing.

[protrapper]

My guess would be the crappies in this lake feed heavy on plankton, copods, ice lice, and nymphs heavy. And are oppertunist minnow feeders. They swim in thru heavy plankton groups at night as they rise up from the bottom and suck them in then filter the water thru there gills.

[Corey Bechtold]

I think you hit the nail on the head. Earlier in the day you could see the aquatic smorgasboard on the camera. Maybe after they have used up some of this food source they will take minnows more readily.

[Corey Bechtold]

Most of them had nothing in their stomachs. The bottom of the bucket had some small green worms sticking to it. That must be what they are looking for.

[CrappieJohn]

If craps are doing the bugs,they can be darned hard to catch without getting into seriously light line ( 1-2 pound) and jigs as light as 1/100 ounce. Chances are great too that they will not be very active in daylight hours. If this lake has a forage base made up partially of minnows, I would try to find them and then target the water deepest in that immediate area. If you are using glow jigs, try using a jig that has no paint at all on it or a small single hook without a splitand tip either with a small waxie or better yet a spike or maggot. I have said time and time again that there is nothing harder to try and get to hit than a crappie. If it is a bug bite, go to a different lake for a couple weeks. Most aquatic insects have a short shelf life...when they become active it is usually a chronological thing or the water temp has become favorable for a hatch. Fishing elsewhere for a week may allow this activity to wear itself out and then you can get back to business.

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Sure life happens- why wait....The Crapster....good fishing guys!
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[Corey Bechtold]

CT, I had caught about 30 plus crappies that day all on larvae so at least it wasn't a bust. Size was mainly 9-10 inches with a few around 11.5. I guess I shouldn't complain. I think fishing would be pretty boring if they always smacked the bait. On another note, what's the easiest way to get pictures on to my posts (I don't want to sound like a liar ).

[CrappieJohn]

The next time you catch one(or a bunch) large enough to eat-craps that is_ check the stomach out when you open them up. If what you find is a dark, almost black mass, they are feeding on the soft foods. If the content is grainy, minnows are the fare.

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

Good going Corey. About the pictures. I send them to Rick and let him post the things if I have some to show. Getting them on site for me is tough...I am as computer illiterate as one can get and the process is too confusing. I probably look the liar!

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Sure life happens- why wait....The Crapster....good fishing guys!
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[Corey Bechtold]

Tom, I think I can trust you. It sounds like you know what your talking about usually

[Matt Johnson]

Sounds to me like those gills are feeding all the time and weren't too hungry when they school swam by your area. Like Tom said, in lakes where bugs and micro organisms dominate, the crappies and gills will gorge themselves and when it comes time to catching them they won't hit large jigs, you have to go tiny in order to finesse those finicky fish. Could also be that a lot of those gills in the school are small too? And the larger ones are hitting the jig, thats why the 9 incher and other larger fish came through and hit. I would also try deadsticking a single euro larva on a plain tiny hook, that works sometimes on these situation as well. Or else find a very small jig, like Tom said, 1/100 oz or even smaller and thread on a small larva and see what happens. A sometimes you just get non-active schools of fish, might have to search out new structure/spot.

If you have some pics you can send them to me and I can help you out if needed.

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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[climbmda]

We had a similar experience this past week. We had constant action on the flasher from 2:00 to about 6:30. As it ended up, we caught enough keepers for a meal, and threw back probably 60 fish that were all small. The bite was very light, and I probably missed 5 to every one that I hooked. (I was thinking about halfway through this that a camera would be nice!) Anyway, this was a mixed bag of gills and crappies, and nobody got a single fish on a minnow all day. Every single fish was on green glow jigs and euro larvae.

I'm just starting to get back into ice fishing after about 10 years off, but it was the most finicky bite I'd seen. Of course, in the past I didn't have a flasher, so I could have had them passsing me by all day.

[united jigsticker]

Tom has my old trick in the bag...Open up the bellies and see what they got. Great tip Tom!

I don't bring minnows ice fishing (unless I head to URL) very often at all. It's always the larvea, in white and red colors, until the ice honey combs at the end of the year. Then I'll get a scoop of minnows, but much like everyone else, its the maggots for me!

The bad thing is, not everyone carries them, and some that have don't anymore because they say they die too easy. (those same places were the ones that tried to box them up and leave them on the counter next to the waxies .

Ahh well.

I havn't been around much with the holidays keeping me busy so I'd like to say Happy New Year to you all!

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Good fishing,
UJ
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[CrappieJohn]

UJ...The dead riseth up! Good to see you aree still with us. I've been wondering what happened to you...thought maybe you found a little honey somewhere that has been drawing all of your attention. I seldom use minnows, even in the winter. Hey guys, here is something that works.I got hold of some Berkley Gulp- the stuff in jars that looks like a huge waxie- in three different colors(white, orange, chartreuse). I slice off pieces like mini summer sausage slices about an 1/8 inch thick and put one slice on the hook of my jig, being sure the point is tipped out a bit. It has the ability to sink, but is still almost neutrally bouyant which makes the drop quite slow. AND the fish do eat this stuff! I haven't fished for a week now, but the last eight or ten outtings proved to me that this bait has creedence. I have caught basically all the panfish,including my beloved crappies, on it and never had a dump fish or perch even tap it.The stuff worked for me as well as waxies, which were being fished right next to the gulp, and was certainly an obvious "dry" replacement for minnows on at least three occasions. My fishing was split up between impoundments , sandpits, and Miss.River backwaters and gulp worked everywhere I went with the results being the same. I can't say whether the gulp turned the fish on from a negative or neutral mood or not, but it most certainly caught fish as readily as live bait.

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Sure life happens- why wait....The Crapster....good fishing guys!
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[united jigsticker]

The sweet honey has shown me the error in my ways.

In her own words, she directly quoted me "You must go fishing, and take me with...but we need some maggots first dear, or it will be a waisted trip"

hmmmmm...She must be worthy of the net, for I intend to keep this one

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Good fishing,
UJ
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[CrappieJohn]

Tiny footsteps, laddie! And make sure the pre-nup has wording in it to allow for adequate water time. Maggots? She sounds like a sweet dear to take fishing!LOL Good for ya!

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Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom
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[92python]

I hear what you guys are saying about fishing larve.... but I wouldn't think about not bringing minnows. Its kind of like going musky fishing and only bringing bucktails.

I always have at least both larve and minnows when I go out.

Just my opinion.

[CrappieJohn]

Python...I have stated several times that if you want to fish for fun, take whatever. If you are a serious fisherman, you will be prepared to fish every way imaginable...and that includes taking several types of live bait along. I personally prefer to NOT fish with minnows, but hey, if that is what the fish want, that is what the fish get. If you don't have them along, you might have a dreary day.

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

CrappieTom, went by a bait shop at noon and asked about that Berkly Gulp, they didn't have it but they have it in the catalogs. It comes in many different kinds, what kind are you using? By the sound of your description, you're using the wax worm looking ones and slicing off 1/8 of an inch, so if the worm is 1/8 of an inch in diameter, you're using a bait about the size of 1/8" by 1/8", correct? Are you putting it on a jig or a plain hook?

[CrappieJohn]

Blackjack....The product you describe is exactly what I have been using this winter. And the cutting is as I do. I hang this on a ratfinkie with the hook turned out a hair to open the gap. The bait comes in white, yellow/chart and orange and I have used all three with decent success....white being perhaps the best. Don't go out on the ice without taking bait though...I have used this stuff with fair luck when all at once the fish decide something else needs thier attention. One of the down sides of ice fishing for craps is that to be ready for what may want and you have to take about everything that they will hit on. Lots of luggage. Still the same, this product has shown me some interesting fishing. When things get a bit washy as far as the bite goes, then is when I switch to the gulp and it seems as though by putting something in front of them that has not been put there before, the reaction is to favor it for, sometimes, quite a while.

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Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom
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[Corey Bechtold]

Well I've been out last Friday, Sunday, and again on Tuesday. Each day I targeted Crappies and Sunfish. I hate to say it but this type of bite has held true. These were different lakes too. I had minnows, larvae, and plastics. Larvae has been the hands down winner for me. The Crappies gods have been good to me. They make me work the bait a lot but that's half the fun. I'm hoping to hit some other lakes to see if I can find a minnow bite or find a few picture worthy panfish. We'll see.

P.S. The larvae have been best on a horizontal jig. Knot placement has been critical.

Good Fishin, and with a little luck, Good catchin'

[CrappieJohn]

Corey...You are lucky to find the craps! Here in the SE corner of the state, our best waters are the Mississippi backwaters and the low- water situation is beginning to flatten this season right out. Throw in these weather fronts every other day and the senario gets even worse. A good crappie "bite" around here right now consists of a couple small fish and a hit or two extra. The same goes for the sunfish. They may be in an areaone day and provide some nice action, and then you'll be right back to the chasing game trying to locate them. Just as in last summer's months, this winter is serving up challenge after challenge, and for those of you who live inareas where there is some stability in the waters you fish, you really are lucky.

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Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom
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[Corey Bechtold]

Crappie Tom, Have you ever fished the Montgomery area lakes? I used to fish with my Uncle Don every summer when I was growing up. We fished lakes like Circle, Shields, Sunfish and some others. Earlier this winter Shields was producing some good sized sunfish and Crappies. I don't know about now though. It seems that Crappies tend to grow quite large in southern MN. Everybody tends to go North fishing leaving all those lakes to you. There is a lot of un-tapped panfish mecca's in your area. Although I believe that catch and release has helped fishing thuought the state. There are plenty of options for good fishing wherever you go these days.

[CrappieJohn]

Corey...I don't get too nervous about doing ice. It really is not a preferred way to fish for me. I'll take the boat to the river before I opt for the ice unless I have only a couple hours to commit to it(fishing). I've done the ice at the waters you mentioned along with some you didn't. You are right though about the wealth of fish we have around this area. I too head to the north country but we go to Two Harbors on Lake Superior (our cabin) and I do the lakers and salmon.As a rule, this area is a mecca for the sunnies and crappies, but the lack of snow, lack of fall rains,and the rapid fire fronts have messed with the fishing down in these parts. Even very seasoned ice anglers are being put to test right now. Much of my mumbling has to do with the preciptation we've gotten....none and we need it.

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Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom
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[Corey Bechtold]

Well I made it out last night with my cousin and his friend. We fished for 3 hours. My cousin and his friend had 2 lines each down and they used minnows mainly. I used one line in one hole with larvae. At the end of the night I caught 15 nice crappies, one sunfish and one small bullhead. The other 2 caught only 6 crappies combined. The fish I caught really liked the fall of the bait. I felt like I was playing one of those kids games where the fish go round and round with their mouths opening and closing. Tricky fishing but fun anyway. Can't wait for some normal weather to get out and search for some picture worthy crappies.