Crappie Bite time?

[BLACKJACK]

Another question for you crappie experts, what determines when the hot crappie action will be? Just got back from the crappie mecca, Red Lake, and the hot bite started early, we had our very best action from 4:10 til 4:45. Yet other times on REd the bite has been anywhere from 5:30 to 7.

Sundown is about 5 PM right now, most serious crappie fisherman know to be ready at sundown, that crappies are like walleyes and take advantage of the low light situation, I would expect the hot bite to be from 5:15 to 6. So what determines when crappies will feed? And how about morning bites? Again you have the low light situation, sometimes you're able to slay them in the morning but most times its just the occaisional fish.

[CrappieJohn]

Much of what crappies feed on is governed , in large part, on light. That is, when the food they are currently actively feeding on may be minnows...but, the minnows feed on microplankton that become active at a time of certain "available light". The minoows will show up when the light gets low enough to fire up what they feed on. I'd be willing to bet that this day you mention was cloudy. Clouds will "enhance" the lower light of late afternoon. Shade from, say a hill, will do the same thing. I have fished on a lake with the western shore very high and heavily forested. In the afternoon when the sun gets low, the fish will begin to hit in the waters along that shore much earlier that the eastern shore where the shadows get cast last. But on Red I'd bet on clouds. Or the fish found thier food feeding on something that was less sensitive to light and got active earlier.

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[Matt Johnson]

Cloud cover and sun can play a big role, as well as pressure and fronts. Sometimes you will have a feeding frenzy last for a couple hours in the morning and then not a bite the rest of day because a front came through pushing the fish off or to the bottom. Typically I get my hard core feeding frenzies about an 45 minutes before dark and lasting anywhere from about an hour after dark to throughout the night.

If you are experiencing a change in feeding time then monitor the weather and see whats happening, also check the sky and see what kind of cover you have. Water clarity can play a role as well, especially in shallow lakes. Light penetration is deeper on clear lakes and the amount of light that triggers the bite can be different then on that of a stained lake. In deeper holes you might not have that much of a problem especially with snow cover but in shallow spots and during early ice you might see a change in feeding patterns.

I generally like to be on my prime spot about an hour before dark, if not even a little earlier. Sometimes you get those "first of the pack" slab crappies to move in first, but I guess on Red Lake you typically catch those slabs regardless But that can hold true for other lakes.

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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[Ishmel]

How does snow cover effect the low light situations? With all of the heavy snow in the area now, I would think it would be low light down there all day.

[CrappieJohn]

Ish...The snow is beginning to lard up now and is most likely moving the evening hit ahead by a few minutes. Snow is amazingly transparent when it comes to natural light and until it becomes compacted a bit will allow quite a bit of light thru. When the snow cover will really shine is on days when there is heavy cloud cover, but we don't want to discount its ability to help shade shadows on bright days. In an ideal year, you get a quick ice up with a foot or so of solid, clear ice and then the two feet of snow.Here in the SE corner of the state we just got about a foot of it and it will be a blessing to those who are tired of clear ice. My desire for snow is for water in the spring. We need it badly.

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