Crappie location question?

[Jeff S]

I found a new spot on a lake I fish often. Last evening I caught 8 slabs between 6:10 to 6:25. Between 6:25 and 7:00 I caught 4 more (threw 2 back). I caught these fish just off a breakline in 23 feet of water adjacent to a large weed flat. From that spot the bottom slowly tapers out to 35 feet and the main basin of the lake. I have been catching a few bluegills on the weed flat which there are green weeds on. My question is being these crappies are suspended 7 to 10 feet down are these fish making a horizontal movement from shallow to deep or deep to shallow for the night or is this just where they are hanging out? What's your opinion?

[Matt Johnson]

I would say that those crappies are holding level with the weed flat because they will be sliding that way shortly. Does this weed flat go up into shallower water too? If you can find any pockets in the weed flat then those are good spots for gills and crappies too. I find my bigger crappies in the spring amongst those weed flats in the pockets. Those crappies you are catching are gradually moving up the breakline, and they will use both the shallow and deep water throughout the day, rising at night and roaming deeper water during the day. But soon you will find the crappies holding shallower throughout the day once light penetration rises and the ice clears the lake, finding those crappies in the weed flat and near any nearby structure is their next move, as well as the tight edges of the breakline off the weed flat. Those crappies were on the main lake basin just a couple weeks ago, but they are on the move. Those crappies are not suspended 7-10 feet down all day, they take that position as dark approaches and after dark. That weed line is a powerful tool, you can utilize it throughout most of the year, and come spring it will be a valuable tool to have.

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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

[email protected]
Iceleaders
Catch-N Tackle and Bio Bait
MarCum
Stone Legacy
JR's Tackle

[fishnutbob]

Matt, good post you have done your homework, On Tonka I have a spot with a big weed flat then it drops off to 20ft then down to 33 ft slow drop over mud now this is a bay only maybe 80 acres, its only a 1/4 mile wide and it then it funnels down to the deep end then goes thru a channel to another part of Tonka, So I cut down on my search time you can hunt the fish down faster. In the back of the bay it hits 50 ft and I move up in about 40 ft just off shore as it drops slow into deep water the fish are suspended. I fish four spots on this bay and find fish usually in each spot and as Matt said I like to hit the breaks were the sun hits strong during the day West shore lines just off the weed line and north shore lines as the sun gets higher towards spring those areas warm fast even though the ice is thick, The small life hatches and the fish start feeding and schooling for the move to the spawning areas, as it gets warmer then I search shallow off the first sharp break off the weeds west shore or north on the spot the depth is around 13 to 15ft as it just starts to break into deeper water. Now this will be when you need a plank to get on the lake, or just before late spring. Im done I talked myself into going fishing tonight hitting waconia, north side 13 ft good crappie bite going on now, North side bite Must be the sun. Shhhhh dont tell everyone. Good fishing

[CrappieJohn]

You will notice the correlation between the deep water and where those fish are suspending. They are most likely staging to some extent, but they will stay near that deep stuff as a shelter from cold fronts/ very high pressure systems that we see every couple days at this time of year. When a major front rolls thru those fish will sink into the deepest water available. This pattern will repeat itself until the water and water temp stabalize later in the spring, but prior to the spawn. At 50 degrees and above, those fish will be far less affected by fronts, they'll relate more and more to the weeds and shoreline spawning areas.

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

[idratherbefishing]

You mentioned high pressure front. Exactly what is the science behind the effects of these weather fronts on the fish. thanks for your detailed insights, very interesting.

------------------
"Fishing is a condition of the mind in which one cannot possibly have a bad time."
idratherbefishing

[CrappieJohn]

IRBF... Ever been fishing when the winds are out of the southeast and the air can be cut it is so thick? As your day moves on you get the feeling that a ripper of a storm is coming at you, but you don't want to quit fishing because the bite is ultra hot. Finally you have to relent because the rain has statred and is coming in sheets and lightning is dancing everywhere. Your theory is that you can sit it out in the bar and as soon as the rain has dwindled down to just a drizzle you'll run back out. As soon as you see water againg without the electric show you head back out, but you notice the wind( really cutting it now) is in the opposite direction and there is much less temperature in the air. The sky has a clearing line from the north that is cloudless. This is the most dramatic form of a cold front/high pressure front. The exact mechanics of how this relates to the fish are not precisely known, but have to deal with the air's pressure on the water, the comfort zone of the fish as it relates to this pressure and to the very clear conditions immediately following the passage of such a front. One indicator of how powerful the front has been is the winds after it's passing...if the winds create treacherous fishing conditions,it was a strong front. Cold front pass all the time, sometimes so ineffectual that nothing is noticed. These have little bearing on the fishing. The stronger the front, the tougher the fishing will generally be for a couple days. I think that weather prior to a major cf is fairly stable and fish get accustomed to the good times then...everything is a happy camp. Then the storm and cold front hits, things get unstable and the fish hightail it for the deeper water where their environment is less affected than nearer the surface. This deep water becomes their safety net so to speak. As things normalize over the next day or so, the fish become more relaxed and again find their ways back into shallower water and are far more predictable there. The fish can still be caught post-storm/ early hifgh pressure, but you will need to did into your mid-winter ice fishing bag of tricks to really stay on them. The keys then are to down-size, be less aggresive in your actions on the baits, and slow down your approach. Finding and fishing the deepest, structured water ( that with radical breaklines, sunken wood, huge boulders)in the immediate area to where you had been catching the fish pre-front is almost a promise. Another key is the stronger the front, the longer before they return to "normal". A strong front can fudge the fishing for three/four days. The water temp has a huge bearing on how bad things will get: strong front/very cold water= read about fishing for a day or two. Craps and panfish are light sensitive to an extent and will seek the deeper water following a front passage because things are usually super clear then. Winds help diffuse the light thru wave action. We do not understand all of the specifics regarding cold fronts/ high pressure fronts, but have learned enough to stay fairly consistant with the bite afterward.One way to begin understanding this action in more definitive detail is to log your fishing for a couple years and then go back and read the logs...study them. You will be able to see a variety of cold front/ higfh pressure consistancies that will help steer you in the future. Other than this, until we can learn to communicate with the fish in an understandable fashion our understanding of some of these phenomenoms will advance slowly.

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

[Matt Johnson]

CrappieTom....you're the man!!!

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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

[email protected]
Iceleaders
Catch-N Tackle and Bio Bait
MarCum
Stone Legacy
JR's Tackle

[mark n]

WOW! That was a great answer!