AM vs. PM

[Corey Bechtold]

I am ready to get on the panfish. The weather is getting more stable and the surface temps are starting to warm. Most of my fishing is done in the evening (mostly because i'm a bad AM person). I have had better success because in the evening the surface temps start to settle a bit deeper possibly turning the fish on in before the sun goes down. I found this to be true in more than one occasion. What do the other people think?

[CrappieJohn]

I think you are right on the button Corey. I am a great morning person and I hate crowds( jetheads and skiers)that typically are drawn- much like your fish- to the warmer water of late day. Afternoon fishing is far more predicatble, especially with the weather we've been getting. The warmer water generated by a day of sunshine gets their motors running. There is a down side of evening fishing, I think. Your quarry has been hammered all day and with the increase in topside activity levels, the fish may get lockjaw after a few are pulled from and otherwise good spot. Me, I like it early when there are no other nitwits on the water and the fish are relaxed. I fished three small areas today and got on one that kept me busy for over two hours witrh no-stop activity. The only thing that shagged me off the water was the wind. I saw a total of two boats. The only time I might fish a late day shot is if it is raining. I love to fish rain. Not a thunderstorm now, but a simple rainshower. And if it has been happening for 3-4 hours, so much the better. At times such as this you can catch craps on flies right up on the surface and nothing is wilder than tossing out plastics on a small head and just reeling it in....then feel that hammering hit. Everyone has their own niche for time preference. Mine is early in the day.

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

Culprit Tackle Crappie Pro Staff
[email protected]

[Corey Bechtold]

Crappie Tom, I totally agree, especially about the rain (no cats and dogs). But if I could ask, what is the best AM presentation for colder water Crappies and Sunfish in your opinion? My guess is a float with live bait or a small plastic held almost motionless. Any tips?

[CrappieJohn]

Corey....I am almost exclusively plastics. The only times plastics should be considered to be motionless are in extreme cold water,post cold-front weather, or if nothing else is working. I do feel that a float is essential until after the post-spawn bite. The float offers optimal depth control for catching these early fish....this is far more important than whether the plastic has action. When I need to change plastics to fit a specific type of neutrally-mooded bite, I first down-size and then dig into the plastics that have a "rat" or "nail" type tail....a tail designed to move without actually moving the bait. Be prepare to run through the whole color gamut as well.I do very well with my jigs plastics fished under a float fairly aggressively in water as cold as 38-40 degrees. This spring I had the honor of taking our fearless leader(Rick)here at FM on a cold water crappie safari, fishing a finger of open water that laid between two sheets of two foot thick ice.Water temp was a balmy 43 degrees. We fished nothing but plastic and hammered the crappies and huge sunfish. We were not laid back in putting action on those plastics then! Way too many people discount the cooler water as "do nothing" water. This is only true in post- frontal situations and can change in half an hour! The AM offers a totally different world of fishing, but by doing so I catch more fish, larger fish, and generally will not have the dolts on toys out playing yet.

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

Culprit Tackle Crappie Pro Staff
[email protected]

[Corey Bechtold]

CrappieTom, what and how do you mean "aggressively fishing under a float"? Are you using the float to hold a certain depth and slow reeling and twitching the bait in?

[CrappieJohn]

Corey....Once the strike zone has been established, the float simply keeps the bait at that depth cast after cast. By aggressive, I me I really put action into the plastic with a series of rapid twitches followed by a pause long enough to let the rings in the water disappear. Steady reeling with an occasional bump will work to. When I say aggressive, I am implying that you need to make that plastic work in the water. I nkow, it sounds sort of out of place in cold water to be hopping that plastic, but it works. Rick coouldn't hardly fathom the idea either, but he got his mind set altered real quick!

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

Culprit Tackle Crappie Pro Staff
[email protected]

[BDR]

I experienced just what Crappie Tom is talking about on Sunday. We caught well over 100 craps(all small) but if we did not twitch and retrieve the plastic we did not get a bite.

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I'd rather be skunked than follow the crowd!

Brian Rogers

JR's Tackle
Catch-N Tackle and Bio Bait

[Lost]

How would you figure out the depth if you're fishing from shore and/or don't have a depth finder/fish locator?

[friendlyfisher]

Crappietom
Could you post a pic of some of your favorite plastics to use. I have been trying your techneques (sp) this spring with not much to show for it. thanx, friendly

[CrappieJohn]

Friendly...I'll try and format something that shows the preferred plastics. What you need to do is send me an e-mail at the TSJigs address below and I will forward the picture to you. It may take me a couple days to get to it, but I'd be happy to send the help.

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Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom
muckbootsonline.com Pro Staff
Culprit Tackle Crappie Pro Staff
[email protected]