Crappie Mysteries

[th64]

Some lakes the best bait is a bug some its minnows only some its both. How do you know?

Some lakes there is a great night bite others none at all.

How do you know?

The standard answers:get to know your lake, ask at bait stores-all worthwhile but some lakes I fish do not have a nearby baitstore-what if I am fishing a lake for the first time?

What patterns have people seen?

[reinhard1]

i dont think anyone figured it all out yet for a everyday any lake bite. as far as baits, changing your presentations to see what they are after is the key once you find them. if they are aggresive, well all the standard baits would work. when they are fussy well then you have to switch around. as far as day or night bites, this is my opinion. i found in general that the stained lakes you have a better day and late afternoon bite. in clear lakes early morning, late aftenoon and early evening seems the best. good luck.

[RiverFish]

Bring both, bring plastics and bring minnows. Fish with both see what they are hitting on. If you find fish with no bites, change up your presentations.

[scott b]

General rule of thumb would be to fish minnows up until mid winter (Feb 1st for me) then switch to "bugs". As the minnow supply dwindles the fish will shift to bugs. Blood worms also start hatching in the mud and this is a major event. Will you catch crappies on minnows late ice? Sure. Will they bite on waxies early ice? Sure. But if you stay on a group of fish throughout the year you will notice a general shift in preference.

[th64]

Great replies esp. Hottime-still no rule of thumb on the night bite thing.

[EBass]

Wouldn't clearer water have a better nite bite? Well in theory?

[TruthWalleyes]

Sometimes you gotta get skunked a time or two before key'n in on the crappies...But typically in the winter you can pull up to the landing, point your finger towards the group of houses, and put a bug on one line and a minnow on the other.

My advice to someone looking to catch more fish is to consistently hit the same bodies of water to develop some patterns. Once you do that, you'll understand why you can't develop a pattern for a lake you haven't fished yet.

[TyGuy02]

totally agree Truth. About 5 years ago there was a lake in my area with a hot crappie bite. After a few years the bite slowed down and the "community" moved to other lakes. I stayed on the lake, many evenings the last 2 years the only soul on the lake, but have been just as successful as the masses when the lake was "hot". Strategies changed, but no one else wanted to put in the time to figure it out. Now if I could just snag a 10# eye that the lake has plenty of!

[Jim Uran]

Water clarity is a big factor on locating fish for early ice. Dark stained lakes will be more of a roaming bite over the basin, the clearer lakes will hold fish in the standing weeds.

I think experience putting in time is the best way to figure out a lake. I've been on lakes where they are biting in 8fow in the weeds, and the next lake you are catching them over 35 fow half way down.

They really are a mystery aren't they!

[Jarrid Houston]

the elusive crappie!!!!!! Like others said, put in the time, I have a handfullof days where we will fish a lake in the day time, and move to another in late afternoon, because it is a night bite....Gotta put in the time

[Jim Uran]

And mix it up with your next tackle purchase, it's a good thing crappie jigs are cheap and there are plenty of makers out there! Can't go wrong with and Lindy product, or Northland for that matter!

That way you have the ability to switch presentations when you are marking fish.

[TyGuy02]

speaking of jigs, in my experience. A pink demon is worth it's weight in gold. And I'm not talking about my wife! The small red/pink buckshot or machominnow are a close #2. I always make sure to keep plenty of those in the box since it seems that pike like them just as much

[Dano777]

I've never used plastics while ice fishing and have read a lot about them being very effective these days, any tips on what to use for crappies concerning plastics and presentation? Do you believe in plastics or not? Thanks

[bbfenatic]

I sometimes will put plastic down (like a bloodworm from northland) and catch one or two but over the long haul I have more success with real waxies or minnows. Seems like just the change to something totally different will trigger one curious crappie but then nothing after that and most looking to feed prefer the live bait IMO.

[slipperybob]

The general rule of thumb should always be try to fish first light and last light. Ice fishing is also easy to figure out, by looking at the traffic. In general the locals know better, of the lakes's prime bite. I've gone to a first time lake for me and saw how everyone was packing up as evening was coming around. I was wondering why no one was staying around for the evening bite. Turns out to be very dead as soon as the sun went down behind the horizon.

[TyGuy02]

then on other lakes you get there at 4 and no ones around. You see 50 houses with no one there. You don't catch anything by dark and you start packing up and then the cavalry arrive. I've had that happen on a particular lake and was very confused until I experienced it myself. It was a night-only bite, and I mean night.

Maybe someone can help explain what a finding on my flasher is. On a lake that I fish, the bite will be on and the only marks on my flasher will be fish. But once the bite slows down or stops, the flasher will fill up with a ton of small stuff, mainly in the bottom 5-10'. This only happens when I'm set up in a deep basin. My obvious guess is baitfish that moved from the shallows/weeds to the deep during the night. Anyone else every see this? Sometimes I will be able to see fish within the cloud of small marks, but they're really hard to pickout and almost impossible to get to chase my jig.

[Scott M]

I've never used plastics while ice fishing and have read a lot about them being very effective these days, any tips on what to use for crappies concerning plastics and presentation? Do you believe in plastics or not? Thanks

Google "Corey Bechtold Artificials" A very good speaker with a lot of experience and knowledge using a variety of plastics.

Back to the topic - lots of good advice here. It takes time and a little trial and error to really figure the fish out. All you can do to prepare for new water is do your homework and have a plan of attack.

[th64]

Watch what the locals do is good advice---Water clarity really has nothing to do with it-would be nice to know in advance but oh well.

[Jim Uran]

Water clarity has a lot to do with crappie location in my experience. Especially early ice!

[LPCrowRiverFisherman]

I think the the night and day bite thing changes on a single lake throughout the winter. Early and late ice the chances of getting them during the day are better and during mid winter maybe better during low light and night. But clear lakes generally will have a night bight and stained will be day bites. Also for bait I have pretty much quit buying live bait for crappies, a gill pill and northland bloodworm has been the best bet for me, the sunfish even seem to like this presentation, really cuts down on live bait costs. I haven't tested that presentation at night yet but it works well during the day and low light hours.

[th64]

Water clarity has a lot to do with location of course. I'm talking about if there is a night bite.

You would think the clear lakes would have a night bite(and I am talking night, dark, not low light)but lakes like Big Marine with clear water does not have a night bite, while Bald Eagle with dark water does and White Bear with clear water also does. Probably has to do with plankton and insects and stuff---watch the locals

Fishing finaly on Monday can't wait!

[griff321]

Some lakes the best bait is a bug some its minnows only some its both. How do you know?

Some lakes there is a great night bite others none at all.

How do you know?

The standard answers:get to know your lake, ask at bait stores-all worthwhile but some lakes I fish do not have a nearby baitstore-what if I am fishing a lake for the first time?

What patterns have people seen?

To be honest I can't stand the standard answers. Try asking at Gander what and where they're biting and you'll often get a shrug. Heck, you'd be lucky if they knew the names and location of some of their hottest jigs in the store. I love the mom and pop shops, but most places are not going to be handing over the keys to the lake to some newbie they've never seen(in my experience even more so if you're young). Not to mention that they don't exactly have a lot of excess capitol to hire workers so they can be on the lake learning. They're running a business and it's in their best interest to sell you something that makes them money over what's the best jig. I remember when I was a teenager and I first moved up to the north 'burbs. I stopped in at Thorne Bros and wandered around for about an hour or more buying a load of gear. Not once was I even asked for help. A few days down the road I got over myself and went back. I asked for tips and got a bunch of cryptic answers, but really it's not their job to be my fishing guide. It can be insanely frustrating. This can be one of the most inaccessible sports out there if you don't have a solid foundation to give you a leg up.

Fisherman themselves are often a highly secretive bunch. If you're talking to random people on the net or in the bait shop you'll be lucky if someone tells you the name of the lake they just did terrible on. If they do good then they'll show you an entire photo album, so they can feel good about themselves, but withhold anything of pure substance.

Then there's the ol' put in the time deal, but even that's highly vague. Put in the time where? Doing what? You can spend days on the water just chasing your tail if you don't have a clue and then you may be eliminating water that's just bad at the particular time/weather/season you happen to visit it. Then you have to spend a ton of cash on equipment to scout water the best way. Flashers, gps, lake chips, contour programs, augers ect are not cheap. It really sucks when previous generation of your family just are not avid sportsmen. Nothing can compare to a caring and watchful eye with decades/generations of experience and gear accumulation/testing.

So what works for me then because after that long crab fest it must be nothing right? I make sure to take in the entire experience. I would have never lasted if my goal was only fish catching action. I love the wind in my hair and the birds in the sky. Even if I'm walking off the lake with an empty bucket, I always have a grin from ear to ear. State of mind is so key it's not even funny.

I often start with the DNR HSOforum, because it's free. The lakefinder tool is great, but can be a pain to navigate. The survey data can be all over the place and often inaccurate. What fish populations and lake outlooks looked like in '05 or in some cases decades ago can be very different from today. They have some creel surveys as well, but once again most are outdated. Try finding information here about how to use the lakefinder tool efficiently. People have posted volumes of outstanding tips here.

Burn gas. Get out there and do it. Find people and be a friendly cuss. Share, help, and be courteous. Remember that you're primary goal is to learn, and that may come at the cost of fish/fishing opportunity right now. People are a lot more open when you talk to them on the water and if someone just wants silence it's pretty easy to see by their body language, but you can also just shut up and open your eyes. That being said, I've met a lot of good people, learned a ton, and it's easy to get along with people because we have a common passion. Most people love a bit of chatter and company, plus you don't have to worry about your eyes lying to you. Follow the locals and make a few new buddies, but then try to understand why they're doing what they're doing. You must have a solid foundation of information before you can build off it. Then you can start to develop your own patterns. The guy that wants to start out as a trendsetter away from the crowd is going to be in for a much steeper learning curve.

Sorry for the book and rant, but I hope this helps someone.

[fishersofmen]

Well said griff.

[Scott M]

Good post griff, I agree with you 100%. You touched on a lot of subjects for newbies.

I'll see if I can cut open my own vein here...

Bait shops

Not all are created equally. Some bait shops are institutions in this state: You immediately recognize Border Bait, Vados, Blue Ribbon, Ebner's, Lundeen's, Hilman's, Ben's, Beaver House, Fish Lake, Cabin Fever, Froggy's, Frontier, Joe's, Marv's, Swanson's...they've been around for a while and aren't some fly by night group. Most of the time if you go in an established place, they know what's going on because their staff fishes or they have loyal customers that will at least tell them if the bite is on. You have to find a local mom and pop place, patronize it for a while, and see if they are helping you find fish. I know two mom and pop places in the town I work in. One owner sits in his shop all day and complains about everything - the fishing, the DNR, customers. The other guy fishes almost every day and has his wife or son mind the till when he's gone. He knows what's going on out there and if he isn't fishing, his buddies are and give him reports. You want to avoid the places with 16-18 year olds - I would know, I used to be that kid. When I was 16 I took a job at a bait shop in my home town. Thought it was my dream job, a little more than minimum wage. People would come in and ask where the fish were biting. You think I knew? Heck no. At that age you don't get out and you're too young to know much about anything. I gave lots of bad advice, occasionally outright lied about where a good bite was going on, and looking back, I sold people some stuff that even I didn't have a good understanding of. God bless those people, I hope they made the most of their purchases. The point is, you have to figure out if your bait shop is any good. I'm a little surprised you didn't get any help at Thorne Bros. griff. That's usually a good place for information. When I lived up that way, I would swing in from time to time and found the staff pretty receptive to helping out with new information. Try heading over there on a Wednesday night when there are invited speakers...you get pro staff from many companies and locals "in the know." If you go and learn one thing, you're better off than not going.

Mentoring

I'm with griff here too, I wish my parents were big outdoorsmen, but they weren't. I spent my childhood in libraries looking at fishing and hunting books. I bought the complete "Hunting and Fishing Library" that Richard Sternberg edited. I soaked up as much information as I could. When I got to high school, the internet came around. Talk about an upward trajectory in the learning curve. If I wanted to learn something new, I could read about it online and then try it out in the field. Having said that, I still feel the best way, or maybe I just learn best this way, is to have someone show you and teach you. I am looking forward to passing all that I know down to my kids, I think it's important as more and more children, families, and people in general drop out of outdoor activities. But if you were like me and didn't have it passed down, try to find a friend or other family member that will mentor you. I see a lot of mentoring programs within the DNR, but they are all set up for youth. It would be nice to have something for adults. If you can't find a mentor, you might be stuck learning it on your own. It may be slower, but (I say this from experience) the rewards are sweeter.

Putting in your time

Yes, it's cliche. But it's true of any hobby or sport. Practice makes perfect. You might sit on unproductive spots, seasonally unproductive perhaps, but you are still learning what works and what doesn't. You can eliminate big chunks of water if you are trying to figure out where to fish by putting in your time. Not only do you better figure out your gear, you figure out the water, the daily and seasonal timing of fish, how fish want the bait presented, what the fish are willing to bite, etc.

There is just no substitute for time on the water, even if it is largely unproductive. Don't be fooled, the best among us, the professional anglers, pro staff, outdoor writers, etc. all get skunked and have bad days. It's part of the process. There's no silver bullet to fishing, you just put your time in, learn what you can, stay adaptable, and you become a better angler.

[th64]

Bait stores-thats a whole other can of waxies-I went to one in town and felt like I was interrupting his relaxation by entering his store-

Me and a friend went to a bait store up north, asked where the crappies where biting and he said come on, follow me-we followed him to a spot and right away started catching crappies and tullibes- Yes no charge he brought us to a spot. wow