You guys tell ME what the deal is.....

[united jigsticker]

So the wife and I hit the water today.

I was kind of bummed to see that the first bright sunny day with no wind had to come on the day we planned to go chase the Crappies this holiday weekend.

Bummed because it's like turning a light on to someone who's been sitting in a dark room for an hour...BLINDING!!!

Anyways...

Surface water temps sat at 62-65 degrees depending on where on the lake I was.

It has been cloudy with rain and wind the last week, and these temps were morning temps before the sun got high and proud, so I figure its a pretty reliable indicator.

The thing I am struggling with is this:

The Crappies we caught were belly on the bottom, in 22 feet of water.

I could understand this due to the sudden sunny skies and flat water, but the thing was...these fish were no where near any structure.

I could see them sliding to nearby adjacent deep water if it is convienent in these conditions to get some shade, or whatever, but these fish were out in the middle of nowhere on a large flat.

Both males and females were caught, females sporting overblown bellies full of eggs, and the males, even in 22 feet of water, sporting their black camo-spawn colors.

Numbers were excellent with over 100 Crappies captured and released, and sizes ran the table with a majority in the 9-11" range.

So tell me, my peers, why these fish are in the middle of no where, seemingly not even staging for any kind of spawn.

We fished sunken wood, fallen trees, deep weedlines, shallow weedlines, in the weeds, inside the weedline, points, bays, humps, inside turns, 1st breaks, 2nd breaks, weedy flats, hard bottom flats...Not a single Crappie.

But head into 22 feet of water, gain down the Vex to almost 0, and this little tiny flicker could barely be seen on the bottom.

Drop down a tube jig...And the bottom came alive and the Crappies smacked the lure...

Why?

Why aren't they pro-creating? Or at least staging to pro-create?

The shallowest I was able to catch a Crappie today was 19 feet. But that depth was dominated by large Bluegills.

[Matt Breuer]

If the males were black with passion... they've more than likely staged, and have been in the shallows already, and possibly something in the weather pushed them out for a day or two.

Or... worst case, they've been in shallow, and they're not going to spawn due to unstable conditions, and those females will re-absorb their eggs.

Let's hope it's the first scenario and they're going to get back up and get things done!

Did you see any beds in shallow? Were sunfish in shallow? Bass? What's the clarity?

Something pushed those fish out, more than likely they'll be back up soon!

Good luck!

[united jigsticker]

All efforts shallow grossed 1 tiny perch and 1 tiny northern.

For the record, "shallow" was depths of 1-12 feet.

Water clarity was 4 feet with a white jig.

[Matt Johnson]

They could also be spawning "deeper" in that particular lake this year as well? I've known some occasions where crappies will spawn in 8-15 feet, but 22 feet does seem a bit on the deep side. They are probably just out cruising for food or pushed off because of the weather patterns. Did you get some thunder and lightning in that area recently? And you say there is no adjacent shallow water? Kind of weird that the males are so dark without staging in "shallower" water at one point. I'd bet they were recently in the shallows and just relocated out deeper for the time being. Those same fish might be up shallow again a couple days from now.

On a lake I've been fishing for gills lately, I've also noticed that the crappies are definitely not holding in the shallows. We searched all over for signs of crappies in the shallows (1-12 feet) and to no avail. My guess is that they are out in the main basin (being that the deep part of the lake is about 20-22 feet as well). A lot of weeds in the 7-12 foot range, but no takers in the crappie category, only perch. It's kind of hard to search for crappies out in the main basin when the bull gills are going crazy in the shallows However, the crappies were shallow in this lake a couple weeks back...

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[CrappieJohn]

Did you have any rain the day or two before you went out? If it had been windy and raining, the deeper water may have cooled to below that mark that the fish will respond to for spawning. Cold rain along with the wind will certainly be able to mix the water enough to drop it a degree and that is all it takes.

Now chase the clouds away by ushering in a high pressure area right on the heels of this change in the water and walla! Belly deep in the mud they go.

Same thing happening on our lake here too Jeff. Saying it sucks is an understatement. It is not too late for spawing as long as the water does not rise. If the forecast temps for the week happen and if the weather stays consistant (regardless of whether it is rainy all the time or sunny all the time)long enough to get some heat back they can get it done in a couple days.

And as Matt Johnson suggested too, they may be looking for the stability of the slighly deeper water for spawning.

Matt Breuer brought up the possibility of the fish not spawning due to some glitch in that particular body of water and that could be the case without any stretch of the imagination. If the senario plays out that way the fish will do like he says and re-absorb the eggs' protein matter, but like he suggested as well.....let's hope this is not the case.

Ithink the combination of weather/temperature issues drove your fish deep. The fact that you were able to get into their mouths tells me this posturing will have a short lifespan. They'll be back.

[lars0926]

UJ,

I can't speak for your lake not know the size, but a favorite lake of mine that is about 85 acres is relatively deep across. Around the spawn I find a ton of fish on a 22-24 deep break that slowly drops to about 30. Always catch fish out of this hole during this time; we're catching males and yet-to-drop females. I firmly believe that this has to do with feeding. I usually, like you, find them on the bottom (and usually under schools of baitfish). The couple that I've kept to eat have telltale signs of feeding on those bait fish too, and minnows usally catch them best, although I did pick up some nice ones with Crappie Tom's paddletail in the blue/gree combo.

You said that you didn't catch anything in shallow. I too have fished shallow and don't always catch fish on the timber submerged in 2-4 feet, except during 5:00am-7:30am and then again from 7:00pm until 9:30pm. But, during the day, I will pick some up in about 10"-12" tight in the shoreline weeds. They are are tough to cast into, but worth it.

Just wanted to let you know that there is someone else who has experienced what you're going through.