Crappies biting after dark on surface?

[CRET]

I was fishing Long Lake in Isanti right before dark. Caught a couple of craps, sunfish , northerns. When dark hit, of coarse the northerns,bass sunnies quit biting and I targeted some Crappies. My Goal was to catch a pig Crappie!

I landed a 13 inch Crappie on a lake were they are suposed to be small. he he! When it was dark, I was on a dock in 3-6 ft of water with weeds. The Crappies were biting o the surface, as the bugs came out. I caught 3 Craps, 1 as I was lifting it out, a huge pig Crappie! 1 small one and the 13" iI caught. I was using a little white flu flu tipped witha crappie minnow. My QUESTION is:

when they are biting on the surface and seemed all around, What better presentation could I have used?? Would a Paddletail with a bobber? Or use no Bobber?

Cret

[Matt Johnson]

First of all, congrats on the nice crappie!

Now, for the meat and potatoes...

You might want to try a small panfish popper (surface popper). If those crappies are eagerly taking prey off the surface than the popper would work just fine. I've done well with poppers for sunfish in the past and there is no reason why they wouldn't work for crappies either. Another option besides a popper would be a plain hook and minnow. The flu flu (or any weighted jig) might hold the minnow down too much and if they are willing to chase their prey then a lively minnow with the ability to swim around will really get the crappies going. If I was targeting those same fish, I would probably start with a light-weight collarless jighead with a Glow/Pink Stub Grub, without a float, and I would just pitch the plastic into the surfacing fish. The Stub Grub has a really slow fall and can trigger those fish into biting. Don't be afraid to even bounce the plastic back on the bottom. Yes, the crappies appear to be feeding on the surface, and it only makes perfect sense to be fishing some sort of surface (or close to the surface) orientated bait, but I've had days where it's been more productive to fish off the bottom on those situations. Usually the fish are willing to feed on whatever is presented to them in the like situations.

Here's a little curveball though... those fish you are hearing and seeing that are feeding on the surface might not be crappies, they very well could be sunfish. The misconception that sunfish go dormant after the sun goes down is not uncommon, but I've actually caught some of my bigger sunfish after dark. Sunfish will feed after dark and they will feed on the surface. You might have presented a bait too large for those sunfish, however the crappies that were there were willing to take it. The last several times I've hit the water I've seen sunfish feeding off the surface. But, I'm not going to throw out the idea that those surface feeding fish were crappies, because they certainly could have been. Crappies will also feed on the surface and they will with frequency as well. But if those fish were indeed crappies, I don't understand why they were not devouring your jig and minnow presentation.

A few questions...

How far down below the surface were you fishing?

Was there a distinct weed edge that the surface feeding fish were using?

Were you in a boat fishing a dock? Or actually on the dock fishing?

Were fish feeding off the surface before sunset? And did you catch any crappies before sunset?

If those fish really are crappies feeding on the surface, than I would go with a panfish popper and work that across the surface of the water. I bet those crappies snatch it up very quickly. And if they are sunfish, they will take the popper as well. Not only can this technique be productive, but it can be a very fun and exciting way to fish for panfish.

When you fish the popper, you are going to want to rig up a bobber/float about 2-3 feet up from the popper. This is so you can cast the popper out a decent distance. It also helps as a strike indicator after dark when you can't visually see the popper as well. During the day you can tell when the popper is gone, but when it gets dark it can get tough. Usually you can hear the fish take the popper, and I usually like to give the fish about a second or two before I set the hook. This ensures that the fish actually has the popper and you are not reacting too quickly and pulling the popper away from the fish. Happens a lot when top-water fishing for bass and it will happen the same with panfish but just on a smaller scale.

Hopefully we can find a way to help you land a few more of those surface feeding fish. They are hungry, so there should be a way...

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[CRET]

How far down below the surface were you fishing? (12 inches)

Was there a distinct weed edge that the surface feeding fish were using? (not that I was aware of)(the weeds were consistant, very weedy throughout the area)

Were you in a boat fishing a dock? Or actually on the dock fishing? (I was on our deeded access for the nieghborhood)(the dock goes out 36 feet, 5-6 six feet deep at the end)(but I was throwing on the side in about 2-3 feet.)

Were fish feeding off the surface before sunset? And did you catch any crappies before sunset? (I only caught one crappie(smaller) before sunset, lots of sunnies)(some ok size but mostly smaller) (5 pound bass)

I only brought two rods,1 with a small flu/flue, and 1 with a paddletail white head/ lightpinkbody. The sunniestorethat one up! so I only had one rod and no extra tackle with me. I am going out tonight to try and get a hog

Crappie. You are right, they coud of been sunnies??

Thanks Matt.

Bob

[delmuts]

on the little lake i fish; after dark and near the rock shore /and or pts. i pick up both crappies and gils. if out in the boat and out on the lake ; most have been gils. i fish a small jig with a plastic for these.( float set 12- 18 in). great fun!!

[united jigsticker]

This is the lake that is almost totally endulged in Curly Tail Pond Weed.

The population of fish in this lake is enormous, and there are nice fish present.

I have had much success using a panfish Popper as Matt described. Crappies can and will be downright aggressive towards these types of lures.

It wasn't uncommon to have fish deeply hooked in the mouth, as a matter of fact.

I use a clear bubble float for weight and castability set about 6 feet apart from the popper.

Sometimes you can see the fish approach the popper, and other times it will just disapear.

My bet on the timing of this bite is due to the eco-system the fish inhabit.

As previously stated, the lake is over-run with Curly Tail Pond Weed, which typically grows to the surface forming a thick matte.

In my experience on this lake, the weeds grow dominantly throughout the entire lakes body, with the only gaps being weeds that dont grow fully to the surface.

Finding a distinct "weed edge" was not an easy thing to do.

So with that said, the fish almost need to come to the surface, as well as their prey, in order to effectively feed.

The best time for this, obviously is twighlight hours and dusk periods for shade and light reasons.

Again, if the opportunity presents itself again, it'd be a good idea to have some poppers in your bag of tricks to throw at these fish.

If not, then with fish that close to the surface, I have had success with setting the jig within inches of the bobber. The bobber may never go down, but could either move to the side or even float upwards.

Congrats on your catch and best of luck in your future outings!

[CRET]

Matt & U.J. - Thanks for your responses, I have been back a few times since we last posted. I have caught numerous fish,(Sunnies, North, Bass) But not alot of crappies. I caught maybe 5-9 every time out, with at least (1) 10 incher every time out. I am going to target the fish from my 2004 Bass Tracker today later on and cover more ground. I am not sure whAT A SURFACE POPPER is but I will check with our local baitshop in St. Francis to inquire were I can get a popper for pan fish, does color Matter at night?

BTW - I tried rat tails last time out and nailed Crappies 2 in 2 casts, then nothing? One was a 10 incher. was only out for a quick 30 minutes. It had a pink and white jig in its mouth from a buddy that didn't tie his jig very good from earlier in the week! he he

Thanks again!

Bob

[Matt Johnson]

Bob,

Sorry for the late reply, I spent the weekend out of town for a tourny...

Ok, sounds to me like your crappies might not be as heavy in the area you are fishing. They might have moved out of the shallows and just off the initial break or down into the deeper weeds. I would bet a good majority of those fish that are popping at the surface are sunfish. I've witnessed sunfish popping at the surface at almost every lake I've fished in the last couple weeks. The crappies you are catching are probably either holding on a bed (possibly) or else just roaming between migrations. Right now you will find the sunfish in the area to be more aggressive than the crappies and they will bully the crappies out of the way in order to grab the bait.

I would check the nearest break or deeper weedline and see if you can pick up a few more crappies. Seems like the 8-13 foot depths will begin to hold more and more crappies as the next couple weeks wear on, especially if there are deep weeds there. I would say a good majority of those shallow water crappies in your lake have moved out. You will most likely catch 10 or so crappies for a while in the shallows like you are now, but you're not going to see your 50 fish days anymore. You will have to move deeper. The dog days of summer will have the crappies holding in the deep weeds if available, and they will be there until late-summer/fall when they begin to move again.

Some lakes might not have a deep weedline (or deep weeds at all) and the crappies might hold in the shallow thicker weeds all summer, or else they will cruise the mainlake basin and open water.

What kind of deep weeds do you have in the lake?

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[WalleyeWeasel]

I'm catching crappies on the surface, and they are feeding, not "popping" you can see them breaking the surface as they swim in thier schools. The only problem i have with using poppers is that the hook isnt big enough you lose alot more fish than u actually catch or if they are really aggressive you hook em too deep, again small hook size.!!

[CRET]

Matt, thats makes great sense. The Sunnies are very thick. Long Lake is a very shallow lake. I catch maybe 1-3 very nice Crappies every time out. I would agree that it is sunnies on the surface. That part of the lake is shallow but intensely weedy. I learned alot from this lake.

BTW - I have used Rat tails I got at JR's and they work AWSOME! I was out in Green Lake and slayed the Crappies, using a pink jighead/ white body / pink tail (Rat tail). My buddy and his son did good also, Pink flu flu with white feathers, tipped with minnows. I used my rat tail straight up. It was awsome!

Bob

[Matt Johnson]

Bob,

Glad to hear the Rat Grubs are working well for you and glad to hear you are having some success out there. I would continue to work out towards the deeper weedline and deeper weeds and I bet you find some crappies. And like you've done, it's not a bad idea to try a different lake if things are heating up somewhere else Enjoy the weekend!

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Matt Breuer]

Calm nights, crappie swirls, throw flies or poppers right on the swirls. If you're stealthy, you can absolutely pound monsters right on top in 40 feet of water. Just watch for the swirls right at dark!!

Congrats on your fish!

[superpastorchris]

Hey dude. Nice posts. Hey, if you need some top water pan fish poppers I have a few I could spare. I tired them at a lake I fish and didn't do good. I had good luck on a ratso with a night crawler beleive it or not. Hey call me at the church if you'd like and I can hook you up. Otherwise, the place in St. Francis does have them. Nice seeign you at the grad party. Take care and catch some more.