winter crappie

[gofish]

went to my favorite pond today. got a few crappie bunch of bass on jigs. the weatherman got his wires crossed was supposed to be 43 and no wind. only made it to 35 and windy all day still better than working. the biggest crappie was almost 17 inches. i dont normally keep the big ones like that but it swallowed the jig and was bleeding all over.

[Catbird]

Gofish, nice mess of fish. I haven't tried for crappie during the winter yet but hopefully will give it a try later this week. Those are darker than what I catch here. Are they black crappie?

[Schoe]

You did well Gofish, What bait were you using? There is an area North from here thats supposed to be good for Crappie and now your picture has me fired up and I have to try for them. Thanks for sharing, Schoe

[gofish]

catbird yes those are black crappie.plus the water they came from is super clear which makes them darker yet. winter crappie is all about the shad if where your fishing has them.the pond i was on doesnt have them but they were suspended 3 to 4 feet deep on a weed edge that dropped off to 15. schoe i use artificials my favorite is the bass assassin curly shad (thats what the big one came on) but when the water temp gets below 44 they seem to want a jig under a bobber better. most of them came on a 48th oz jighead with a ratso body.(custom jigs and spins.com) in warmer water ill use up to a 3 1/2 inch tube though i use much larger baits than most people.

[Ðe§perado™]

Great bunch of fish. Great Job!!!!

[Schoe]

Thanks for the info Gofish. It's been too foggy here to fish today so tomorrow is another day. Schoe

[Catbird]

Gofish, I was catfishing a few nights ago on a large lake (no bites). I did figure out where the shad was though. The ones I found were in about 26' of water about 2' off the bottem. They were only 4"-6". I was marking a lot of larger fish. Are you saying that some of them might of been crappies? I heard from Fatkat that people were fishing for saugeyes and walleyes close to this area. Years ago, this lake was known for walleyes but haven't heard much of them in recent years. If they are walleyes, what would be your suggestions on targeting them? Thanks, Catbird.

[gofish]

catbird in the cold water period i always fish where i find the shad or if there arent any in the place im fishing i look for the biggest concentration of baitfish. those could have been crappie but if the shad are 4 to 6 inches id think it would be a larger predator.look for walleye this time of year at the ends of large mainlake points and the edge of large flats. the sharper the drop the better. i would look for them at the base of the drops when they were least active and shallower when theyre feeding.in the colder water they tend to move vertically more than horizontal. the exception would be if the flat or point has a large area of deeper water on it. they tend to roam more then and suspend when active. a good choice this time of year for baits would be 3 to 4 inch shiners on a jighead, a jig and jig and minnow combo worked vertically or cast and worked down the drop or across the point (slowly) a blade bait or spoon should work also.if you can find a cut going into the flat it should be good also.have you just been fishing deep for the cats? i catch a lot of them in the winter shallow on shad gut (its the one time of year i use it) actually ive found that the shallower the pond the better they seem to hit in winter. what lake are you fishing and what species are in it? if i could find a topo map id let you know where and how id try for the walleye and crappie.

[rockinmichigan]

That's a nice mess of crappie you got there, gofish. Good job!

[bankpoleken]

gofish - My buddy and I took advantage of the sunny sky and 5 to 10 mph winds today to walk the banks at Lake Shelbyville. We caught 18 fish (two shy of a two man limit) in two hours with the 18 keepers running 10 to 12 inches. More than half the catch was blacks. The winds here have kept us off the lake as we have been having straight line winds of 15 to 25 with gusts hitting close to 50. Will give it another try tomorrow.

[gofish]

bankpoleken what part of the lake were you at? i fish shelbyville with my boys in the summer. we put in anywhere from eagle creek to 9th street ive caught quite a few crappie there but mainly fish it for walleye and white bass. is lake mattoon still good for crappie? used to live there 15 years ago.

[Catbird]

I am going to head out this morning trying for crappie and walleye. It is supposed to be 28 degrees but warm up into the 40's. That is if the bait shop has any minnows. I will let you know if I have any luck.

[rockinmichigan]

bankpoleken, is that a lake limit of crappie of 10? That sounds awfully low of a limit. I don't know what the limit is in Michigan, might be the same for all I know but it seems low, considering the limit in MI is 50 I think for perch and 25 for bluegill, or maybe its the other way around.

[bankpoleken]

gofish - When fishing Shelbyville I fish most of the time the waters between the route 32 bridge at Fox Harbor marina west to the railroad bridege and south to the Findlay bridge. When I troll for walleye I fish the flats at point 3 5, and 6. Crappie fishing at Lake Mattoon is better than it was years ago as far as size goes. When I moved to Mattoon in the mid 60's you could catch 100 crappie and not have any over 8 or 9 inches. In the last couple of years I have caught quite a few 10 to 12.5 inch crappie but the little ones are still a nuisance. Did you graduate from Mattoon High School? If so what year?

[bankpoleken]

rockinmichigan - Yes, the limit for Lake Shelbyville is 10 fish and 10 inches in length. The size and creel limit for crappie in Illinois varies from lake to lake and is site specific. In general, there are no size or creel limits imposed by the state on many of our waters. We have three large corps of engineer lakes here in Illinois - Carlyle, Shelbyville, and Rend. On Shelbyville and Carlyle the limit is 10 fish and 10 inches in length. On Rend, the creel limit is 25 with only 10 fish being 10 inches or longer. On Clinton Lake, a larger power plant lake the creel limit is 15 with a 9 inch limit. On Sangchris, another power plant lake, the creel limit is 10 with a 10 inch size limit. When you fish Illinois waters for crappie you better have a copy of the Illinois Rules and Regulations manual with you.

[gofish]

bankpoleken no i just lived in mattoon for a while in 90/91. looked on my map couldnt find where you troll but im assuming you were referring to the daymarkers and they dont have numbers on my map.i think we fish about the same area though. i dont do much trolling but one of my favorite spots are the long points at the mouth of sand creek cove.(by wolf creek park) have you ever fished sangrhis? ive heard about the stripers but havent had a chance to check it out yet.was going to this winter but havent got laid off yet. whats your biggest walleye at shelbyville? mines almost 6lbs but quite a few limits of 2 to 3 lbers

[bankpoleken]

gofish - marker 3 is where Sand Creek enters the main lake. Marker 6 is where the Okaw and Kaskaskia Rivers meet. My biggest walleye is a little over 5 lbs. My best day was 4 keepers that weighed a little over 18 lbs. I have never fished Sangchris but would like to hit it for crappie. I have heard rumors that they are going to put saugeye and pure stripers into Lake Shelbyville in the near future.

[rockinmichigan]

bankpoleken, I'll have to take a look at my MI booklet. Always have one handy when I go out fishing, just to make sure I know what length is the minimum, how many I'm allowed to take home, etc. Doesn't matter what kind of fish it is. As far as crappie, I will have to get back to you on, because I haven't had time to whip it out and take a look (the booklet, not that other thing) :D

[gofish]

bankpoleken number 3 is the area i like best. ive seen a lot of people trolling out there but the boys get bored so we dont do it. try casting the points on the left as you come off the main lake into the cove. concentrate on the right side of the 3rd one and the tip of it. theres also trees of the tip that hold crappie(22 to28 ft) another favorite spot is across the lake theres a cove with a bunch of standing timber. the point on the left has had bunches of walleye on it more than once.they spook real easy though. stripers at shelbyville might be a good thing theres sure enough baitfish to support them.

[gofish]

hey catbird did you do any good?

[Catbird]

gofish, I decided to go during the night to try for some catfish then stay over for crappie fishing during the day. Well, about 9:AM a boat comes up to my boat asking if I am the one driving a white Chevy truck. Someone had broken the passenger window and the park officer was waiting for me. Needless to say, I cut the trip short and went home...lol

[gofish]

thats not good ....not good at all did they get anything?

[Catbird]

Just a CD and some keys. I don't keep much in there....plus the alarm (horn) went off.

[gofish]

other than the window you didnt get hurt too bad then. only time someone broke into a vehicle of mine they bragged about it and when i found out they discovered what "having a bad day" was really like. im not known for being the most levelheaded at times. lol

[Catbird]

Yea..of course the insurance co. jerked me around...I have been with them over 10 yrs. w/ no claims...I am with some one else now. Going to change the house and contractors insurance also. Window for 2002 chevy...$100 from the salvage yard and around an hour to change. They lost out in the long run.

[gofish]

insurance co. got ya where it counts. whod you go with? when i do a big side job and have to have insurance. ive gone with country companies just have to make sure my guys dont work over what i pay for workmans comp. normally isnt a problem anyway cause you cant find good help around here even if you pay well. what kind of work do you do?

[capt.kirk]

HEY GO FISH
I just finished talking with a friend that lives on LAKE BARLLEY,and he
told me that bite is on,he is filling his freezer,with some good size fillets.:cool:
KIRK

[Catbird]

Gofish, I mainly do work for handicap clients, wheelchair ramps, roll in tile showers, door widenings, etc. Finding "satisfactory" help here is a real problem also. I quit framing houses, house additions, etc. I now work totally by myself. I actually like it better that way....lol

[gofish]

capt. kirk its just not right tellin a guy things like that when hes snowed under with work.lol im getting things ready now for the trip hope your buddy leaves some for when i get there. catbird working alone seems better to me too i know i can count on me. this job i got going now might kill me though. 4 1/2 months and im just now done repairing other peoples substandard work. some of it was downright dangerous(2 by6 floor joists/no bottom plate on loadbearing walls) home owners are just young kids (friends) and all i can tell them is ..........it will be alright....every time we find something new. its so bad any more i just laugh at it. lol

[capt.kirk]

HEY GO FISH
There will be pleanty to go around,will it make you work any faster if i
mention crappies in the 2lb+ range just waiting for you to find the right
brush pile?:D
KIRK

[gofish]

no but it sure is making my itch worse.lol im afraid if i dont get laid off soon im going to have to sneak off