winter crappie

[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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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

[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

[Catbird]

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

[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.

[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