Paris Landing.com Paris Landing Discussion Board Forums Kentucky Lake / Lake Barkley Fishing Crappie What do I do now that the Spawn is over?
Paris Landing Discussion Board Forums Kentucky Lake / Lake Barkley Fishing Crappie What do I do now that the Spawn is over?Page 1 2
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Newbie |
I have been wanting to learn how to fish for crappie during the summer for years and have never found the time to pursue that interest. This year I am going to finally get around to doing it. I declare this the summer of, deep water crappie fishing, to quote George from Seinfeld.
I would like to encourage anyone with knowledge on this subject or who is like me and does not fully understand how to find and catch the fish in deeper water to feel free to jump onto this page and post away! My first questions to the experts out there include: Do you have to use the spider fishing rig or can you just tight line with a few pole in holder on your boat? How many poles is it legal to have out? How do you rig the baits? Is it with a larger sinker on bottom and jigs above or with just one single larger jig? What colors seem to work best in deeper water? Is it worth the effort to tip with minnows or power baits? How do I know what I am looking for on my depth finder? What depths generally am I going to be fishing? These are just some of a wide range of question that I would like to see addressed in this discussion. I am looking forward to hearing from all of those who regularly fish in this manner. Sincerely, Tired of catching small recent hatchlings around over fished stakebeds, Lowedownfisherman |
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Newbie |
I talked to a friend of mine that fishes Sardis. He said he trolls with bandit crankbaits the small ones but deep divers. He said he trys different colors until he finds what they are hitting. He said white is generally a good color. I don't know how that will apply to Ky. lake, but it gives you something to think about.
Enjoy each day! |
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Serious Fisherman |
Hey Lowedownfisherman. If Pappacrappie is reading this forum he is the one that will know the answer to all the questions you have asked. He fishes Big Sandy and knows all the ins and outs of crappie fishing. Hope he will weigh in on this question as well as all the other knowledgable people. I am anxious to hear the answers myself.
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Wily Ole Veteran |
LDF...belive it or not...but i HATE the spawn..to me they are easy to catch in the deep water..they are easier to locate thats for sure...for me anyway...it got to where it was more work than fun when you have to compete with the numbers or people that are on the lake during this time...my solution was to fish deep water ALL the time and dont fight the crowd...it took several years to consistantly catch fish...but i learned..i am NO expert..but i can catch the fish...so here is what i learned....90% of the time about 60% of the crappie are relating to depths of 13-21ft..well defined drops on secondary channels leading to stumpy flats from 10-13ft will generaly hold the better fish(the 60%)..about 30% will be on the 10-13ft flats adjacent to the drops...the water/weather condition dictates if they are suspended or tight to cover...after the spawn they get a bit finicky...but they will still take a light small jig...rapidly changing water levels will sometimes move them to the main channel where they will suspend...for me this is the hardest time to catch em...a good map is a must...and use your graph to locate the fish before you even think of fishing...take time to find the fish in several areas of the same water...then go back and fish till the bite changes...then knowing why it changed(water rise/fall..brm up/dn)tells you which way to look next...having a few areas makes it easier to find em when they move...presentation is really what you fell most confidence in...be it spiderigging or pulling jigs or tightlining...after a while you will learn the areas that consistantly hold catchable fish...as a rule before/during/after the spawn key the drops close to the spawning areas and the creeks they use as corridoors to and from deep water..most of the other time key on the main lake ledges as i described before...be methodical in your search and rule out the most obvious water first...and dont follow the crowd..90% of the time its the blind leading the blind..at least if you get skunked it will be by the fish and not the fisherman..i cant stress enough how important it is to locate fish first...it takes a lot of seat time at idle speeds to locate them...dont get down when you dont find fish...you have illiminated water...i have searched a half a day...to find my limit in 1 hour in the right water..dont give up and you will learn the deep water secrets...good luck..hope i can help ya
chuck cissell parker marine paris tn 731-642-6569 |
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Wily Ole Veteran |
thanks for the kind words CC...ya'll type alot faster than me..
 chuck cissell parker marine paris tn 731-642-6569 |
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Serious Fisherman |
Hey LDF. Didn't I tell you pappacrappie could tell you what to do? Thanks Pappacrappie.I learn a lot reading your posts. Just so you will know, I was gutterman on the old post, but I changed my name when the new forum came. Nice to hear from you. Hope to see you on the water sometime so I could look at your setup and pick your brain somemore.
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Newbie |
Thanks for the help PC.
I have a question regarding finding the cover to fish. I have a Hummingbird 100 depth/fish finder. When I am going along and see somthing protruding from the bottom, I am to stop, drop a marker and fish around that object. Is that correct? Do I need to be getting a fish reading on the finder or is that mostly just bells and whistles? I am looking forward to trying it this weekend. I will be fishing around Beaverdam Marina near New Johnsonville. Have any of you ever fished that area? If so any pointers would be appreciated. Have a good day, Lowedownfisherman |
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Newbie |
I am very interested in PappaCrappie's response to several of your questions and his response:
1. What is considered secondary channels? 2. When using a graph how do you determine which fish are crappie? 3. Are you always looking for brush or irregular bottom or irregular contours in the water. I am brand new to the Disscussion Board & I joined to learn from you PRO'S. I fish the Hurricane creek area above Leatherwood. |
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Wily Ole Veteran |
LDF..what you want to see is structure with fish relating to it..be it tight to it or suspended over it..only drop a marker if you see schools of fish..structure can be in the form of a sharp drop..row of stumps..main lake humps and even depressions in an other wise flat bottom...the mouth of secondarys into main channels..ect..seeing the fish on your graph is the main thing..if they are there you WILL see them..turn OFF the fish symbles..you want to see raw sonar..i cant speak bad about the birds...i have a matrix on my console...i will say..this is one time bigger is sure enough better..320x320 pixles..is minimum for a real serious fisherman...i can i.d. the fish 95% of the time by the echo(arch) i see on the screen...crappie(other panfish) will give back a good sharp arch..cats,sauger,carp..all give a generaly straight echo...bass,striper,hybrids..have an elongated arch..a good graph gives you all the tools to be deadly on the water..learn to use the features like..grayscale,sensitivity,zoom,and real time sonar..it takes time..but you will get it..trust it..if you set it up right it will never lie to you...get a good map..like ky hydrografix..it will save you 10 yaers of "on the job training"...hope i helped..good luck and hang with it..its worth it in the end
chuck cissell parker marine paris tn 731-642-6569 |
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Wily Ole Veteran |
CS...welcome to the board...glad to have ya..secondarys are feeder creek leading into the main channel...they are well defined against their suroundings but not as deep as the main channel..the post above describes how i I.D. the fish..and pretty much what i look for..i usually lay out a few routes on my gps that allows me to cover differant types of structure in a realative easy and straight run...i mark the fish aloung the route..and come back and fish the sreas that were holding fish...i do like to run a few routes so i can make a well informed desision on what type of structure to fish first..once you set up a pattern ..the rest falls into place...i fish hurricane a bit..there are several mats in there..i have at least 50 on the gps...the ky hydrografix tn trio has hurricane,leatherwood,and standing rock...well worth the money..patts cd's are awsome.....hey...your gonna let us know when the cats heat up down there aint ya...good luck...glad to have ya..
chuck cissell parker marine paris tn 731-642-6569 |
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Serious Fisherman |
Guys,
This is awesome!!!! Pappa, there is no doubt you know what is going on with crappie fishing. Great tips you are offering. I just hope one of these days, I can get out there and implement your thoughts. Guys, keep it coming - this is great stuff!!! Good Fishing! Jig Man |
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Newbie |
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Fishin Nut |
Pappa is the man. Very informative!
I haven't been on the big lake in 6 weeks and it's killing me. Just nice to be able to come here and live vicariously through you guys. Good Fishin, fishman |
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Fishin Nut |
Also, got to give a thumbs up to Lowedown on the Avitar.
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Gone Fishin Serious Fisherman  |
PC
Thanks for the great info, very good stuff. I've always valued your opinion and look forward to reading your posts. Rambler The 59th Land Clearing Company |
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Newbie |
Thanks for the good info PC!
I still have a few more questions. 1. Is my hummingbird 100 going to do an adequate job or do I need to invest in a different graph? 2.I need a little more info on how to use the maps. Do you need a GPS to use the maps or are they just paper maps? Thanks again for all the good information. LDF |
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Newbie |
What is Avitar??? CS |
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Newbie |
I hope I am doing this right, but I also have a few more questions. 1. When you turn the fish symbols off how does it notify you of fish? I saw where you were talking about arches but my finders only produce fish symbols ( I Think ) . 2. If you see a bunch of small arches bunched together is that CRAPPIE ? Sorry for being so thick headed!!!! CS |
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Wily Ole Veteran |
LDF...think of pixles as image enhancers..the more you have the clearer the resolution of the image will be..the 100 has 128x64 pixels...8,192 in all...any 240 such as garmin,eagle,humminbird,ect..has 57,600...the 320's have..102,400...and better yet...the 480's have..230,400...in order to see schools of crappie in balls of baitfish(or even know thats what your seeing)it takes 240x240...and then you better be a seasoned reader...a 320x320 will make it very easy for even a novice reader to quickly become very good at successfully use a graph...
the cd's from ky-hydrografix are digital topo(color),3-D,animated fly over,and side scan images...they are gps ready...and THE most usefull tool for fishing you could ever own...you just pop it in you puter...pull up the area and place waypoints where you want them...send them to the gps...and you'll be there...without a doubt...right on the money..or...your out fishin...find some matts..mark em...get home pull up the map...send the waypoints to it..and you can see where they are in relation to everything else..really nice ...you need to check out there web site.. hope to have helped... chuck cissell parker marine paris tn 731-642-6569 |
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Wily Ole Veteran |
CS...in your menu you should find a way to turn off the symbols...you can turn off the auto..and set it all up manually..by default the graph is going to show every thing in the water as a fish...we all know this is not the case...by seeing raw sonar, and haveing your gragh fine tuned you can i.d. what your seeing with very good accuracy...on my graph i can see my baits...no kiding...i can see the weight and the two minnows(jigs)...i can place my bait right in a fishes face and watch him take it..serious bussiness...my graph on the bow is an eagle with 320x320 pixles..from wally world...nothing special
seeing a bunch of acrhes togather doesnt always mean crappie...but its a real good chance they are..sometimes its those dang little yellow bass or stripes...its hard to tell them apart at times..but...they are more of a open water fish and dont really relate to cover...so make your interputations accordingly.... hope i helped...good luck.. chuck cissell parker marine paris tn 731-642-6569 |
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Wily Ole Veteran |
CS...an avitar is the picture below his name..
chuck cissell parker marine paris tn 731-642-6569 |
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Newbie |
You fellows have been a big help & I guess I have no excuse for not catching crappie now. Thanks a million.
CS |
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Newbie |
PappaCrappie,
I know every LCR unit is different but I have a LCR simular to yours and I curious about your settings. If you are able to see your bait thru your locator your setting must really be refined. Explain what the settings do and which ones you need to play with in order to have them properly set for your boat. Thanks Again CS |
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Wily Ole Veteran |
CS...seeing your baits on the graph is more in refining your transducer angle with the legnth of your rods...i mount my transducer slightly angled forward...and i use 12ft rods..angling the transducer forward lets you see what is just ahead of you(not under you)...and 12ft rods seem to put the bait right in the transducers cone of sight..at slow speeds use a lighter weight..higher speeds use a heavier weght....i usually set my sen to about 72-85%..greyscale is used to id soft and hard bottoms...big fish will even show grey in the middle of the arch..RTS(real time sonar) is like a flasher..you see it all in REAL TIME..with the zoom you can see fish tight to the bottom...but remember..to see a PERFECT arch you must be moving ..and your baits will be straight lines across the screen..,when you see a line coming up off the bottom at an angle..thats a fish fixin to take the bait...as i said..fine tuning your transducer is as important as setting up the unit....
chuck cissell parker marine paris tn 731-642-6569 |
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