Crappie/Bluegills?

[c_becker11]

Any one have success finding these little buggers early ice? No need to give away locations, I'm just curious as to what you use to get them and in what FOW. I'm relatively new to the panfish game and wouldn't mind some pointers! Thanks,

[corny13]

Went gill and crappie fishing last weekend, practicing form the NAIFC tourney this weekend.   Just like anyplace else...Green weeds...deep holes....drop offs near both of the above.  Jason Mitchell had a good show on early gills and crappies in Mn a few weeks ago, check it out.  Drill lots of hole till you find em usually suspended off the bottom.  Micro jigs with plastic worked great as well as tungsten with waxes or spikes...

[c_becker11]

  Thanks so much! From your experience, does artificial work better than live bait? I was considering using some small minnows on micro jigs...does it even pay?

[corny13]

Depends upon the day and the lake ....last weekend Saturday afternoon it was all live bait (waxies)  Sunday the plastics out fished the bait..? Crappies like small minnows even on a plain hook  at times.

[c_becker11]

Sorry for all the dumb questions, I'm new to the panfish game. Do you mean wax worms for live bait? Do I just buy anyone of those waxies like Gulp brand? When you say plastics, which ones seem to work the best? Thanks again! Good luck at your tourney this weekend!

[thorson]

There aren't a whole lot of lakes in ND that offer bluegills and crappies. You may want to pick up a fishing guide from the game and fish.  This will give you the type of fish in each lake a general directions to the water.  Iv'e had good luck with the mustache worms in black and red for crappies in the past  Where are you located?  Metigoshi in the north is a good lake and I think Brewer in the center of the state holds good #. Some lakes around Jamestown offer some opportunities too.

[c_becker11]

I'm located in Bismarck, so centrally located. The only lakes I had on the docket were Arroda but I've never fished there...just the closest option.

[river rat78]

Since you are wanting to catch some panfish I would make sure to have spikes and waxworms for live bait. Some days they want waxworms other days its spikes. Then there are days where it just doesn't matter. Small plastics in various colors. I think the smallest plastic I use is maybe 1/4 of an inch long. Longest one I use is 1". When they are aggressively feeding plastics are hard to beat. You don't have to waste time rebaiting. I found out last ice season that small jigging rapalas and spoons work really well on crappies.

[SeisMec]

@ c_becker11;  Harmon Lake north of Mandan

Harmon Lake (Morton County): 8 miles north of Mandan on ND Highway 1806. Trout, northern pike, largemouth bass,
crappie and bluegill abundant. Harmon Lake filled for the first time in 2009 and fish size should continue to improve .

http://gf.nd.gov/gnf/maps/fishing/lakecontours/harmon2009.pdf

OR

This one you won't find on the NDGF website. I drove back into it about 4 weeks ago, the road it poorly maintained and so is the parking/boat ramp area. It has a sign stating that it is a Sports Fish Restoration area. I believe it is a program between the state and the federal game and fish to put sports fish into dammed waters.  On the way into it you have to drive by another large slough with an official sign calling it Jakes Lake.

Nieuwsma Dam is located in Emmons County. This lake is 66 acres in size. It is 22.10 feet deep at its deepest point. Anglers can expect to catch a variety of fish including Black Crappie, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Walleye and White Crappie.  Five miles south, 1 mile east, 1 mile north of the junctions of Highways 83 & 11.

http://www.lake-link.com/North-Dakota-Lake-Finder/lake.cfm/5997/535/Nieuwsma-Dam-Emmons-County-North-Dakota/

[c_becker11]

Wow thanks guys for the information!!! I'll keep you posted as to how I fair...

[paperboy05]

Any one have success finding these little buggers early ice? No need to give away locations, I'm just curious as to what you use to get them and in what FOW. I'm relatively new to the panfish game and wouldn't mind some pointers! Thanks,

Check out Crown Butte (by Mandan). Fish in 20ft close to the spillway. I drill a lot of holes and hop until I find them. Bite usually lasts until mid/end of January. After that I've never been able to find them.

[SeisMec]

An angler on the Lindy's fish ed videos claims that they head into of the deep holes during early ice for the forage on invertebrates and into shallower water as the O2 levels in the lake drop during late ice.

[c_becker11]

An angler on the Lindy's fish ed videos claims that they head into of the deep holes during early ice for the forage on invertebrates and into shallower water as the O2 levels in the lake drop during late ice.

Was that both for Crappie and Gills?

[SeisMec]

Was that both for Crappie and Gills?

I think the video showed him pulling out crappie and perch.

[paperboy05]

An angler on the Lindy's fish ed videos claims that they head into of the deep holes during early ice for the forage on invertebrates and into shallower water as the O2 levels in the lake drop during late ice.

Finally got back on IS

I've gone shallower (10-15 ft) before, but still couldn't find them. Maybe I need to go really shallow, not sure. Just kind of weird how that lake reacts.