Thoughts on crappie locations on this 23acre lake.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Structured areas

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Lake depth areas.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Just wanted to get some opinions ideas on where you guys would hunt/look for crappies on this small lake.

We have done fairly well.....and got are teeth kicked in on days. Some days I swear they left the lake...

Just thought I'd get some thoughts from the pros

[hardwater diehard]

Not a Pro by any means ...but fishing by time of year is good advice ..first ice ...mid winter ..late ice . mid winter usually means basin ..the deepest waters but pockets of deep water can be good too all season they may slide into them during barometric changes . Shallow spawn areas ..northern shore would be my late season choice  but basically shallow first ice and last ice . The  shallow flats are tough as the fish a roaming and spread out ...which means either your staying put or you got to keep moving as the fish roam . But on the flats anything different is good whether it be structure or bottom composition and bottom contour changes hump..depressions  etc. But if I had this map and were fishing early ice and returned through out the season I would start off in the larger parking area/boat launch fish the flats and gradual deeping water area at first ice heading west toward the basin as the season progresses.  Then from the basin out to the shallows as they move to spawn .

What are all the plot points ? Fish species ?

[Agronomist_at_IA]

We mainly ice fish it.

The points on the first one is the Brush piles of deader trees and tires and stuff.

[matzilla]

brush piles and cedar trees on the drops along the dam and east shore.....I have a pond similar to this but much smaller haha, my crappie hug those brush piles all year long and ambush bait fish. Hole hop those piles. Its only 23 acres, you should be able to locate fish pretty easily

[Agronomist_at_IA]

brush piles and cedar trees on the drops along the dam and east shore.....I have a pond similar to this but much smaller haha, my crappie hug those brush piles all year long and ambush bait fish. Hole hop those piles. Its only 23 acres, you should be able to locate fish pretty easily

You would think.....I swear the crappie disappear from the lake durring the day. Dusk going into dark it's crazy good fishing & finding them is easy & possible.......during the day......who knows. I've Swiss cheesed it with a goose egg. Watched people from my hut Swiss cheese it with nothing.....can't even hardly find them to even mark them. Used cameras even. So I tend to fish it for gills during the day.....then once dusk comes the crappie move in and it's great. I've just sat there fishing after dark with a nice bucket thinking.....where in the heck were they an hour ago.......

Brush piles always have gills around....but crappie are gone durring the day....not sure why....we've checked with cameras.....22in bass roam and hook a few every now and then....

[Gunflint]

You would think.....I swear the crappie disappear from the lake durring the day. Dusk going into dark it's crazy good fishing & finding them is easy & possible.......during the day......who knows. I've Swiss cheesed it with a goose egg. Watched people from my hut Swiss cheese it with nothing.....can't even hardly find them to even mark them. Used cameras even. So I tend to fish it for gills during the day.....then once dusk comes the crappie move in and it's great. I've just sat there fishing after dark with a nice bucket thinking.....where in the heck were they an hour ago.......

Brush piles always have gills around....but crappie are gone durring the day....not sure why....we've checked with cameras.....22in bass roam and hook a few every now and then....

Have you Livescoped it?

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Have you Livescoped it?

No....it would be nice to live scope it......my buddy got one a year ago....but I haven't gone with him much. Might hve to see if I can get him to go durring the day. To try.


My thought is that the fish must be scattered & suspend in the water.....then if they hear foot steps or an áuger scatter from that spot. you'd think with a drill áuger it wouldn't scare them though since it's not very loud.

[hardwater diehard]

No....it would be nice to live scope it......my buddy got one a year ago....but I haven't gone with him much. Might hve to see if I can get him to go durring the day. To try.


My thought is that the fish must be scattered & suspend in the water.....then if they hear foot steps or an áuger scatter from that spot. you'd think with a drill áuger it wouldn't scare them though since it's not very loud.

If they are shallow ..gonna be hard to see them with electronics..and yes noise could spook them ..dragging sled/shelters . Then there were times we would send the 'kid" to ride around are tip ups to get'em to bite ...so there is that strategy too. 

[fishinator]

I fish a very small lake occasionally (2 acres) that is exactly like you describe. Dusk and dawn we pull them in non stop. Any other time and they disappear. Can't even mark them and its too murky for a camera. We always assumed they are just laying on bottom?

[Gunflint]

No....it would be nice to live scope it......my buddy got one a year ago....but I haven't gone with him much. Might hve to see if I can get him to go durring the day. To try.


My thought is that the fish must be scattered & suspend in the water.....then if they hear foot steps or an áuger scatter from that spot. you'd think with a drill áuger it wouldn't scare them though since it's not very loud.

If you check YouTube, most of the best Livescope videos are Crappies. That would be very interesting.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

I fish a very small lake occasionally (2 acres) that is exactly like you describe. Dusk and dawn we pull them in non stop. Any other time and they disappear. Can't even mark them and its too murky for a camera. We always assumed they are just laying on bottom?

Gotta love those small farm ponds, the bad thing is any sort of fishing pressure and they are fished out.

[slipperybob]

I used to fish a popular small lake similar in features and size too.  During daytime, there's nothing.  However just as night time rolls in about 6 pm and onwards to about 10 PM, the crappies show up and an occasional perch too.  However they are not in the deep basin 20' of the lake.  For some reason the forage base is more of the mud flats or next to the deeper weed line.  So the depths of about 8' to 12' are much more productive.  And it's a featureless location too.  Away from good structures or points.

[hnd]

where do you normally fish it?

We have a few lakes that are like this.  the night they come alive, during the day its like what on earth.  We too have turned someof these lakes to swiss cheese. 

my guess is they just go dormant and unseen near the bottom.   

we have a lake that is a 5 acre basin with 0 structure.  you find crappies in schools.  but at night they go away and the shad come to life.  you flasher is just going bananas.  total opposite. one evening we livescoped the entire 5 acres methodically and found nothing but shad (shad move fast, easy to identify) but the next day we found schools of crappie.   no inlet to the river (usually there is but it as lower water) we have absolutely no idea where they are at night. 

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Dusk into night they hang right at the 10ft depth by structure, bush piles, docks just off the deep basin. All a guy needs to do is pull the shack to the end of the dock and your good.... gills hang around all day with an occasional big bass...never see a crappie all day then dusk they suspend at 6ft in 10ft. Of water.

I’ve dropped the camera in deep basin and can see a few feet...they aren’t on bottom when we check.

[hnd]

While this has happened to us on a few lakes, sometimes the opposite, i've not really put a ton of thought as to why and now am a little bit. 

So my thought process especially as we get out of first ice, is that fish move not just shallow but just under the ice.   crappies more than any other fish IMO are suseptible to poor oxygen situations.  there is more oxygen under the ice than there is deeper.  ALSO we've seen minnows in shallow clear ice conditions.   

also during the day, the sun is beating on the shallow water spots and plankton and what ot are hatching and baitfish move in.  sun goes down plankton stop, and minnows will go deep and so do the crappies. 

My guess the fish are up super shallow....easily spooked and very difficult to find. 

In all the years of my dealing with this on some bodies of water thats my best guess.  because its easy to search deep water your cone covers more.  when you are searching in shallow water, drill all the holes you are goign to want to fish, and then come back to the first hole and just dip a lure in the water without electronics and try and be quiet.  my guess is thats your best option. 

[Fat Boy]

That's interesting.  In our lakes, during the evening, the plankton get so thick that you can't use a camera.  You can see them on your flasher, and, sometimes, swimming in the hole.  Granted, we're using lanterns.  So, perhaps, if that's the case, the lanterns are indeed attracting the food chain and crappie.  It's not a new concept.  But, what I can't explain is, how come the plankton are there before we fire up the lanterns?  During the day, you can see great on the camera, then, dusk happens and there are clouds of planktonic critters.

I've had similar experiences.  We don't often get blanked on our favorite lakes, but the crappie numbers are sporadic.  When we do catch them, we remember those spots for the night bite.  They usually produce more often than not.

[Fat Boy]

OK, after further research, I found that zooplankton (as I originally suspected) are light sensitive.  They stay deeper during bright daylight, and rise at night to feed.  That explains why I often cut a new hole at night and see lots of little critters swimming around.  It also explains why crappie suspend to feed at night.  So, what about daytime?  Zooplankton may be the key.  I seem to see more of it in the daytime when I'm fishing the edges of weed beds.   Find areas like that close to your nighttime spots, and maybe you'll find daytime crappie.  They could be hiding in the weeds too.