THE HUNT IS ON!!!!!

[WANNAKETCHUM]

OK folks...here's one for ya.....There's a small natural lake that you fish on occasion. You have caught decent sized Crappies there, but no numbers of them although it is a sizeable enough body of water to support a good population. This lake is relatively deep as it supports Trout. It has Largemouth Bass, Pickerel, Perch, Bullhead, Bluegill, Trout, Crappie, and a good population of Golden Shiners so there's no question that there isn't sufficient food available. The lake is a big punchbowl with not a lot of shallows. It drops from several feet to about 25 feet in a short distance (within about 40 yds. or so) and continues to drop to about 60+ feet overall. You have heard from numerous sources (including those that live on the lake) that there are some very large Crappies in the lake if you can find them. How would you go about hunting them down? Would you do a lot of "running and gunning" during the day...or maybe concentrate more on night fishing for them? You have reason to believe that there are good numbers of Crappie in this lake but you haven't really spent any time hunting for them as the action for the other species has always been good to great. If you were going to fish this lake (about 20+ acres in size) specifically for Crappie...how would you go about it? I have been told that I'm a "Crappy" fisherman....but I never considered myself much of a "Crappie" fisherman...LOL.. ...Let's have your input. Maybe you can put me on them. THE HUNT IS ON!!!!!!......WK

[tjsnipehunter]

If the lake is only about 20 acres then I'm going to run and gun because there aren't a lot of places for them to hide. You never know they might be in 10 fow or 40 but I'd bet they move along the steepest drop offs. Late in the afternoon into evening would be when I would be most serious about targeting them. Better have some type of flasher/finder because in that kind of depth they will suspend.

Also I would not take it as gospel that there are a lot of crappies in there. When people say " there are some very large Crappies in the lake if you can find them" it usually means there aren't a lot of them. In small lakes and ponds crappies usually only get big if there are few of them. Even the large populations of bluegills and shiners can keep their numbers down. They will eat eggs in the spring and compete with crappies for food in the winter. Crappies eat a lot more plankton then bait fish this time of year. It's actually a good thing if there are just a few big ones in a small lake because crappies can overpopulate and stunt in a flash in that size of water.

Good luck,
Tim

[WANNAKETCHUM]

Also I would not take it as gospel that there are a lot of crappies in there. When people say " there are some very large Crappies in the lake if you can find them" it usually means there aren't a lot of them. In small lakes and ponds crappies usually only get big if there are few of them. Even the large populations of bluegills and shiners can keep their numbers down. They will eat eggs in the spring and compete with crappies for food in the winter. Crappies eat a lot more plankton then bait fish this time of year. It's actually a good thing if there are just a few big ones in a small lake because crappies can overpopulate and stunt in a flash in that size of water.

Good luck,
Tim

Thanks Tim. You have shed some light on some of my suspicions although I still think there are numbers to be had only for the simple fact that the lake receives light pressure with most anglers targeting the Trout. I'm going to spend more time snooping around on the lake this season as I usually only fish one area because I get a mixed bag of fish there. The same goes for Perch in this lake....never really saw any numbers but then again never really targeted them either.....I will definitely have the GPS handy if I find an area that produces...WK

[fiesty]

I agree with Tim, "run and gun" it, paying close attention to the drop off that you mentioned and any other structure that you find, especially nearer to the deep water.  Definately use the finder to help you, and I'd give the lake several chances, fishing different weather patterns and different times of day.  If you don't find the larger lurkers, there might not be as many as everyone says there is...let us know when you slay em...

[Smitty71]

Don't count out the morning bite either!  We've had some of our best crappie fishing this year from 5am till 7am.  If you know this lake well enough to know anything about the bottom that will also help.  If most of the lake is sand or rock bottom and you know that there are a few spots that it changes to a silt or mud bottom, well lets just say don't tell anybody about them.  Bug larva, worms and other invertebrates hang out in the muddy or soft bottoms and they can be a magnet for crappie/walleye at night or in the morning.  Also look for humps, old road beds or anything else that changes the depth and structure at one time.  Hope this helps.

Smitty

[WANNAKETCHUM]

Don't count out the morning bite either!  We've had some of our best crappie fishing this year from 5am till 7am.  If you know this lake well enough to know anything about the bottom that will also help.  If most of the lake is sand or rock bottom and you know that there are a few spots that it changes to a silt or mud bottom, well lets just say don't tell anybody about them.  Bug larva, worms and other invertebrates hang out in the muddy or soft bottoms and they can be a magnet for crappie/walleye at night or in the morning.  Also look for humps, old road beds or anything else that changes the depth and structure at one time.  Hope this helps.

Smitty

There's definitely no old road beds, it's been there since God made it.  And there isn't a lot of shallow water just a few small coves that extend 40-50 yds. from shore. I think it just "stair steps" into deep water relatively quick. I haven't explored the lake much as it has a lot of springs and unless we have a good 10-12" of ice (which we don't unfortunately) I stay on the safe side. I think there some good Crappie to be had but as mentioned in one of the earlier posts it's possible that there are no numbers of them there due to competition for spawning habitat and the predation of their fry by other species. I'm seriously thinking about trying more night fishing there, especially off the weed edges where it starts to drop into deep water. If I don't get the chance to explore it this winter....I may spend some time on it in open water this year looking for them....WK