chick 10/29

[drc]

Yesterday was probably the worst day of fishing Iv'e had all year. I put in at Harrison Bay about noon hoping to catch a bunch of crappie. I ended up fishing in Harrison Bay, Wolftever Creek, and some boat docks in Chesterfrost. I left around 5:00 and ended up catching 0 crappie, 3 small bass, 2 small stripe, and 1 giant bluegill.
I have never fished this late in the fall before but I'm going keep it up until it gets bad cold. With the water being low and cold I really don't even know where to start to find fish. I'm still hoping to get a cooler full of crappie before it's too late. Hope you guy's have better luck!

 

[fishin3]

Well don't feel bad we went out today on Watts Bar and only caught 4 keepers,lost one at the boat, and had 2 that were about 1/16" too short. But at least we were fishin'!! Have you tried shooting dock or called bow-n-arrow cast. If you were bassin it is called skipping. It works pretty good if you find the right dock to shoot.

 

[ranman]

I've seen that on tv a few times,do you use any special equipment?is it hard to learn?what would you call the "right dock"?

 

[fishin3]

No it is not hard to learn. No special equipment needed. Use a short 4 1/2 to 5 1/2' ultra light rod. You can look on some of the crappie pages to find the way to hold the rod and lure but basicly you bend the tip of the rod back while holding the lure in one hand and the line in the other. Let them go at the same time. As far as docks go look for one that has a good slope to it and lot of dock but still one could hold them and the one next to it nothing. Trial and error.Hope this help some maybe one day we can get together and we can try to catch some of them.

 

[jason]

Ranman, if you have a spinning reel, skip-casting is fairly easy and very effective at getting the lure in spots that flipping/pitching won't. It works best with pegged soft plastics that have no or few appendages, such as tubes, toads, flukes and lizards. Forget skip-casting a brush hog. Keep the rod low and cast side-arm at the edge of the dock or overhanging cover...you'll be amazed at how far back the bait will skip under it. If you only have baitcasters, you'll have to feather the spool, especially with braid.

 

[ranman]

usually all my skipping is done with sekos,I can skip those things on a spinning rod for miles back up under trees and docks.I was going to learn how to do that with jigs this year but I never got around to it.

 

[SNUFFY]

try flukes or sassy shad....lite jigs with trailers work pretty good once you get adjusted

 

[RockyTopHawgMan]

If you use a short handle 6' baitcaster with 12# Stren, I can skip cast any bait, under anything better than any spin rod. End of Story!!!emoSmile

 

[fishin3]

ranman thought you might like this:

SHOOTING DOCKS
During the spawn, crappie often spawn so far under a dock that you can't cast to them. To solve this problem, use a small 4 1/2- to 5-foot light-action spinning rod and 4- to 6-pound-test line. Leave about 3 feet of line hanging down from the end of the rod.

Pick up the line closest to the reel with your index finger and hold the line with your finger as if you were preparing to cast. With your other hand, take hold of the jig between your thumb and index finger, the hook pointing away from you. Pull the jig back so that the rod bends. Aim the rod under the dock and release the jig; just as the jig clears the end of the rod, release the line you're holding with your finger in the other hand. The rod then will shoot the jig under the dock, where you can't cast. Once the jig hits the water, begin a slow, steady retrieve to catch slabsides in a place that few crappie anglers fish in.