crappie depth

[hoggerhead]

Hey i was wondering how deep the crappie bite has been here lately.

 

[polo-dog]

Last weekend they were at a 7 -15 second drop with a 1/32oz jig head. I would expect that that would correlate to a 5-12 foot depth depending on the dock and what part of the lake I was on.

 

[fishmedic]

I can tell you where the 9 3/4 inch crappie are. Thats all I can seem to find these days.

 

[polo-dog]

If you fish out on the main lake with good flow on docks that have 12-20 feet of water you should be able to catch bigger fish than that. There are some on shallower docks but I would expect more and bigger on the deeper docks. The most important thing to do in figuring out the depth is to find a dock that you have confidence holds fish and fish it experimenting with the depth. I usually start with a 7 second drop and if I don't get bit in three casts I go to 12 seconds. Then to 5 and then to 15 second drops. Sooner or later they will let you know they are there. The other key is keeping the bait at or near the same depth throughout the whole retrieve. If you start out at a 15 count and your bait ends up four feet under the water when it gets near the boat you have only fished each depth from about 12 feet to four feet for a few seconds. In my experience the crappies want a horizontal retrieve most of the time. In my mind I think of the fish being layered out at a single depth, not in a big ball. That's also what DK and I saw when last fall we took an underwater camera to a dock that we had been killing the fish on. In fact, there were crappies layered out in two layers, one at around 7 feet and one layer at 12 feet or so. It was very interesting to see that. It made me understand why the horizontal retrieve was so important.

 

[Kingfish]

Excellent post. Thank you for the input. Good fishing to you!

 

[hoggerhead]

Thanks polo! Im gonna be using tuffies in the morning, so 7 to 12 feet will give me a good starting point.

 

[Fishing machine]

polo-dog - 10/11/2007 5:30 PM

If you fish out on the main lake with good flow on docks that have 12-20 feet of water you should be able to catch bigger fish than that. There are some on shallower docks but I would expect more and bigger on the deeper docks. The most important thing to do in figuring out the depth is to find a dock that you have confidence holds fish and fish it experimenting with the depth. I usually start with a 7 second drop and if I don't get bit in three casts I go to 12 seconds. Then to 5 and then to 15 second drops. Sooner or later they will let you know they are there. The other key is keeping the bait at or near the same depth throughout the whole retrieve. If you start out at a 15 count and your bait ends up four feet under the water when it gets near the boat you have only fished each depth from about 12 feet to four feet for a few seconds. In my experience the crappies want a horizontal retrieve most of the time. In my mind I think of the fish being layered out at a single depth, not in a big ball. That's also what DK and I saw when last fall we took an underwater camera to a dock that we had been killing the fish on. In fact, there were crappies layered out in two layers, one at around 7 feet and one layer at 12 feet or so. It was very interesting to see that. It made me understand why the horizontal retrieve was so important.

You're the man Polo emoWorthy

 

[polo-dog]

If you can find cover in main lake flow in that depth range I would bet that you can find some crappies. It looks like shsimons and I are going to try for some this weekend in the Harrison bay/hixson area. Hopefully the fish won't have lock jaw.

 

[BackOnTheWater]

great info PD...thanks!