harrison bay 3/06

[drc]

Tried for some crappie today with very little success. I got on the water today about 9am (no wind and overcast skies), water temp in the bay was 53-54 degrees and the water was really low. Trolled 4 rods with jigs and minnows over flats that were between 10-18ft deep. NOTHING! There were other boats fishing in the general area but no one stayed very long.
Fished most of the day up wolftever due to the wind picking up. The creek was dingy (from the rain earlier that night?) water temp was around 56-57. I fished shallow(3-5ft), mid-depth(8-13ft) and deep(16+) with all of 5 fish(3 keepers) coming from deep water. I trolled, cast, fished brushpiles and laydowns. The deeper water along rock bluffs was the only place we could catch fish, they were suspending from 15ft down to the bottom.

It was a disapponting day after hearing all the great catches everyone has been getting lately but I plan on trying again Wed morning. On a positive note I did get to try out my new depthfinder (lowrance 125x) and had fun just playing with it.

 

[polo-dog]

It was great to see you out there drc. I'm sorry that I didn't get you on any fish. I don't tend to follow crappies much but I read all the posts. I think that today was similar to the other days in that the morning bite is still on. Once it gets to be 9-10 am it sounds like the fish turn off, or maybe they just leave the flats and to to the channel, but the flats bite seems to turn off after the mid morning from other posters at least in Wolftever. Maybe that's too simplistic but it's something to think about.

 

[JSV]

drc,
I was able to go for a couple hours last night and fished the Wolf from the bank. I started on the flat prior to where the creek comes across on the North side (My Wife ,little Girl and I had caught a few nice ones there last week). I caught a few stripe and a Shad but no Crappie. Darkness quickly moving in on me, I moved down the bank into deeper water and found several of those illusive Crappies. I lost count after about 45 min. of furious fishing but I think I caught at least 20 Crappie , several big Shad and a couple Large Mouth. I was fishing with a Shad color Bass Assasin and a minor. Most all fish came from a minnor. I didn't take any of these fish home (left my stringer at the house) and probably had 10 or more that keep. I will probable be back after them again this evening.

 

[drc]

JSV, that deep water just past the first flat was the only place I could find any fish. I fished several flats that were close to deeper water along with the shallow water in the sloughs and could only manage one small crappie. I assume it did rain there a little the night before and think that may have moved them into deeper water, not sure just an after thought. I didn't pick up on this till the end of the day, but at least I got enough for dinner.
Polo-dog, it was good to see you and thanks for the help. I didn't bother trying to find those brush piles up the creek that you told me about. While I was fishing the spring two other boats that had been crappie fishing around the island went up that way. I saw both of them leave not long after so I figured they they didn't find any fish up their either. I'll be trying it again this week, maybe I can manage four this time,lol.

 

[polo-dog]

JSV and drc, I would say that there is a good chance that the crappies are on a low light bite right now. I have a couple of places that I fish for them and they seem to be either really "on" or really "off". I tend to catch a bunch right at dusk, maybe the last hour of light and if you remember DHaun and others have commented that once it got past a certain time in the morning that they shut off. I don't fish crappies much but when I do it tends to be that way. I don't tend to catch many deeper than 5-7 feet and maybe they continue to feed but just move shallower at dawn at dusk. Does anyone else find this on a consistent basis with crappies?

 

[JSV]

I would agree with the low light bite. I slipped off from work a little early yesterday(3-07-06) since the fishing was so fast and furious the day before. It's not often you find such furious fishing from the bank so I headed to the hole in Wolf with cooler and stringer in tow. Expecting the fish to be in the same spot, I was ready and could already savour the smell of fresh crappie frying. My first cast resulted with a small crappie but it was a fairly slow bite (nothing like it was the night before as the sun was setting) however I picked up a chartrues grub and landed a couple stringer size crappie. I lost all 6 of the chartrues jigs I had and tried several different colors yet had no results. Retreating back to the minnor , the fishing picked up (grant it , it was approaching low light). However, I ended up with about 20 minuets of fast and furious fishing once again. (7 GOOD KEEPING CRAPPIE). The problem I was having as the sun was setting was keeping the Shad from my minnor . I noticed if the minnor lasted about 45 seconds (once it hit the water ) then I had a good chance for a crappie however 3 out of 4 times it didn't. I caught several big Shad (good fight on a ultra light ) but not exactly what I wanted. It was a GOOD EVENING OF FISH. I arrived home and was greeted with the sweet smell of fish frying. Pretty good Wife!
GOOD FISHING!!!!!!

 

[polo-dog]

That has been my experience exactly. I have read that the reason for the fast and furious fishing in the low light hours is that the eyes of the predator fish can compensate faster for the change in light and the minners' eyes take longer and so they never see what hits them before they are breakfast or dinner. After the sun is up or down for a while the minners' eyes compensate and they see the predators and aren't so easy to catch. Interesting info I think from either fishing facts Mag. or In-Fisherman from years ago. I miss reading those scientific articles in those Mags. but I get a couple other Mags the pertain more to the fish that I target and I don't have the time to read all the Mags and fish too, so I gave up the extra Mags.

 

[JerDog]

I too miss Fishing Facts and In-Fisherman magazine. I think one of them is still around, but it is all scientifically based and you learn a lot. I only get TN Valley Outdoors b/c I just don't have the time for all the reading but they are very good magazines!

 

[TennesseeTalker]

JSV - 3/8/2006 10:42 AM

Retreating back to the minnor , the fishing picked up (grant it , it was approaching low light). However, I ended up with about 20 minuets of fast and furious fishing once again. (7 GOOD KEEPING CRAPPIE). The problem I was having as the sun was setting was keeping the Shad from my minnor .

Just out of curiousity .. and because some days I'm a little slow ... is a minnor ... the same thing as a minnow?

TT

 

[polo-dog]

TT, that's the way that I was enterpreting it. I hope that's what it is and not some other bait that I've never heard of.

 

[fisherpal2k]

TT I told you that you was gonna have to learn to decifer red neck and plain english. emoLaugh ( No offense intended to the original post. ) I guess we will have to update the glossary.

 

[JSV]

T.T.
Yur darn tootin you nearabout got this fishing slang thang figured out. Them there Crappies I'z been a catchin have been knocking the tar out of my MINNA. In a lickety split second as my MINNOR hits the water, those Crappie come callin. Those Crappie hit my MINNO so fast , sometimes I get all outa kilter and I miss the fish. I reckon I set the hook befor my bobbur goes under and the MINOW is in the Crappies jaws. Thats no hawg wash either.
GOOD FISHIN AND FISH WITH A MINNOR

 

[fisherpal2k]

emoLaugh Good one JSV. I been translating some for her and she has got it down now.

 

[TennesseeTalker]

ah ... I'm just MAKING sure I comprehend things right! I got lots working against me here!!!

1. I was born up north so I have a bit of trouble with solingo (southern lingo).
2. I'm fishing friendly but not fishing sophisticated.
3. I'm a girl ... although that's not a hinderance except when you guys start talking about things in boy terms.
I .. lack the ability to fully understand things like the mechanics of a boat, trolling motor thrust info, oil change things.
They made us take home economics ... dern it.

Oh .. and the depth finder facts have me completely lost!!!!! And yes ... I did pronounce Crappie wrong until I was promptly corrected!

But you guys are nice enough to put up with me and take the time to explain ... I appreciate that!

TT

 

[fisherpal2k]

TT, its all in fun. I was gonna rib you a little about being from up North and out west a ways but you was just too nice. HEHE emoLaugh Being a girl ain't got nuthin to do with the fishing part. I have had my butt kicked by girls fishing a lot of times. emoPoke Sad, but true. One of my tourny partners a couple a years back was a girl and it didn't keep her from beatin me up. emoRedface

 

[JSV]

T.T.
Being a girl we wont hold that ginst ya at all , but being from that foreign land known as the North, ya durn straight we may hold that ginst ya. Yur one of them Dang Yanks!! A Yanky is one of those Northern dwellers which comes SOUTH and visits, a DANG YANKY is one of those Northern dwellers that coms SOUTH and "Takes up Roots "(yanky termonology, that means: STAYS. ha!! JUST JOSHING WITH YA!!!

All techenical stuff a side. I too fish with a girl quite often (tndoe270) and more often than not , she spanks my dairyaire. Being a girl isn't a disadvantage at all when it comes to presentation of a lure. Fish don't know gender or the color of your skin. Some techniques may be a little more difficult to pick up but just like myself, I am a little bit vertically challenged and find it hard to flip (an under handed approach in which to place a lure in the water while keeping the lure inches off the water as it approaches the intended destination for a silent entry so to not spook the fish) while using a 6ft. 6 inch or longer fishing rod. However thats the one great thing about FISHING and nature in general, it never discriminates.
Time to go and drown a minnor!!!emoSmile

 

[TennesseeTalker]

Well guys .. don't hold being a Yankee originally against me. I left Iowa when I was 18 ... and Texas, Florida and Tennessee is where I have been ever since. So .. I've lived more south than north ... and I ain't ever going back!

I don't think being a girl is a fishing disadvantage. What's a disadvantage is not knowing the things you all talk about that are so mechanical and mathematical in nature. When you decipher depth finder information and talk about ledges and brush cover and beds and flats and .. well the list is endless, I get lost. I have a conceptual vision of what all those are ... from a female point of view. It's like me talking to you about sewing and beading and baking quiches ... you kinda understand .. but you have no expertise!

I'm catching up though .. and look out when I do! I'll be posting like a crazy person once I figure all this out.

TT

 

[drc]

TT, Iv'e posted this link before, but you may find it helpful, http://home.comcast.net/~rkrz/eblures/index.htm (if the link does'nt work just copy and paste it).

It defines a lot of the terms related to bass fishing techniques used around here. Just sift through and pick out the stuff that sounds usefull to you. Hope it helps, it helped me a good bit.

 

[swamp donkey]

t.t. just to let you know we have 2 other females fishing in the cff tournament this weekend. Come on out and fish with us this weekend. Thanks, S.D.

 

[TennesseeTalker]

thanks guys for all the info and invites. I saw that Kim aka BassBullet was listed in the CFF Tourney ... I've gone to her meetings for the girl's club and am fixing a flyer for her to go out regarding it. She's a nice lady and I have enjoyed dining with her during our club discussions.

TNdoe I haven't met but look forward to meeting her someday .. just as I hope to meet all of you. And I will sooner or later.

I'm going to try and drag my hubby out this weekend to see if we can catch a thing or two. We've fished once on the Big G when we had a boat. I remember it sure being pretty! But I haven't met a piece of water I didn't think was good looking yet!!!

AND LASTLY ... good luck this weekend to all of you fishing and be safe!

TT