Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Fishing Forum :: Crappies in late May
|
Author | Message Text | ||
kpdoyle |
Thanks! |
||
Savage Voyageur |
|
||
murphylakejim |
For example, this sunfish was caught in mid-late may while looking for crappies. The area was full of panfish perhaps partly or entirely because of the water temperature. Also the sunfish were relating to sparse but thick-stocked mid-lake reed beds that had not come in yet. Shown here is back bay of basswood To keep this short i'll just say, the water can warm up for a number of reasons in back bay and that draws in the fish, especially the pan fish. Apply this logic on any lake (with distinct bays) in May and you might find a mess of fish. Bonus crappie from ottertail county |
||
blutofish1 |
attract fish. |
||
mr.barley |
|
||
QueticoMike |
mr.barley: "I haven't caught any in May, but have in June " Nice looking slabs! Thanks for sharing! |
||
mastertangler |
mr.barley: "I haven't caught any in May, but have in June " Why talk to me KP when you can talk directly to "The Man" Mr Barley!! I have never caught a crappie in canoe country but I have never fished for them up there either and was just relating past experiences when I have targeted them in lower Michigan. Maybe Mr Barley would be so kind as to share his experiences and point us in the right direction? Perhaps my advice misses the mark?? |
||
mastertangler |
When you say "stumble" on them implies you were fishing for walleye or bass. Heavy line of even 8lb and crappie is not a good combination. I like 4lb and small slow moving offering. A common pinky jig and a small fixed float should do the trick provided your line is light. 4lb can be fickle stuff and I strongly suggest the Gryp knot tied with a Tie fast tool which will insure 100% knot strength. Be sure to remove any paint from the eyelet of the jig as this increases the tie off diameter and decreases knot strength (mono like to join itself to like diameters), Use 6 loops on the tie fast with light line and wet the knot. You could use 6lb fluorocarbon and still the Gryp knot. However your jig will sink slightly faster due to the denser material of the FC. Would it matter? Maybe, maybe knot. Do not underestimate how skittish crappie can be. Stealth and long casts are your friend. I also like early, early, early as crappie can be a bit light shy. May should find them rather shallow however. A single tree in the water or stump may hold 5 or 6. Same with a patch of weeds. |
||
kpdoyle |
You are exactly right about what I meant by "stumble". I am sure the lure type, presentation, and gear I use to trick walleye/smallies/northerns into biting my hook just doesn't work for crappie. I am not all that great of a fisherman, but I just assumed that with all the vertical jigging I've done I would have convinced a couple crappie into taking a bite, but obviously that hasn't been the case. I may bring up a bit of 4lb test and a couple small jig heads to see if I can get a few to bite. I've also never caught a sunfish while up there, maybe with the smaller presentation I could score a few of those as well. thanks for the feedback |
||
mastertangler |
overthehill: " Tasty I grew up eating crappies in Michigan and always considered them a good eating fish. But then I moved to Florida and have found that crappie here are not very good at all........terrible actually. Sort of like eating a mushy ball of cotton. Which is a bit of a shame since the crappie fishing here is quite good. I don't know if it is a water temp thing or a forage base which lends them to being mushy texture wise and bland but thats the deal. Tsk, tsk, too bad. |
||
overthehill |
|
||
mr.barley |
Basspro69: " In bays and around weeds with a road runner Is always a good way to find them"Basspro is a big dude so those are some nice crappies. |
||
Basspro69 |
|