Is it me or are the Crappies just not bitting

[Clayburn]

I've been to three differnt lakes the past three nights and my graph has been lite up with fish, but I can't get em to go.
Sorry to say it, but I hope there are some other die-hards out there in the same boat.
Any thoughts? (Time of year, time of day, moon phase?)

[Seabass77]

Day bite has been best for me so far this year, but it also depends on which lake you are fishing. When you are marking fish but they wont bite, try tiny glow jigs with one or two waxies, let it fall slow very slow. Use a spring bobber to detect the light bites. This past weekend was really good for the crappies.

[Matt Johnson]

Clayburn,
What are you using for bait/jig?

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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Catch-N Tackle and Bio Bait
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[Clayburn]

I'm using demons, spider jigs, teardrops with small crappie minnows. I've tried plain hook and jigs with waxies. And all the above at all different depths & colors.
I tore crappies up in years past doing the same thing.

[Matt Johnson]

Try a horizontal red glow presentation in size 10. Pick up some colored euro larave and put two or three on the jig. Make sure the minnows are as small as possible, like 1-inchers even. I've noticed this year that the crappies are more finicky and those small minnows often times seal the deal. I've outfished waxies 5 to 1 with euro larvae. And I couldn't buy a bite on a minnow larger then 1.5 inches this past weekend. Just a few more options for you.

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

------------------
First Choice Guide Service

[email protected]
Catch-N Tackle and Bio Bait
MarCum

[Clayburn]

Thanks for the tips guys, but come on there must be someone out there who's in the same boat as I.

[Clayburn]

Thanks JR. It sounds like you've been pounding the ice too.
My personal opinion about the night bite is the current moon phase.

[Minnetonka]

I was on tonka yesterday afternoon. It was slow until about 3:30 pm from then until 4:30 two of us iced 18 crappies. some on a number 8 hook and crappie minnow and the most on a red-glow glow demon. 16 feet of water.

[Lunker]

I was out yesterday and couldnt ice anything besides one pike, today it really changed and I did very well, including a bunch of crappies when the sun went down. Bite has been weird, but was pretty good today.

[jr1318]

I am clayborn tried everthing differant sizes,colors,baits,plain hook,larvae, waxies, minnows,mornings,evening,every thing i could think of so dont think your alone.

[fishlakeman]

Went out yesterday and did fairly well on the crappies, only fished crappies about 20 minutes before moving to the walleye spot and got around 15 crappies between the 4 of us. They were still biting when we left and the vex was lit up like a christmas tree. (full of fish) This was the first time I've had good luck this year on the crappies though. Spent 3 hours in the walleye spot and got skunked.

[Roosterslayer05]

clayborn-try a small Ratso tipped with one euro-larvae. That works everytime. I went out today with a friend and we caught 8 crappies, the biggest was 10 inches. 2 sunfish and one of the sunfish was 9 inches and my friend caught a 21 inch largemouth. We couldent find the crappies, drilled 16 holes over a 25 foot hole and one or two fish would move through every once in a while but they werent stacked up.

[danny berg]

Clayburn,
It was slow this weekend, I also beleive in the moon phases, but also the Barometric pressure, for me I have found if the pressure is falling the bite is better. I think this past weekend it was pretty much steady or rising, from what I remember of the weather reports

[WillTravelToFish]

I was out tonight from about 9:30 until 2:00am (Tue pm Wed am) and got into a few sporadic bites, iced 7 fish, missed 2.

Hooked into a nice ??? (Pike or Walleye), got bit off! Was in 24' of water.

To put in 4 hours of solid fishing and land only 7 fish - seems slower than average. Last year we'd limit in that time. Strange early ice, or bad night.

I was skunked at my favorite lake this year - so we tried a buddies hot spot... same thing - hmmm......

There may be something to your slow bite observation - tonight the fish I did catch, barely took it. 2 were caught when I pulled up my line to check bait after 30-45 min without action - how long had they been sitting there chewing on my offering - I had NO idea they were even near (no vex).

------------------
Will work for trophies,
Have gear will travel.

[Riverratpete]

Went out to the house last night for the regular Tuesday night fishing and not 1 bite in 3 hours, finally couldn't take it anymore and went home to watch the Wild. Sat night was out and iced 5 nice crappies and missed a few. The ice was making alot of racket also with it being cold. I quess thats why they call it fishing and not catching.

[BUCKNAKED]

To many meat hunters, NO ONE practices C&R anymore.

[MJR]

I C&R on a pretty regular basis, I have kept 1 metro Walleye in my life a 14" and probably will not keep another. I agree too many people keep too many fish but not all of us are keeping them all. In the last 12 months I have probably released 250 Walleyes, 200 Crappies, countless sunfish and perch, 200 Largemouth, 25 Smallmouth, 100 northerns, 4 Legal Muskies and 10 Catfish. I have kept 12 Walleyes and 20 Crappies. I firmly believe that it is every individuals right to keep whatever they want within the limits, it is also the obligation of those obsessed with the outdoors to try and inform others about how to sustain a resource through catch and release. Kinda rambling on and on.

I plan on hitting my crappie spots on Tonka this weekend and will let you know how I do. Anyone been out there with any success want to let me know the depth they have been getting them at? I think someone said 16ft.

[Roosterslayer05]

what do you meen no one practices C&R anymore??? More people catch and release now than 20 years ago, when my dad was a kid it was unheard of to release a decent bass. big bass, walleyes and northerns were kept. The only fish that were thrown back were real small fish. If you threw back a 28 inch walleye people would think you were nuts. There is more C&R now than there ever has been.

[Bill-E-Bazz]

I agree with rooster, more people than ever are practicing c&r. I don't know where u got your info but u need 2 check it again and maybe their resources.

[EBass]

I'm 99% catch and release. I kept one walter from Tonka last year. I may keep a couple eaters this year since G-friend wants some walters, but I hate cleaning them and no way would I keep a walter over 20".

My .02

Bill-E-Bazz, I heard you got the flu or something. Get better soon my friend.

[Michael8129]

I wa nice to see the article on URL the other day in the paper that an overwhelming majority of those big 16 inch pigs up there are just are and going to die of old age not harvest or hooking mortality... Hey guys these things don't live forever!!... I would dare say that someone should do a study on how may times the avergae fish is caught in its lifetime... if it is just once twice... what are the odds that that 28 inch walleye that you just realeased will be caught again or is it going to die in a couple of years C&R wont do much and a lot of those big fish are past their prime for spawing too..

Michael (glad I hunt where once ya shoot there is no talk of release and we seem to manage just fine)

[bigminnow]

I limited out on Crappies this AM. However the ice was getting spongy with all the rain last night and this am.