? for pro crappie guide

[Guest]

hi, i have a question for you. i have a cabin on a 100 acre lake in northern minnesota. every spring i catch 1 pound plus crappies off my dock. in the winter i cant find them. the lake is bowl shape,mostly sand,small weedline that dies out in winter.there are two nice points that i have drilled a millon holes and searched all over them and have found nothing. there are no rivers or creeks that come into the lake. there has never been a winter kill. there are no major breaklines.the lake has a maximum depth of 22 feet.i have searched all around in the deepest hole at 22 feet and there is nothing there either. where are these fish. thanks for any help.

[Seabass77]

G-loomis,
Deep holes and basins are often hot spots for crappies because of the abundance of oxygen and food. However, the deep holes in lakes don’t always have the right mix of both. Often times, a moderately deep basin will hold a bounty of food and decent oxygen. While a deep hole will have plenty of oxygen, but minimal food. What I am trying to say is that you might not want to fish the deepest basin, but a basin that likely has a heavy sediment content on the bottom, which in turn, will bring food. You may also want to try fishing right under the ice, as your lake isn’t very deep and the most oxygen will be at the top. Another thing may be that since your lake is so shallow, the fish might not bite during the winter. Maybe during first ice or last ice only.

(Please note: Some of this knowledge is practical and some is theoretical. Meaning, I don’t know all of this from experience. Some of it’s from reading)

Seabass

[Guest]

Good advice seabass.
I have ran into situations like this. I always go to the deepest hole, or the deepest area around spots that I have had success and then work my way back.
The simplest advice I can give is to start at the break of the hole and work your way back towards the shoreline that you have had success catching Crappies. When you notice a depth difference drill many hole in that are and check for fish. Continue moving up the break until you find fish.
Also, you didn't mention, have you tried fishing the lake after dark? The fish may have a ceratain time they feed and the time slot may not be very large. If the fish bite at a certain time, say int he evening or after dark, then during the day they might not be detectable on electronics and may not budge from the bottom..
Also, fish may migrate from deeper water to shallower water, or vise versa at their feeding time.
It's all trial and error....
Hope I was of some help..
PCG

[Guest]

Thanks for the tips guys.i will try them out and let you know how i do.

[crappie todd]

G-Loomis

One key where those elusive crappies might be and when they bite. The water clarity.
Typical crappie times in clear water is at sundown. the old Sun hit's the top of the trees kind of thing. But then again, it could be midnight.
I had fished a typical bowl shaped lake with clear water as a kid. the middle of the lake with a muddy soft bottom. The crappies started when it was dark. Then some years it was only good an hour before it got light out.
Don't be surprised to find the on the edge of the weeds.....Those are tough lakes to fish........ whats the water clarity ?
CT