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weather article


CrappieJohn

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I have an article on the front page of this site regarding how weather can affect fishing. To show how it can do so, listen to this.

Right about the time the crappies would have spawned this spring at my pet puddle, we got heavy, heavy rains. Not just once, but about three rounds of this non-sense. All the extra water drove the water levels much higher than usual and filled the lake with thickly colored colder water. The main lake rose by about three feet and a no-wake enforcement was put in place. The amount of debris was incredible.

Rick and I fished this "favorite" lake yesterday in the morning for a couple hours. In that time frame we simply hammered crappies. Of the many we caught- some up to and over 12"- I weeded out seven in the 11 inch range for dinner as well as four 8 1/2 inch sunfish. The water clarity in some areas was not too bad- almost back to normal-yet in other areas it was still simply "thick". We fished cleaner areas and spots that offered deep water and wood....typical post spawn fishing by casting jigs and slowly retrieving them. The crappies were suspended at six feet over 19-21 feet of water.

When I was cleaning the fish at home I got a real eye-opener....five of the seven crappies and all of the four nicer sunnies kept had eggs in them. Not just small skiens, but heavy, loose, runny, ripe, eggs.

The day before the rains began, I fished this same body of water and found males on nests and even caught some hens that had already spawned. The water was at 67 degrees in a few spots, but 70 was more the norm in the majority of the lake. Spawning had begun in earnest and was well underway. My assumption was that the fish would be through the ritual within a few days based on what I was actually finding thru catching. And then the foul water came.

Simply rising water does little to change what the fish do. Water laden with silt and chilled by days-on end of rain and hail, up radically and heavy with current, spell out a different story though. The silted water cannot get enough sunlight to any nests, even in very shallow water. The water rose so much that the nests were no longer in viable nesting water. Silt settles out of the water and covers eggs that have been laid and suffocates them. The dirty water had dumped 14 degrees in temp over four days! When all of these factors get combined, things just get hairy for the fish and they retreat back into deeper water where current breaks can afford some protection from the current and water temps are a bit warmer. BUT...they do not even attempt to spawn in water bearing these conditions and simply hold the spawn.

Now whether it is too late in the season for these fish to resume what they started or not will remain to be seen. The male fish were of normal color once again, having lost thier black attitude. The fish were a long way from traditional spawning waters and were caught in what can be best described as "post-spawn" waters and using techniques favored during that period. The one other time that I can recall this sort of event happening when the crappies were spawning resulted in a dud year.They did not attempt to get it started again. I think that this will be the case once again. The water is not entirely back to normal depths, has not cleared sufficiently in the better spawning areas, and is yet too cool for any serious activity to be apparent.

The bottom line for you who read this is to consider how weather can change things in one swift blow. For those who rigidly follow a calender, this can be a shock. Not only can the weather keep you off the water for longer than you like, it can change the way a lake produces for years to come! This mentioned body of water has basically been unfishable for almost a month. Now when we should be seeing "summer fish", we are finding spawn laden fish. Not all of this is on the "down side". Nature takes care of her own. The lake will return to normal and things will become as we expect them to be. It just takes time.

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Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom

muckbootsonline.com Pro Staff
Culprit Tackle Crappie Pro Staff
Catch-n Tackle
[email protected]

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
    • leech~~
      As I get older it's really not just about sending bullets down range.  Some of it's just the workmanship of the gun and the wow factor. The other two guns I have really wanted which I'll never have now because of their price, is a 8mm Jap Nambu and 9mm German Luger.   Just thought they always looked cool!  
    • jim curlee
      I had a guy hit me with a lightly used 1969 BAR, he wanted $1650 with an older Leupold scope. More than I think they are worth, I made an offer, he declined end of story.   You know if you look at the old brochures, a grade II BAR sold for $250 in the late 60s, $1650 would be a good return on your investment.    Why would anybody want a 50 year old gun, they are heavy, have wood stocks, and blued metal.  I guess mainly to keep their gun safes glued to the floor. lol   You can probably buy a stainless rifle that you never have to clean, with a synthetic stock you never have to refinish, is as light as a feather, and for half as much money, perfect.   I'm too old for a youth gun, although I've shrunk enough that it would probably fit. lol   No Ruger 10/44s.   Jim      
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