| The Missouri Sportsmen's
Information Network Panfish |
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| The Missouri Sportsmen's
Information Network Panfish |
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As frustrating as it was it was still a lengthy drive to find out they weren’t biting. During those days my biggest hope was to some day be a boat owner, which didn’t happen for a few years later. In the summer of 99’ I got my first boat. I thought those unsuccessful days of fishing were over…. boy was I wrong! Crappie fishing, even for a boat owner can still be tough from time to time, especially when launching at an unfamiliar lake. In fact, I’ve been known to say when my fishing buddies ask me how I like my boat, “I love it, but I caught a heck of a lot more fish without it.” Which leads back to launching at unfamiliar lakes, being a new boat owner makes them all unfamiliar. All of the methods I learned while fishing from the bank were now void to some extent.
My goal for this series of articles and this section of the MSIN is to relate to you some of the methods I am using and what is happening with crappie seasonally in Missouri. I am living in north Missouri right now so that is where I am doing most of my fishng. I have fished and I have connections to other crappie fisherman all over the state. Please write me if you have any questions or any tips you would like to share with me and the readers of the MSIN. Tom Allen, staff profile Its that time of year again, cool nights, hot days.....the thought of fall soon upon us. Desicions must be made, fishing, hunting, waterfowl, deer, turkey and all sorts of fun activities soon to arrive. The question we must ask ourselves is how do we sort out out priorities, well I suppose that since the other activities have seasons then I must choose crappie fishing till those seasons arrive. Summer has been a good one we haven't had as long of a hot spell with summer temps being lower than usual, this has changed the summer fishing pattern somewhat. I hope that not everyone reads this and switches to fall techniques for crappie, It is still early and crappie may or may not be migrating yet, depending on where you live, here in North Missouri, I have been able to tell a slight change in the fish's patterns, this time last year I was still catching crappie suspended in deeper water, and on some lakes this may still be the case. Other lakes I have experienced some good crappie fishing in more shallow water, 8' to 12' with bites coming at around the 2' to 4' range. Some bites coming on the fall, some on the upward retrieve, very unpredictable with changes in the bite pattern while fishing. In the last couple weeks I have caught crappie at night, early morning, mid day and afternoon as well as evening, my best catches however have been in the heat of the afternoon. Quite puzzling to some, a mystery to others, not a problem for true crappie fishermen..... why, you might ask? Being Versatile Versatility is the key to catching crappie this time of year. Being prepared to catch shallow as well as deep, fish are scattered wondering what the weather will do next, The daytime highs have ranged from low 80's to upper 90's with nighttime lows ranging from mid 50's to low 70's. When I fish this time of year I experiment, I will usually try the same technique that worked the last time I went but always keep in mind that it may not work, not being versatile can cause a lot of confusion and be quite depressing too. A month ago I caught fish trolling channel edges running from 19' to 40' deep, catching fish feeding on shallow schools of bait fish, this last week I caught fish in 12' or less, some shallow, some deep. Somedays I didn't even take the boat out, didn't see the need. I fished local boat docks and caught just as nice of fish as if I had used the boat, this is a prime example of being versatile, most boat owners don't want to fish without their boat. Some are still chasing deep suspended fish, maybe with luck or possibly not any luck at all. Tips Try several different methods of fishing, casting, trolling, vertical jigging. Use a variety of lures and baits, Minnows verical, minnows under a float, minnows tipping a jig, inline spinners, small crappie spinners like the ones used for bass fishing, jigs, tube jigs, maribou jigs, jigs tipped with prepared baits, Crappie Nibbles, pastes, jigs tipped with wax worms, even small peices of night crawlers have been known to work at times. Even try small crank baits, and when vertical fishing try jigging spoons. Conclusion A sucsessful crappie fisherman must be versatile, fish migrate and feed in a variety of patterns and the weather plays a key role. Don't hesitate to try new tactics, and new lures and baits, as well as new spots on your favorite waters, but please be versatile, it will pay off in the long run. Untill next time "Have A Crappie Day" and a festive fall
but most of all have fun! WWW (Wow What a Weekend) A
perfect way to try some of these tactics is to set up a base camp at Crowder
State Park. Less than 20 miles away is Indian
Creek Lake in Poosey CA, north of the lake are numerous small ponds
and just down the road is Jamesport, an Amish community with numerous
small shops for the smarter side of the family, who doesn't want to beat
the water to a froth all day long. |
| This story is a little late But it was so good that I must tell you
about it, remember my last article about winter crappie fishing?
Well here's an example of what I meant, We got a short spell of 45 - 60 degree days in January and who could resist the fishing at Thomas Hill which is a bit southwest of of Macon, Mo. and a little northwest of Moberly, Mo. it is a warm water reservoir which is warmed by Associated Electric's Coal Fired Generators, an excellent place for winter fishing. I had a weekday of around mid month January and had to go (was starting to have withdrawal symptoms if you know what I mean) so I got the boat ready and rounded up some deer jerky and away I went. You could tell it was a nice day upon arrival there were about 25 trucks w/boat trailers in the parking area at the ramp. I searched for a bed that I had fished with success last winter for about 15 minutes and due to the current an anchor was necessary, and boy, I couldn't have set the anchor in any better of a spot, with a little vertical jugging of a 1/32 oz. jig tipped with Berkley's "Crappie Nibbles" I couldn't have had any better luck. In about an hours time I had my limit (which is 15 here) of nice slabs
ranging from 9" to almost 13" they bit pretty well for the time of year
it was and were all healthy fish, they were however holding tight to brush
in about 10' of water which is not near deep enough on most lakes in january.
All of the fish appeared to have been feeding well prior to their encounter
with me.
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My camera wasn't working well enough while on the lake so waited till
I got home to snap some photos, watch for a story on "Spring pre-Spawn
Crappie Fishin", and a product review of the tackle that I have the most
luck with.
See ya next time, if anyone has a great story or fishing report please feel free to email us an let us and the rest of Missouri know about it......gone fishin! Tom Allen
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South of the Border Baked Crappie
Ingredients:
Fresh crappie
fillets
Medium Salsa (or your preference)
Shredded cheddar or monterey
jack cheese
Chopped green onions
Instructions:
Line small baking pan with aluminum foil. Place fillets in pan and cover with salsa. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for approximately 15 minutes. Open foil and cover fillets with cheese and chopped green peppers. Return to oven and heat uncovered until cheese has melted.
This recipe courtesy
of the American Crappie Association
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