The Crappie Killer - Summer  2001
 

October 6, 2002

Jordan Lake and Bluett Falls 

Jay and I met at Bluett Falls Lake early Saturday morning with some minnows, Mizmo jigs and good intentions. We headed up the lake to the spot Ed Duke and I caught some nice Crappies about a month earlier. The fish were still on the creek channel in about 10 - 15 feet of water. We started trolling with 1/16 and 1/32 oz jigs tipped with minnows. An hour of trolling at various speeds produced one nice Channel Cat about 30" and 5 - 6 lbs. No Crappies. We tried the bank with jigs and roadrunners. A few Bass, no Crappies. We tried the standing timber and brush piles along the river channel in 5 - 15 feet of water, no crappies. We ended the day tight lining minnows in 10 -15 feet of water on the channel edge and humps. We put a few nice keeper Crappies in the boat before the heat (90+ degrees in October???) ran us off. The fish were tight to structure and flat on the bottom. Only thing I can figure is the bright sun and high temperatures drove them down. The abundance of shad up in the river must have had some impact on success as well. The fish had all they could possibly want to eat. If you are in the mood for some superb cat fishing, head to Bluett Falls right now!

 Jordan was our destination on Sunday for a day with my good friend Mike Ritter from Ritter Pro Angling. Mike put us on some shallow Crappies early. They too were very timid and hard to get. The air temp had dropped to 55 from 90 the day before. The wind had kicked up to 20mph + as well. Making our hot spot un-fishable. Mike put us on a few nice fish on shallow structure, 4 feet deep as a matter of fact. Water temp was still 83 or 84 degree's. We ended the day drifting/pulling 16 rods with minnows and jigs in 8 - 12 feet of water in White Oak Creek. The big Crappies were in the creek, evidenced by the 1lb 2oz fish Jay got around 11:30 am. A pearl 1/32 oz jig tipped with a minnow was the best producer today. All others came on a straight minnow or a Purple/Chart Slider jig. Things are still a little slow on Jordan after the drought and very low water levels. It's almost a different lake with the new vegetation and shoreline changes. Give Mike a call at 919-612-0244 to get guide information and available dates. The fishing should improve dramatically over the next few weeks.   

Falls Lake North Carolina

July 20, 2002

 A benefit tournament was held on Falls Lake to try to help out a fellow angler and a very nice man. Rod King is in need of a Liver transplant. We were able to raise nearly $1,000 to help Rod and his family. Donations can be sent to Phil McCarson at Piedmont Crappie Classics (see the links page to contact Phil). 

 It was hot, but calm Saturday on Falls. The water is down nearly 5 feet. We put in at Ledge Rock ramp which is located about midway in the lake. I hadn't fished the lake in nearly 5 years. My buddy Bruce was with me an we agreed to stick to the main river channel until we located some fish. 

 I started on the flat about 5 - 8 feet deep adjacent to the river channel bend directly in front of Ledge Rock ramp. It was over cast and tons of small shad were schooling on the flat.  Bruce and I caught a few small fish within the first hour.

 Around 9:00 am I pulled out over the main channel edge and slow trolled 16 rods with assorted jigs and minnows along the drop from 10' - 20'. We caught a few more fish over the next hour. For future reference the creek channel edge that runs across the flat in front of the ramp is loaded with brush on both sides. It's not hard to find. I figured with the falling water and the abundance of bait fish and the time of year, that this would be the hot spot. Not... We only caught a few keepers over the next two hours after working this area hard.

 The channel runs very close to the bank just North of this area. Since the fish in the channel wouldn't hit I worked the baits shallower against the lay-downs along the bank. We picked up a few fish trolling 12 - 15 along that bank. Bruce need a nature break so I aimed the boat towards the bank. While reeling up the rods for a beach head landing we caught two decent Craps! I less than 5 feet of water! What??? The end of July, 100 degree weather and 90 degree water and Crappies are in less than 5 feet of water. Sometimes they do strange things. 

 I rigged 8 rods with 1/32 oz Mizmo jigs and started pulling them in a traditional trolling setup at a fast clip down the bank. We hooked up on two rods almost immediately. Once I isolated where the fish were hanging we wore 'em out. My trolling motor was hitting the top of the brush in the area we were trolling. There was some structure on the bottom, small stumps and rocks. But the fish were stacked just off the bottom from 5 - 8 feet deep. We ended up with 37 Crappies in the box in less than 4 hours. No real monsters, but a nice bunch of fillets for the freezer. 

 All I can figure is that the main channel ran very close to this bank. Which is a good spot any time of year. It was 25 feet deep no more than 40 feet from the bank. The scattered brush we were fishing was isolated on the first drop which normally would have been 10 - 12 feet deep. With the low water conditions it was 5 - 8 feet deep. The fish simply had not left the brush for deeper water as I would have expected them to. The abundance of bait fish in this area was a plus. A long main channel point near by helped as well. Just goes to show, you catch them where they are not where you want them to be.

 The best color for us was any combo with white. white/yellow/pink worked best for me while solid white was the hot one for Bruce. Later as the boat traffic muddied the water, chartreuse worked a little better.

 The largest fish we had was .81. Not enough to take the prize today. The largest Crappie weighed in the tournament was 1.55 lbs. You can see all the results and some pictures on the Piedmont Crappie Classics website. Go to the links page and click on their link.

 If I went back to Falls tomorrow I would still start on the main channel in 15 - 20 feet. But I'm never going to ignore the super shallow stuff in the middle of summer again!

Ray Roberts Lake, Texas
August 26, 2001

Walt, Matt and I layed the smack down on the slabs, despite the wind and 98 degree temperature. I'm learning that wind is a fact of day-to-day life in Texas. 15 - 20 mph is common and expected. Fishing brush piles in open water with 20 mph wind is tough. But as you can see by the smiles on our faces and the fish in our hands, it can be both productive and fun.

The key to this day was fishing the downwind side of the brush piles. The wind will create waves and a slight current. The fish will position themselves on the down wind or out of the current side of the structure or brush pile. Keying in on this was how we were able to put over thirty nice Crappies in the boat on Saturday. We kept 18, with the big ten weighing in at over ten pounds.

Most of the fish came on minnows fished at 20 feet on brush 24 - 30 feet deep. Several nice slabs made the fatal mistake of taking a jig. Walt got a few on Red and White. I got several on my old standby from Kerr Lake, Red Glitter and Chartreuse. You have to work a jig slow in order to get any takers, but it will work, be patient. I'm bringing my secret weapon to Kerr Lake for the tournament in a few weeks. Please make it a point to come by and see the weigh in at Saterwhite Point.

Tunica Mississippi, NACA Crew
August 18, 2001

That's right the entire NACA Board of Directors (minus one) met in Tunica Miss. for a 2002 planning session. From left to right - yeah that's me, Bill, Scott, Jimmy Cox (President of Mizmo Bait Co.), Mike Hall, Mike Ritter, Mike Tubbs, Kingston (Captain of the USS Redneck) and Scott Bilderbeck.

We were all smiles after an enjoyable day with Kingston on the river. We cooked the fish at the Redneck Riviera. What a day. A very enjoyable meal and a little gambling at the Isle of Capri Casino capped the night off. We did manage to get down to business and plan the 2002 season changes. I was very pleased with the outcome. Visit the NACA website for all the details.

It was a pleasure to see all the guys and do a little fishing. Trolling with multiple jigs and 8 ounce weights on twenty foot long poles was indeed something new. I'll stick with one jig and 4 pound test! If you ever get down to Tunica Miss, look up Kingston at the Redneck Riviera, he'll show you a good time.

Thanks very much to Scott and the rest of the NACA staff for a great time. I look forward to serving as a Board Member for 2002 and participating in some of the exciting events planned for next year.

Ray Roberts Lake, Texas
August 4, 2001

Pecan Creek on Ray Roberts Lake just off highway 35 North of Denton Texas was my destination on Saturday. My new friend Matt came along for a day of searching and learning. My goal for the day was to find at least 5 of the large brush piles put in by the state. These places are marked on some maps.

But I can assure you, there are no marker buoys in Ray Roberts to show you where they are. We started the day in the standing timber just North of the second bridge on highway 3002. No takers in 30 minutes so we split, headed for the first brush pile.

After a lot of cruising we found it. Within minutes we had our first keeper. Matt got the nice 1 1/2 lb'er in the photo above on a minnow at about 18 feet. The brush was 25 - 28 feet deep. I put this nice bass in the boat shortly after Matt got the big slab.

You can see the rod holder rig I use behind me. This is an extremely effective way to fish brush piles. The long rods keep you out away from the spot and allow you to handle big fish like the bruiser Bass on very light line. We got about ten fish at the first spot and a few more at each place we found throughout the morning. The fish were tight to the brush. I didn't even try a jig today, all the fish came on minnows from 12 - 22 feet deep.

With the full moon and blazing hot temperature, coupled with the flat calm conditions the Crappies were not exactly jumping in the boat. I guarantee these will be super spots in the Fall. Matt and I called it quits just after lunch. Too hot for the fat man! We only kept enough for dinner, but the trip was well worth it. I learned a few new spots, met some really nice Crappie fisherman while on the water and only saw one damn skier all day! Ray Roberts, I'll be back...

Joe Pool Lake, Texas
July 28, 2001

I hit Joe Pool very early Saturday morning hoping to catch a limit before the lake was over run with pleasure boaters. My new pal Lee Hunt and I were fishing the bridge columns on the West Bridge before daylight. I released at least 30 fish that were 9" - 9 1/2", just under the 10" limit. Around 7:00 am the big boys started hitting and we were able to put 25 nice keepers in the box before noon.

The fish were suspended just above the thermo cline (16 - 18 feet deep) in 25 feet of water. No fish on the jig, all of them came on minnows. The two fish in the photo above were 1lb 14oz and 1lb 9oz. Big ten weighed in at 11lbs 10ozs. Not bad for any time of year. Night fishing is hit and miss right now. As I have told many people, "The best time to go fishing is, when ever you can", so get out there and try.

We fished several brush piles, the standing timber in 13 - 22 feet of water and a creek channel edge. Nothing produced like the shady columns under the bridge. We did meet a guy who had 6 nice fish from a brush pile in 30 feet of water early in the morning. The fish are bunched up right now, so if you can catch one, you will likely catch quite a few in the same area. And once you find them, take some advice from ole Jim Ledbetter, don't leave your fish!

Ray Roberts Lake, Texas
July 14, 2001

After meeting my new friend Lee Hunt on Saturday morning in Grapevine, we headed up to Lake Ray Roberts just North of Dallas for a day of Crappie bustin'. Or as they call them here in Texas "Croppie". Hey, I looked it up! Both pronunciations are in the latest edition of Webster's dictionary. Call 'em what you want, it's all the same to me. We planned to fish the second bridge on State Road 3002 after receiving a report that they were slaying the big slabs under that bridge.

We met up with a guy that had been fishing all night in the standing timber as we pulled into Pecan Creek Access Area. He had about a dozen really nice Crappies to 2lbs. Encouraged, we launched the Triton and headed to the bridge. We fished under the bridge while a few small showers passed by.

Not one fish in over an hour of trying. Being overcast we decided to see if we could find some fish in the timber. With the sun behind the clouds and plenty of baitfish around, we figured the fish would be scattered through the timber nailing the shad. We were right. For the next three hours we were able to boat about 25 nice Crappies.

I met Mr. Hunt while fishing on Joe Pool Lake. He's a "homeboy" from Pembroke, NC. That's near Lumberton, South of Raleigh and Wilson. We hit it off immediately and I intend to fish a lot of the area lakes with Lee.

We ended the day just after lunch with a nice mess of fish. Most came in 28 feet of water from 1 to 8 feet off the bottom. A very slow presentation was needed to entice a strike. I have found a straight structure rig consisting of a #2 hook and a 1/8 oz spilt shot 12" (maximum) up is the best rig for fishing in the timber.

Keep the split shot close to the hook. You can not detect a strike fast enough if the split shot is 16" or 18" from the hook. The Kentucky rig gets hung too easily. You can feel the limbs with the heavy weight. Getting the minnow all the way to the bottom, then working it back up through the standing timber was the key. 8lb test minimum is required to get the big Crappies back out of the thick stuff.

If you live near Dallas and want to go fishin' with the ole Killa', just drop me a line and I'll hook up with you.

Joe Pool Lake, Texas
July 13, 2001

I took a much needed and rare day off July 13, 2001. My boy and I went to Joe Pool hoping to catch a few fish for the pan that evening. We fished under the bridge out from Lynn Creek Marina on the West side. The fish were out a little deeper than they have been in recent weeks. 28 - 30 feet deep was the right depth. Dangling the minnows about 4 feet off the bottom seemed to be the ticket.

Dylan caught all the fish you see in the photo above. The largest weighed just under a pound. At 10:30 am he decided he was done fishing. I asked him to give Daddy 30 minutes to try to catch a big fish. He agreed and I got up tight to the supports and fished all the ones we had missed earlier in the day. I nailed 4 fish over a pound with the two biggest going 1lb 9oz and 1lb 7oz.

Joe Pool Lake, Texas
July 7, 2001

As I mentioned on the Index page, I had a chance to fish Joe Pool at night on 6/30/01. Walt and I put the lights out and had schools of baitfish swirling under the ole Triton in a matter of minutes. The bridge near Lynn Creek Marina was the spot. Staying near the main channel edge was key. We put 25 Crappies to 1 pound, 9 Large mouth to two pounds and 7 catfish to two pounds in the boat within 3 hours. All on minnows fished on the bottom or four to five feet off the bottom. There were other boats under the bridge getting similar results.

Started fishing the bridge columns on Joe Pool out from Lynn Creek Marina near the bank at 6 am on Saturday 7/7/01. I had 8 or 10 keepers in the boat within two hours. The limit here in Texas is 10 inches, and I stick to it. Although it sometimes takes a while to catch some keeper size fish. I went through 25 or so to get dinner. I met a nice guy from NC this morning and we shared some stories until about 10:00 am.

I left him with my favorite bridge columns while I went to find some fish on the creek channels. The air temp was nearly 100 degrees, this is not uncommon for Texas this time of year. I tried not to let that bother me as I stared at my Lowrance searching for schools of shad near the creek mouths. I found some promising looking water about half way back in a creek that was 21 feet deep.

The key is to find the bait. Find the bait and you will find the fish this time of year. Keep cruising back into the creek until you don't see anymore bait. Rig up your rods with a Kentucky rig, some lively minnows and troll or drift real slow. Stay with the creek edge and work your way out to deeper water. By starting shallow you are eliminating unproductive water on your first pass.

Watch your electronics carefully! Stop at every little thing you see on the bottom and work it over good. You may only catch one or two fish at each piece of structure this time of year so don't waste a lot of time on any one particular spot. Unless of course you start yo-yoing them! Make mental notes of where the structure was by looking at features on the bank and marking the depth.

Hit that spot on the way back into the creek. I usually drop a marker when I catch the first and last fish. Stay in between the markers for the rest of the time in that area. Don't waste any time! You will see the schools of bait as you meander down the creek channel on your depth finder. Remember Crappies usually feed up, or straight ahead. So keep your bait slightly above the shad or right in the middle of them. You will see your rod tip twitch as the shad hit your line, so don't set the hook until you see that rod tip dip down!

I finished the day with about 25 - 30 fish. The largest was about 14 ounces. No heavy weights but tasty non-the-less. So don't let the heat stop ya'. Grab some cool ones and get after 'em!

We are off to Waco Lake next Saturday 7/14/01. I hear the place is loaded with Slabs. Anyone that would like to join the group going to Waco, please feel free to drop me an email and we'll hook up.