Early Backwater Crappie !

Ya Der- Judging by the questions I got from my last “Fishing Report”, we’ve got some guys itch’n for some slabs !! Here’s

some simple stuff to catch these early river Crappie.

Where’s the best place this time of year ? You guessed it-

where you “ice fished for them”. This time of year with water temps in the upper 30’s , low 40’s, they don’t move far ! Actually its more vertical than horizontal. First, you need backwater that has no current !! Water that has some depth 4-10′, and your looking for dead falls. They’ll be in the tree branches over the deep water.

Take it slow, and plan on stay’n awhile, like I said they aren’t move’n much. Crappie jigs, minnow&floats, ice jigs & mag’ts will do it.

Gofish

Kensyl Reading——EFN ProSTaff

Ol’ Miss Guide Service

I was reading up a little on crappie fishing yesterday and trying to get some new tricks in my bag, but wanted to know if this was legal:

The book I was reading said to tie a balloon off on 20′ of mono and release the second or third crappie you caught. Then you could follow the whole school by keeping up with the balloon.

The book was written by a southern gent, and it doesn’t sound like it would be legal in Iowa. It would be interesting to do this with a crappie, and especially with a white bass.

would be fun to try but I also don’t think that it would be legal anywhere for that matter except maybe the south.

Who ever said “fishing wasn’t a thinking mans sport” HA

Well, one way to look at it is – underwater TV cameras are legal, so a ballon is tied to a fish.

I heard something about that on lake Erie too, except there it was for Walleyes! Jerry

Until a few years ago, I fished quite a few crappie tourneys on the southern lakes, and I’ve seen the ballon method Gianni talked about. Don’t try it if weeds or wood are present because that fish will likely get hung up. The guys down south use it as a school locator on open flats. It’s really not needed these days with the knowledge and electronics available.

I was thinking of spring fishing, when I’m fishing pretty shallow flats and the faces of dams like the MacBride spillway. Crappies can be awfully spooky, and locating them with the electronics could be next to impossible in that shallow water (<5').

Just trying to find new ways to improve my odds – Heaven knows I could use a few.

Yo Gianni – You a Hawkeye or a Cow Buster. Hey, Lake Mac should be gangbusters as soon as it fills. I could have filled buckets of Crappie this winter ice fishing ! Even had several 14″rs.

I should have submitted a report to FTL , but didn’t. The Mahafy neck down (bridge) is producing some nice Crappie and a few Eye. I was there last Sat. and worked the pilings deep with larger ice jigs and mag’ts. I also worked the Coralville tailwaters but they wheren’t pulling any water, so eye fishing there was slow.

Gofish

Kensyl Reading——–EFN ProStaff

I’ll be hitting Coralville the first weekend in April. Wife, baby, and daughter are going to Minnesota for her sister’s wedding shower, and I want to get in a shakedown cruise.

Hopefully the fishing holds.