Targeting different species

I’ve been learning a new very small lake, and I’ve found virtually all the fish in the deepest area of the lake, at least during daylight. The under-40 acre lake has a single basin that is from 12-17 feet deep, and covers about a 200 yard diameter circle. After 40 or so hours of fishing time, I’ve yet to find fish outside of the basin. While that makes for good action, it makes it difficult to target crappie and jumbo perch. I’ve switched to larger baits like Rippin Raps, and larger spoons, but even with no meat on them, they still get constantly surrounded by and pecked at by bluegills. I am catching an occasional crappie and once in a while a jumbo perch with the same technique, so I believe my presentation is effective, but from what I’m seeing on the H’bird, the fish I’m targeting don’t get a chance, when I’m on fish, whatever I drop down seems to get mobbed.
I know it’s a great problem to have – too many fish – but is there a way to target crappies and perch specifically? Should I try finding holes that have no fish visible and see if the crappies and perch can find me? I’m open to ideas.

I’m going to assume you drop right down near the bottom after seeing marks down deep…..correct? Being mobbed by smaller sunfish and catching an occasional perch tells me you’re down deep. Are you seeing any random marks at mid to upper levels of the water column? I’d bet that your better and more consistent crappie fishing will be up higher and I’d bet that the random marks up higher are those crappies. Right under the ice can be great crappie fishing at times even.

If I were fishing this spot I’d spend the first twenty minutes drilling 20 or 30 holes spread out across the deepest portion. I’d start fishing back at the first hole cut. I’d watch the locator for marks at mid-level depths to the top that come into view and are visible for maybe ten to twenty seconds and then fade out and I’d fish at that level, not the bottom. At this time of year your feeding and active crappies will not likely be hanging around the bottom much other than for rest or security during a sharp cold front. Crappies will still cruise higher up when feeding during a cold front but they need a slower presentation. If you get lookers and no hits in this higher water change baits or colors until one works, then really work it.

I’d move from hole to hole across the deepest part of the basin where you’ve drilled and spend no more than three or four minutes at each hole. I’d work across the hole spread then work my way back to point A.

For larger perch, I’d focus on the shallower side of the deepest portion. The deepest water will hold the sunfish and small perch while the larger perch won’t likely tolerate the competition for food. Where the deep shallows up a couple feet is where I’d start looking for better perch and slowly work my way out and shallower. A vertical jigging spoon with a minnow head can be a deadly meal for nice perch.

Too many people get lulled into the masses of small fish at the deepest portion of basin lakes thinking that they’ll find larger crappie and perch mingled in. The masses of small fish are what keeps the larger fish out of that water: neither a decent crappie or decent perch will hang with the dinks and compete for food. Think higher for your crappies and further out to the edges of the masses on somewhat shallower water for bigger perch.

Last weekend I fish a similar lake that had a basin of about 25’. Out in 20’+, it was nothing but 8” crappies. Thousands of them. I went there to catch gills so I started to go shallower. I drilled a line of holes from 24’ up to about 6’. I didn’t find bigger gills until I reached about 10’. Caught the bigger gills in 6-8’.

Try moving shallow.

I’ve had a very similar problem on about the same size lake that had a 35′ deep basin on half the lake and the got to about 5′ on the other end. Fished all over the lake and drilled a lot of holes. Marked fish nearly everywhere and would maybe catch one or two borderline keeper crappies in about 6 hours fishing. Lots of tap taps on the bait constantly. Like you I threw everything down from small tungstens to bigger buckshots and tinglers, rippin raps etc. Sometimes with meat sometimes with not. Minnows, waxies, made no difference same thing.

I fished that water 3 or 4 times a year for about 2 seasons in a row and always the same thing. Just came to the conclusion it had been fished out of any decent sized fish. All that was left was silver dollar sized pannies big enough to mob your bait but too small to bite. If there are bigger crappie or perch in there they are not going to let the small fry keep them from eating they will push they’re way through to your bait.

what kind of fishing pressure does the lake you’re on get? Your’e issue could be the same as what I had.

Thanks for the tips guys.
I usually try to fish above the highest mark on the sonar and try to draw the fish up to my bait, if those fish don’t seem active, I will drop down to the next lower marks. Most of the time on this lake, the fish start climbing to my bait as soon as it’s below the ice, sometimes they are coming up almost 10 feet to meet my falling bait. If the fish seem to clear out from a hole, I will work closer to the bottom for a bit before hopping to another hole.
There isn’t what I would consider a lot of pressure, but the lake is very small, and those who do fish it, all fish the same basin area. I’ve drilled the giant X-pattern of holes to explore, and have yet to find any fish away from the basin. So I guess you could say there is moderate pressure, even though there are not many people fishing it, when they do fish, it’s all in one area. And speaking to the other group (the lake is private, and all the previous fishing pressure comes from one family of landowners who have been there for multiple generations) they tell me the fish are all concentrated in the basin area during hard water. There are plenty of keeper size and even bigger than I keep bluegills, crappies and perch, but there just doesn’t seem to be a consistent way to find them separate from the smaller fish. The bass and crappies seem to be a little bit leaner than the bluegills and perch, which seem very healthy, so I assume the main forage is insects and not minnows.
I’ll change up a few things and see what works.
Thanks for all the tips.

I’d get the biggest fatheads you can find and put it in a dead stick mid way up the water column. If there are big crappies they will find that and the small gills won’t. Cut a jigging hole and set the dead stick 4 to 6’ away and see what happens.