Crappie Day On Pool 8

This morning when I went to warm up my truck I was greeted with a nice overcast and mist so I knew it was going to be one of those crappie days. Today I was expecting an afternoon bite so we hit the ice at 9 A.M. and enjoyed a nice ATV ride to our hot spot. We started our day drilling and searching, about 30 minutes into the hunt we doubled up on these 2 nice slabs and began to put a pattern and color together.

At the end of the ice season last year I purchased a LX-5, today good electronics were necessary. We were getting our fish suspended at 8 ft. over 17 ft. of water. My best producer was a red Diamond jig tipped with a pink amobea. These fish needed a little coaxing, I would compare it to putting a piece of beef jerky in front of your dog. Watching them follow it up then down then to the left and back to the right and just put it in front of there face and they would hit it like a freight train. It’s fair to say it was not uncommon to work these fish for 2-3 minutes before they would bite. Jig presentation was very critical, any sudden movement would cause thes fish to spook. I really like the super fine line feature of the LX-5, I figured this out at the end of the day but it sure makes a big difference for seperation especially when your marcum looks like this. These fish were on the move basically just patroling the area. This is where the diamond jig shines allowing you to get your bait down very quickly. We would pop around 2 fish per flurry then on to the next hole.

The crappies needed a change up once in a while, when the bite gets tough we find it a good idea to drop something different at them. By using your electronics you can see how the fish are reacting to your baits and then make adjustments accordingly. Tim was able to spoon these nice crappies in a time when we didn’t have a bit for about 1/2 hour.

We saw alot of size variety in the area we were fishing today. We were catching crappies from 6 to 13 inches, the bigger fish seemed to hit very light. It always amazes when you see your spring barely move and as soon as the hook is set you feel that heavy weight at the end of your line. The ice is in good shape but there are alot of current areas that you need to be careful for. This year has been a weird year for crappies, my shallow water spots have not been producing very well, forcing me to fish new areas. Hope you all have a happy and safe new years.

Tight Lines,

Joey.