Crappie Fishing Report 6-9-09

The walleye’s aren’t the only species biting in Iowa- It is crappie heaven here in eastern Iowa!! This year has been a very unpredictable spawn period for all types of game fish.

It could drive a fisherman crazy trying to figure out the stages. I’d rather just enjoy catching the fish!!

The crappie fishing on Macbride and the reservoir has been excellent lately, better than in years past. In credit mainly to Paul Sleeper, Chris Mack, and the other DNR Fisheries staff- Thanks guys for all your hard work, and knowledge in building our surrounding lakes into what they are today! It does not go unnoticed!

Finding the fish has been fairly difficult, but once you find them, you find a lot of them. Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box, like I stated earlier, this has been a very unusual spawn. Often times during this time of the year the fish will still be up shallow. However, the fish I am finding are relating to deeper water patterns. I have caught fish on deep wood in excess of 18 FOW. I have also found them on submerged rock piles in 15-20 FOW.
Why do some areas hold thousands of these highly sought after paper mouths, and other area are void of these gems? It could be presence of baitfish, some fisherman even talk about the thermocline. I suggest paying close attention to your electronics, and once you locate fish, don’t give up on the spot. Try different bait presentations and retrieval methods. Live bait versus artificial will often flip the switch, and vis versa.
My best presentation has been casting 1/16 ounce precision head jigs from B Fish N Tackle, rigged with a 2″ twister tail. Color definitely plays a role in getting the specks to bite. Sometimes white is the best producer, other times it might be black. Make sure you have a variety of colors.

As far as locating the fish- Again, the electronics are key. Key in locating the baitfish, structure, and ultimately the papermouths. Try to not get stuck to old patterns and spots. 99% of my fish have came in areas that I have never fished before. Does pressure move them out of community spots? Possibly, but again, look everywhere for the fish, traditional and non traditional spots. You never know where you might find your next crappie heaven!

It probably goes without saying, but if you do run into the big females full of spawn, please remember to CPR, so our kids can enjoy these fisheries for years to come. It may look like we kept some of these fish, but they were released unharmed. We had a thunderstorm break, and snapped a few photos of fish in the live well while we were under shelter. Those fish were released unharmed.

After the rain, this was the portrait painted in the sky. Often times, it takes pure works of art like this to make a fisherman stop and think of why he enjoys the sport we all love called fishing- Often times, it is more of the comradery, and the laughter in the boat that keeps my boat in the water day in and day out…even when the fish are biting!

I’d like to thank my friends, and count my blessings! Bob, Marshal, and Mitch…it was an unreal week fishing with you guys! I’ll keep your boat clean while your gone Marshal, except of course for fish slime!

Good luck, stay safe, and We’ll see you on the water!