So a week ago I was down fishing for staging crappie (Chasing The Warm Water). We had some trouble staying on fish but only when the wind was blowing. When the wind would let up, the sun was warm enough to warm the water up enough to draw the fish out of the deeper, cool water and into the warm shallows. For this trip, we had a warm up over night that cooled down throughout the day. Some spots stayed warmer longer but not all held fish.
We started the day where we had all the luck just a week ago. Cruising in, the fish were no where to be found were they were before but at the very end of navigable water, we found some. We picked about 15 fish before the wind switched on us and started to cool the water. Th e majority of the fish in there were small. Making radius casts around the boat, an osprey swooped down and grabbed a decent sized crappie from where we motored through to get in. We quickly hoisted anchor and got out to where the fish was taken from. No dice. The fish were either not there or completely inactive. Our best bet was to go searching.
We checked several spots with no luck. We had trouble finding water that reached much more than 47 degrees. With the main lake in dismay because of the steady wind with gusts into the high 20’s, we came up with a plan that, if ineffective, would lead us off the water and to dinner.
The first spot we checked appeared to be cold and vacant. We worked both shores, the middle, and then back towards the main lake. Nothing was happening until the it opened up. I pulled a fish out of rough water but lost it at the boat. For the next half hour, we pulled some of the bigger crappie that I have seen so far this spring. They were coming out of 2 feet of water on a very slow drag. The hot bait for the day was a pearl Lake Fork Trophy Lures – “Live” Baby Shad. As the fish funneled by the wind started to pick back up and the water cooled a few degrees causing the fish to vacate the area. The best part of the day happened as we were about ready to leave. As my friend Jamie worked his bait in, a crappie rose up right by the boat and sucked his bobber in but then immediately spit it out. Within seconds, a bass followed up and grabbed the bobber again. Jamie started to pull it in unhooked but it was once again spit it out. Then believe it or not, a crappie had taken the bait underneath and was hoisted into the boat.
The rest of the day was spent unsuccessfully searching for fish. Without a good idea of what else to do, we packed up the gear and made the rough run back to the launch for the drive back home.
D & B Ice Adventures 