Crappie trolling JPP 8/19/2013

[agelesssone]

Went crappie fishing on JPP yesterday morning. Started out jigging brushpiles with jigs and minnows. SUPER SLOW CATCH RATE! Three fish in three hours.

Switched over to pulling crankbaits. Caught 13 keepers with two TARP crappies. One was 14 1/4 inches, the other 14 1/2. Both weighed about 1 1/4 lbs. (on the Boga 15 lb. scale). Pretty skinny fish I thought.

Bandit baby bass and firetiger 200's were the best baits, fished at 1.7 MPH in 15-18 FOW. Water temps started out at 77 degrees and by the end of our fishing day (12:30 PM) it had warmed up to 79. It felt super hot out there with very little cloud cover and no breeze.
http://www.fishingtn.com/images/buttons/edit.gif (http://www.fishingtn.com/editpost.php?do=editpost&p=37914)http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/agelesssone/media/TARPcrappies_zpsb2da0105.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

[commdd]

ageless, as always you are generous with your reports.. sounds like a good day and I agree even if its not super hot the sun will fry! thanks again.

[creekcrappie]

How far along in the year can you continue to do this? When do you have to stop? What is the other way to catch them when you stop?

[agelesssone]

creekcrappie (http://www.fishingtn.com/member.php?u=43879), usually when the water temps get below 75 degrees, the bite tapers off. Then it'll be back to minnows, bobbers and jigs over structure.

[todrut]

Nice fish!

[MNfisher]

Nice work Merv!

[jad2t]

Nicely done. Those fish sure do make a good meal!

[tkwalker]

Nice slabs !!! ... The wife and I are going to venture out Thursday... Hope we get half the action you did on this trip ... <'TK><:)

[nomad60]

Nice crappie!

[Travis C.]

Nice job!

[Alphahawk]

Nice fish Merv!


Regards

[Transplanted Sportsman]

those are some very nice Crappies Merv!!, I have been trying to catch them like that at Normandy but for some reason they are not in the ussual hangouts this time of the year, have trolled places wher I used to catch them almost guaranteed but not this time around, maybe the high water has something to do with it!

[agelesssone]

Transplanted, higher water and probably cooler temperature water has surely moved them.

Look for the warmest waters and certain depths. For me it has been 15-18 FOW.

I was having better luck on the Bandit 200 vs the 300, meaning the fish were suspended. But almost every fish came from a known brushpile/ submerged trees, etc. Not much came in open water.

Good luck with that. But it has been a lot slower this year. I think the farther we get away from a full moon, the better the fishing. Not scientific, just empirical evidence on my part. I rarely do well fishing on a full moon.

[Transplanted Sportsman]

Transplanted, higher water and probably cooler temperature water has surely moved them.

Look for the warmest waters and certain depths. For me it has been 15-18 FOW.

I was having better luck on the Bandit 200 vs the 300, meaning the fish were suspended. But almost every fish came from a known brushpile/ submerged trees, etc. Not much came in open water.

Good luck with that. But it has been a lot slower this year. I think the farther we get away from a full moon, the better the fishing. Not scientific, just empirical evidence on my part. I rarely do well fishing on a full moon.

Thanks for the advice Merv!!, I had decided to go back and try around standind timber, brush piles or any structure that I could find close to creek channel adjacent to a flat and see if they may be around, I have some bandits and thought about start with 300's but since your comments I think I will beging my search with 200's if I decide to troll instead of dunking jigs, hopefully I can report a better outing!, thanks!!

[agelesssone]

Sounds like a good plan to me. I believe you'll come back with a better report next time. BUT! Throw out a couple of 300's just to test the depth til you get some feedback from the fish.

Chartreuse, firetiger, baby bass, and mad cow would be my "go to" baits.

Good luck and let us know how you did, even if it's not so good.

[Transplanted Sportsman]

Sounds like a good plan to me. I believe you'll come back with a better report next time. BUT! Throw out a couple of 300's just to test the depth til you get some feedback from the fish.

Chartreuse, firetiger, baby bass, and mad cow would be my "go to" baits.

Good luck and let us know how you did, even if it's not so good.

I thought about putting out one 300 depending on where and if and marking fish, my go to pattern would be the mad cow or root beer, those have done well for me when the fishing gets tough down here, thanks Merv, will report if work or chores don't get in the way!!

[tacklemake]

Real nice crappie Merv I'm shore anyone of us would be proud to have them..........woody