Nickajack 10-24-2012

[Alphahawk]

Left house at 4:00 AM this morning. After getting some breakfast arrived at fishing hole at 6:15 AM and waited until had enough sun light to start fishing...about 7:30 AM. A couple of locals showed up to fish also. No one caught any Crappie until about 8:00 AM. The bite was pretty regular until about 9:00 AM. My two buddies left shy of a limit.....they only live 8 minutes away and I am sure will go back this evening. I was not going to leave without a limit. Caught my last fish at 10:00 AM. It is the single pic and measured 15 inches. The other 14 all measured between 11 and 12 inches.....once again really fat Crappie. These fish were all hanging on the ledge wall....and all caught using a Bison colored Trout Magnet using 2# test NanoFil with 3# test fluorocarbon leader. The water temp was 69 degrees according to two boats that passed by.....water was clear. Caught 6 Green Sunfish.....they really are colored up nice and put up a nice tussle. Some big bass were busting the water on occasion. Will hit Nickajack again next week. Hopefully this cold front might can stir up the larger fish to start moving in. Am hosting MNfisher tomorrow on a trip to Pickwick. Hoping I can put us on some fish and he can get some good pics.



Regards

[MNfisher]

Nice crappie! Looking forward to tomorrow!

[txnative]

Yep, those pics made me sick. TK needs to let Alpha post on Fridays only so that I don't have to see his posts while I'm at work or unable to fish the next day.


Chris

[white95v6]

nice. i see some batter and hot grease in their future lol.

[Travis C.]

Nice job Alpha.

Just curious, I notice in a lot of your posts you go up a size in leader as opposed to same or down?

[eaglestrike09]

Nice fishing there Alpha!!

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by Travis C.

Nice job Alpha.

Just curious, I notice in a lot of your posts you go up a size in leader as opposed to same or down?

Unless I am fishing for trout I most always use a 3# test leader. Pulling these Crappie off the ledge down there I use the fluorocarbon for abrasion resistance......as you know the fluorocarbon is tough stuff. I figure 3 is better than 2. Using 2# test NanoFil you will get some fraying...especially if it rubs across some rocks......plus it is white in color and I just feel the fluorocarbon gives me an edge on catch rate. Now all of that theory could be totally wrong.....but so far it has worked well for me...but if anyone has any suggestions I will try anything and am open to new techniques. I am anxious to try a vertical jigging technique in bushes that tk mentioned. He said in a post somewhere that he used to use a #12 hook to jig in cover to keep from getting hung up. Never thought about it but that makes sense to me. That is what is great about this forum. Lots of nice folks willing to share fishing tips.


Regards

[txnative]

I agree with Alpha on his leader choice. I use berkley fireline crystal on all but 2 of my rods and use a fluoro leader on them. The fireline crystal is touted as a less visible braid, but I have noticed a definite increase in bites when using the fluoro as a leader. Also, the fluoro is a huge benefit when I deal with large stripers since their mouths are fairly rough and have frayed my braid badly before I began using leaders. I also think that even a short section of fluoro offers some shock absorption, which I noticed when I lost less fish since switching to leaders. I used to have hooks pull and lines break toward the end of a fight when the striper quits running and begins to shake its head.


Chris

[nomad60]

Nice fish, Alpha, sounds like yet another great day.

Originally Posted by txnative

Yep, those pics made me sick. TK needs to let Alpha post on Fridays only so that I don't have to see his posts while I'm at work or unable to fish the next day.


Chris

LOL

[Transplanted Sportsman]

I knew he would redeem himself right away!!!, Alpha, what type of setting do you fish in Nickajack, any particular type of structure, not asking for GPS coordinates here but, things like depth, creek channels, rocks, brush etc. do you fish in this place??, any info would be appreciated, that slab is a hog!!!! congrats!!!

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by Transplanted Sportsman

I knew he would redeem himself right away!!!, Alpha, what type of setting do you fish in Nickajack, any particular type of structure, not asking for GPS coordinates here but, things like depth, creek channels, rocks, brush etc. do you fish in this place??, any info would be appreciated, that slab is a hog!!!! congrats!!!

These fish are coming off of a ledge....rock wall....that drops down pretty quick to 23 feet of water. The initial drop off is probably 7 or 8 feet pretty much straight down. There is some current. Plus these fish..and the ones last year....have more than minnows in their belly. They are consuming some sort of black grub...worm. I think this is one of the reasons they hang out there...food source. I have numerous spots like that down there that I fish.


Regards

[Transplanted Sportsman]

Thank you Sir!!, I assume this pattern can be replicated in other spots on Nickajack if all the conditions meet the criteria, for what I heard there are quite a few places like the one you describe on the River gorge, thanks for the info!!

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by Transplanted Sportsman

Thank you Sir!!, I assume this pattern can be replicated in other spots on Nickajack if all the conditions meet the criteria, for what I heard there are quite a few places like the one you describe on the River gorge, thanks for the info!!

I tried those same parameters yesterday at Pickwick. MNfisher and I were down there and trying to find some good fishing. We moved all over the place. We went to a spot known to hold lots of bass. While he was trying to get some bass....he did get a couple....I put on a tungsten jig to cast to the channel that drops off of the flat. I did not work the area over thoroughly though.......I really wanted Mike to get on some of the great fishing I have had down there in the last 3 weeks. We were moving all over to try and get on lots of fish...it did not happen. But the point is I caught a Crappie off that drop off....have never fished it before for Crappie. I will fish it hard next week to see if it is a place that holds them like at Nickajack. The Crappie I did catch is one of the largest...prettiest Crappie I have ever caught....and I need to find out if there are more there like that one.

Regards

[hotwielen65]

Just wondering what kind of knot you are using to tie the 3# leader onto the 2# nanofil. I've used the albright knot making sure to moisten the knot when tightening and have the line break at the knot so I went to using a small barrel swivel but if your not careful it gets hung in the eye when casting. Just curious.

Have a great day,
Ray

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by hotwielen65

Just wondering what kind of knot you are using to tie the 3# leader onto the 2# nanofil. I've used the albright knot making sure to moisten the knot when tightening and have the line break at the knot so I went to using a small barrel swivel but if your not careful it gets hung in the eye when casting. Just curious.

Have a great day,
Ray

I have used for years the triple overhand and never...never...had a problem with it. I would stay way from using a swivel. NanoFil is not for everyone...but I have been using it since the day it was released. I have no issues with it at all. I don't like the price but you can cast tiny lures a mile with the stuff. Here is a link to show you the triple overhand. There are many knots you can use to tie the leader on but I don't know of an easier one. The part about the knot is at the 3:18 time on the video.

Regards


http://troutmagnet.com/video-detail.php?id=4