Trolling for Percy Priest Crappie

[Dakota]

This is my summertime favorite. Went out late Friday morning. Caught about 25-30 fish a mix of short crappie 4 nice bass and yellow bass all on crappie style cranks. Did have 11 keepers, 2 largest pushing 15 inches several 11-13 range and a few 10 inches. Electronics were key I was in 20 FOW most of the day off deep channel areas fishing about 15ft or so. When I saw bait I was marking fish. If I didn't see bait I moved on. I put in at Long Hunter and fished there and Hong Kong island area. I trolled with 3 rods and had several doubles which is always fun! Water temp was 85-86.
Interesting one crankbait ruled the day it was pearl colored with a purple back with red eyes. I'll post some Lowrance HDS 7 screenshots soon.







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[Alphahawk]

Nice catch.


Regards

[jaybird]

Nice!

[agelesssone]

Awesome information, John.
That has always been my favorite area to troll in.
How fast were you trolling?
Nice to know which color was dominant.
I haven't trolled for crappie for a coupla years, generally I'm searching for hybrids.

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by agelesssone

Awesome information, John.

That has always been my favorite area to troll in.

How fast were you trolling?

Nice to know which color was dominant.

I haven't trolled for crappie for a coupla years, generally I'm searching for hybrids.

Hey Merv I was trolling from 1.8 to 2.2 mph. I haven't trolled for hybrids for a while.


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[Dakota]

A few screen shots from my crappie catch.



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[TNBronzeback]

Hmmmmmm.....not enough evidence in those screen shots to convince me to stop and fish. LMAO.
whats cool there, is you can see where the fish are in relation to the bait.
in some pics the fish are above the bait and others they are below the bait.
Good stuff man!

[ttitan27]

Interesting report Dakota. I had almost identical results Friday morning. Same depths, same speeds. Lots of big fish. Caught more largemouth bass than I could shake a stick at. Had a decent (7lbish) hybrid break me off at the boat. More yellow stripe than I cared to catch and two or three catfish. I even put in at the same ramp! I was located west of your location though.

Did you get checked by the TWRA creel guy? He checked me but I only had 5 keepers at the time. I added a bunch more after he left. I fished from about 9:30-2:00.

Here was my color of the day

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by ttitan27

Interesting report Dakota. I had almost identical results Friday morning. Same depths, same speeds. Lots of big fish. Caught more largemouth bass than I could shake a stick at. Had a decent (7lbish) hybrid break me off at the boat. More yellow stripe than I cared to catch and two or three catfish. I even put in at the same ramp! I was located west of your location though.



Did you get checked by the TWRA creel guy? He checked me but I only had 5 keepers at the time. I added a bunch more after he left. I fished from about 9:30-2:00.



Here was my color of the day

Funny how did we not run into each other. Interesting you ask about the TWRA creel clerk because I always get checked when I have no fish. I thought for sure he'd be by but never seen him. Side note: My girls ate half of my catch the next day. Plus I added a few sauger I caught in January. They love fried Crappie and catfish. My wife loves it because I do the frying outside. Well she likes the fish too. Happy trolling!

[agelesssone]

Awesome screen shots there!

Seeing those ALMOST tempts me to do some crappie fishing.

[luckystratos]

Dakota what type motors are you guys trolling with. Those are some awesome screen shots. I just got a new to me boat with side image and can't wait to get out and play. Will this type pattern hold up most of the year

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by luckystratos

Dakota what type motors are you guys trolling with. Those are some awesome screen shots. I just got a new to me boat with side image and can't wait to get out and play. Will this type pattern hold up most of the year

I have a Yamaha 115 4 stroke that I use its really quiet. Most probably use the trolling motor, as long as you keep speeds from 1.8 to 2.2 mph or so. This pattern in my opinion is a summer time pattern. I've had success with trolling this time of year on old hickory too. Brush, bait deeper water. Sonar is everything! If I pull into a creek or edge of a channel and don't see baitfish or anything on my HDS 7 I don't fish I keep moving. That's not really a secret...


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[Dakota]

Originally Posted by agelesssone

Awesome screen shots there!



Seeing those ALMOST tempts me to do some crappie fishing.

Get after them!!! They are waiting for you.


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[TNBronzeback]

Originally Posted by Dakota

I have a Yamaha 115 4 stroke that I use its really quiet. Most probably use the trolling motor, as long as you keep speeds from 1.8 to 2.2 mph or so. This pattern in my opinion is a summer time pattern. I've had success with trolling this time of year on old hickory too. Brush, bait deeper water. Sonar is everything! If I pull into a creek or edge of a channel and don't see baitfish or anything on my HDS 7 I don't fish I keep moving. That's not really a secret...


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Do you have a trolling plate on the motor or something? Ive got a 70 yamaha 4 stroke and my slowest according to my electronics is like 2.3-2.4.

[bfish]

Originally Posted by TNBronzeback

... slowest according ….

Drop your trolling motor down to add drag. Also you can trim up/down to slow you down too. That should get you in the range, but if not, hang a 5 gallon bucket out (or a mushroom anchor on about 5 ft of line) or buy a trolling bag. Plates work, but too well most of the time.