# Caeser's Creek Crappie Report



## Riverduck11

I was hoping the cooler temps would be bringing the crappie in shallower. I hit up two ledges that normally hold fish in the fall from 8 to 14 FOW. No luck there. So I headed to one of my summer spots and they were still there and very active yesterday. I caught about 40 but only 11 were keepers. Lots of 8.5" fish this year it seems. 

I was in 27 FOW caught all fish between 15 and 20 feet down. 

Water temps were 72 in all 3 places I stopped.


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## BIGTCAT'N

I hit Cowan Sunday and long lined cranks and spider rigged as well. Fish were scattered wit the bait. Ended up with about 30 and the biggest was 11.5".


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## brandonw

Thanks for the report riverduck11. I was out last Monday before the cold front and had my best outting of the summer. Caught around 30 and took home 21 and a gill. Most fish were thick and 10-11". In 12fow around 10' down on jigs. They were inhaling electric chicken baby shads under a slip float and casted. Slow drag, reel, slow drag, reel. 










I'll be back out today after work in the grey Vibe kayak. Were they suspended, feeding, tight to structure?


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## Riverduck11

Nice catches guys!

They were on wood.


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## zaraspook

brandonw said:


> Thanks for the report riverduck11. I was out last Monday before the cold front and had my best outting of the summer. Caught around 30 and took home 21 and a gill. Most fish were thick and 10-11". In 12fow around 10' down on jigs. They were inhaling electric chicken baby shads under a slip float and casted. Slow drag, reel, slow drag, reel.
> 
> View attachment 244980
> 
> 
> I'll be back out today after work in the grey Vibe kayak. Were they suspended, feeding, tight to structure?


bw.......other than swimming my plastics tight line to the bait, your presentation under bobber is my favorite retrieve.......slow drag/reel, slow drag/reel. Nice mess of specks!


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## brandonw

zaraspook said:


> bw.......other than swimming my plastics tight line to the bait, your presentation under bobber is my favorite retrieve.......slow drag/reel, slow drag/reel. Nice mess of specks!


Thanks Zara. It's certainly becoming one of my favorites. I usually use it under a fixed float but it works pretty well under a slip float as well. I've noticed if the fish are aggressive they'll hit it on the drag but most of the time it's as soon as the bait settles and stops moving. 

Had another great outting yesterday after work. Water temp was 73. Light rain and cloudy conditions. Found fish 14' deep on timber in 28fow just as riverduck did. Got 2 pretty quickly but the wind kicked up and I had a hell of a time keeping my yak in position. Lots more hits but couldn't hook up trying to keep the yak in position and work the rod. Will need to work on that. Moved to second spot, same spot that produced last Monday in my previous report and it was nonstop. Caught well over 40 in a couple hours in 12fow, 10' deep again on electric chicken baby shad under slip float and hot grub twister tails casted. Both methods worked but baby shad under float took majority of the fish. Most fish were quality and thick in the 9.5-11.5" range and maybe 3 or 4 dinks. Took home a limit and they're on ice now. I'll post a pic after work before I clean'm. Zara, is it obvious by my bait selections that I pay close attention to your GLSM thread


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## crappietime

Nice mess of crappies. Love it when the water starts to cool and gets the fish active. Should make for some great fall fishing. Now I'm torn between crappie fishing and river smallmouth fishing.


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## zaraspook

brandonw said:


> Thanks Zara. It's certainly becoming one of my favorites. I usually use it under a fixed float but it works pretty well under a slip float as well. I've noticed if the fish are aggressive they'll hit it on the drag but most of the time it's as soon as the bait settles and stops moving.
> 
> Had another great outting yesterday after work. Water temp was 73. Light rain and cloudy conditions. Found fish 14' deep on timber in 28fow just as riverduck did. Got 2 pretty quickly but the wind kicked up and I had a hell of a time keeping my yak in position. Lots more hits but couldn't hook up trying to keep the yak in position and work the rod. Will need to work on that. Moved to second spot, same spot that produced last Monday in my previous report and it was nonstop. Caught well over 40 in a couple hours in 12fow, 10' deep again on electric chicken baby shad under slip float and hot grub twister tails casted. Both methods worked but baby shad under float took majority of the fish. Most fish were quality and thick in the 9.5-11.5" range and maybe 3 or 4 dinks. Took home a limit and they're on ice now. I'll post a pic after work before I clean'm. Zara, is it obvious by my bait selections that I pay close attention to your GLSM thread
> 
> View attachment 245042


Crappies will start hiding when they see you coming. You may have to disguise your yak!


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## Tom 513

Nice day of speck hunting, I love the BG Electric Chicken color and Junebug and Chartruse mix, tipped with a nibble and your golden.


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## Riverduck11

A little slower this morning. Ended up catching about 25 today. Fished with my 78 year old grandfather! Glad we can still get out together. The bluegill are moving in nice. Caught 15 or so with a few nice ones.


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## 9Left

Fished CC yesterday morning for 4 hours...caught a dozen or so.. one FO crappie at 15".... everything caught was 15-18 feet deep on a minnow.. did not seem to want a moving jig on a retrieve...fall crappie bite is still a few weeks away yet....heres my buddy's 15".... released it to swim again...


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## garhtr

Nice fish ! Sure woulda made a Nice Sandwich.  
Please let me know when they get up shallow, I'm itching to catch a few on a fly.
Good luck and Good Fishing !


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## TOS

So which lake is better for Crappie? Cowan or CC?
Eastfork?


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## Riverduck11

TOS said:


> So which lake is better for Crappie? Cowan or CC?
> Eastfork?


I really do not know if i would say anyone is better than the other right now. I think east forks are on the smaller side right now but you can just catch a ton. Cowan are bigger but you have to find them. It took a couple trips to figure it out.


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## 9Left

my opinion.. Ceasars Creek is better...Cowan lake just gets insanely pounded by locals and very overharvested, just my opinion though


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## brandonw

Made it out yesterday evening. Bite started off slow but picked up after sunset. Water temp 70.7*F. Picked a couple fish off timber earlier then moved to the hot spot that had produced last two outings. Managed 4 keepers in around an hour 10' deep in 12fow. I was about to leave when I started marking fish elsewhere in the vicinity. Bite was hot at this other spot (12' down, 13 fow) for another hour, caught probably a dozen or so keepers and a good amount of dinks to go along with it. Most fish were caught on Cajun cricket BG baby shad under slip float jigged heavily and the rest on a casted curly tail grub. I started with electric chicken which was the hot color last few times out but they hardly touched it today. I'll add the pic of fish later before I clean'm. If you're trying to get some crappie at CC this weekend and avoid the crowd try the night bite, it's been solid.

Edit: Pic added. 14 keepers total.


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## zaraspook

I would think by now those CC crappies would have your boat set up for an "Amber alert" as soon as it slips into water. Good move to switch to night time - crappies probably don't recognize you in darkness. 
Amazing difference in water temp between deepwater lakes and the shallow ones. 62 degrees at GLSM Tues this week.


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## brandonw

zaraspook said:


> I would think by now those CC crappies would have your boat set up for an "Amber alert" as soon as it slips into water. Good move to switch to night time - crappies probably don't recognize you in darkness.
> Amazing difference in water temp between deepwater lakes and the shallow ones. 62 degrees at GLSM Tues this week.


The night bite has certainly been hot. Hopefully will stay this way til fall pattern begins. Might get out this evening with the girl but we'll see. Will report if we do. Hope everyone has a good weekend.


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## brandonw

Hope someone out there took my advice and got out last night. I skipped the day bite altogether and put in the water around 9. Water temp was up to 73*F. Marked fish quickly and they were feeding pretty good. Started with the Cajun cricket under a float but they were telling me they wanted a moving bait. I was basically reeling in under the float, no pauses, just let the bait reach depth, reeled slowly and they'd inhale it. Bite slowed after an hour and a half so moved around to a couple different spots but the places that were producing last couple outtings only yielded 3-4. Altogether brought home 20. Could've kept more but I've learned that 20 is about the max I want to clean any given day. It was a beautiful night on the water all in all. Hope I can get a few more warm days like this before the cold really starts to set in. Fish still 8-10' down in anywhere from 10-13 fow. 

Need to find a way to spice up my pics or they're gonna get real boring real fast.


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## 9Left

nice brandon! sou were catchin these guys after dark?


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## brandonw

9Left said:


> nice brandon! sou were catchin these guys after dark?


Yes sir. They've been feeding heavily as soon as the sun sets til around 11-midnight when the bite seems to cool off.


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## brandonw

Made it out last night. Surface temps at 75*. Fish were much more finicky than what they have been, maybe due to the water temps back in the mid 70s. Tried to fish timber til sun down but couldn't pull a single fish. Moved to recent hot spots after dark and fish were present but not active participants like they had been. Size was also worse than it had been. I barely managed my goal of 10 keepers, had to persist and keep trying different depths, colors, techniques. I couldn't single in on one that produced great but a threadfin shad colored baby shad under float faired the best. Marked fish anywhere from 5-13' down but only those a few feet from the bottom wanted to play. 

I won't be back out til next week probably so hopefully the bite picks back up before then. Family coming in this weekend and we are frying up some of these fish Saturday. If any of you get out this weekend please post a report and how you faired!

Got an action shot. You can see on my Helix the fish from bottom up to 5' in this particular spot.


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## zaraspook

bw.....Similar malaise among the crappies at GLSM which I attribute to recent heat. Awesome that your family gathering will feast on your recent run of superb catches. Great report as per your norm.


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## crappiedude

brandonw said:


> *Got an action shot*. You can see on my Helix the fish from bottom up to 5' in this particular spot.


Love those action photos. this is what helps people learn how to read their electronics.
Great posts you been putting up BTW.


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## TOS

Gonna have to try this night fishing. Its supposed to cool down this week-end so maybe this might be a good time to go.


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## brandonw

TOS said:


> Gonna have to try this night fishing. Its supposed to cool down this week-end so maybe this might be a good time to go.


Goodluck. Make sure to post a report on your results. I'll be out today after work. Targeting musky til sun set then crappie at night.


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## brandonw

Got out yesterday after work as planned. Water surface temp was high 70s. Had my hopes set on a musky so worked shorelines for a couple hours without any luck. Tried a few different spinnerbaits but no hits and no follows that I could see. Another gentleman chuckin some big spinners confirmed he hadn't had any luck either. I'll probably try again when temps drop. 

I moved to specks after nightfall and found them where I have been the last few weeks. Same general area, 10-13 fow, caught anywhere from 8-12' deep. The bite wasn't crazy hot but not dead either. Caught little over 20 fish with 9 being keepers. Lots of dinks which was surprising. I didn't catch a single fish casting, all were caught on a baby shad under a slip float twitched, jigged or dragged. Couldn't find a color or technique that worked great but most fish were caught on the threadfin shad colored baby shad that worked best last outting as well. Also got a bonus 18" saug which was a nice surprise. 

Got another action shot, this one in little over 12 fow. Similar to last pic, no bottom structure in this spot so all the marks are fish of some sort. The fish from 10-12' are crappie which is where I pulled this fish from. One thing I've learned is that crappie usually don't ever show up as the "arches" we're taught to look for (at least not on my helix). I've mostly seen them more as globs of green and yellow, medium returns on the sonar. 










Edit: 10 keepers*


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## Riverduck11

I did not fish these fish, but the fish below this bait ball are how Crappie and white bass usually appear for me. I personally think these were probably white bass. 

Thanks for keeping this thread going. I think we are all learning a bit.


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## TOS

Yes thanks, I need all the help I can get for Crappie. Love to catch them, love to eat them, but haven't had much luck the last several years.


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## TOS

Where is a good place (area) to start? Wellman area? sailboat ramp? I don't know the lake very well. Only been on it about 3 times even though I live fairly close.


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## Riverduck11

You can honestly start at any ramp and catch fish within a half mile easy. Just depends how you want to fish. I have learned to fish ledges and drops there because it is such a deep steep lake. It would also be easy to just find the nearest standing timber to your launch and start learning. Right now I would target fish 12 to 20 ft down. By all these reports though you can see that fish are being caught in as little as 10 or 12 feet. 

I use my electronics more on CC than any other ohio lake for crappie.


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## nuttycrappie

if you like night fishing .you can fish off the docks at night and doing dam good .was there wensday night till dawn caught about 30 keep 18 .


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## Matt Jackson

Nice thread.Id love to night fish of the docks but can't figure out which one.Ive looked at He maps and there are several.


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## 9Left

Matt Jackson said:


> Nice thread.Id love to night fish of the docks but can't figure out which one.Ive looked at He maps and there are several.



Just pick one Matt... they all hold fish... Fyi ... the New Marina docks are off limits (posted as " no fishing from docks") .. but try the wellman ramp, the northshore ramp, the campground ramp...


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## Matt Jackson

Thank you sir.Ill give them a shot.


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## brandonw

Got out yesterday with the girl and we did really well. Kept 37 between the two of us. She had a ball which was most important. Forgot to take water temp and no action shots today. Cool weather seems to be having a positive effect as expected. Caught 10' down in 11 fow on jigs, key lime pie baby shad was the winner.


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## TOS

brandonw said:


> Got out yesterday with the girl and we did really well. Kept 37 between the two of us. She had a ball which was most important. Forgot to take water temp and no action shots today. Cool weather seems to be having a positive effect as expected. Caught 10' down in 11 fow on jigs, key lime pie baby shad was the winner.
> 
> View attachment 246629



Sweet. Was this during the day or more night fishing? Thinking of heading out there thurs night when my son gets in from out of state but if they are biting earlier now I may go after work this week.


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## brandonw

TOS said:


> Sweet. Was this during the day or more night fishing? Thinking of heading out there thurs night when my son gets in from out of state but if they are biting earlier now I may go after work this week.


Bite was hot when we arrived around dusk til 10pm. Faded after 10. Goodluck!


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## 9Left

HaHa! what happened to not wanting to clean more than 25? .....Nice mess of slabs there Brandon..


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## brandonw

9Left said:


> HaHa! what happened to not wanting to clean more than 25? .....Nice mess of slabs there Brandon..


Haha trust me, I wasn't excited to clean 37 this morning... Between setup, actual cleaning fish, cleanup, rinse filets, and vacuum seal it took a good 2-2.5 hours. The girl told me yesterday we're frying fish for her family this weekend then another fish fry in November so needed to stock up. Her family can put down some fish.


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## Fishin4meat

what ramp do you normally put in at... i have a small jon boat with trolling motor id like to take out but not sure best place to use it lol


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## MuskyFan

This time of year most of the major boat traffic is gone. Wellman is good as is the north campground or Haines (on the north creek).


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## brandonw

Tough bite yesterday. It has definitely slowed down since I was out last. Fish were scattered and not tight in schools. Found a fish here and there but had to keep moving to keep catching. Water surface temp was 71* when I left, still very warm for this time of year. I caught around 13 total, probably 7 or 8 of those were keepers. Caught fish on 2” gulp minnows or key lime pie baby shad under slip float. Fish were couple feet off the bottom in 10fow but also caught a few dink crappie 5’ down. The bigger ones seem to be closer to the bottom. No special technique, erratic jigging with pauses and wait for the float to do something irregular. Played C&R as the freezer is full (til later today that is). Action shot:


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## crappiedude

I was out yesterday too but fishing East Fork and for what it's worth the bite was horrible for me too. Fished 3 or 4 spots and bite was just not happening. Fished Thursday and did pretty good fishing the same areas. Pattern was similar to yours.
Anytime I don't catch fish I blame it on a front coming through...it takes the pressure off of me.


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## zaraspook

brandonw said:


> Tough bite yesterday. It has definitely slowed down since I was out last. Fish were scattered and not tight in schools. Found a fish here and there but had to keep moving to keep catching. Water surface temp was 71* when I left, still very warm for this time of year. I caught around 13 total, probably 7 or 8 of those were keepers. Caught fish on 2” gulp minnows or key lime pie baby shad under slip float. Fish were couple feet off the bottom in 10fow but also caught a few dink crappie 5’ down. The bigger ones seem to be closer to the bottom. No special technique, erratic jigging with pauses and wait for the float to do something irregular. Played C&R as the freezer is full (til later today that is). Action shot:
> 
> View attachment 246960


Gotta love that key lime pie, don't you?


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## brandonw

zaraspook said:


> Gotta love that key lime pie, don't you?


Sure do. My girl picked’m out and I borrowed some from her. Will have to get some of my own soon


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## Matt Jackson

Fishing Ceasar Creek at night in a kayak.You are deticated man!!Nicejob on filling the freezer.


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## zaraspook

brandonw said:


> Sure do. My girl picked’m out and I borrowed some from her. Will have to get some of my own soon


I have 4-5 different colors/patterns, but key lime pie most productive at GLSM.


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## 9Left

Morning jig bite is starting to get better...went on a hike this morning and found a few in 6' foot of water...


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## TOS

9Left said:


> Morning jig bite is starting to get better...went on a hike this morning and found a few in 6' foot of water...
> View attachment 247181


Nice. Was that part of CC too?


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## 9Left

TOS said:


> Nice. Was that part of CC too?


yes, fish were caught in Ceasars Creek this morning, cove with lots of standing timber


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## brandonw

Made it out yesterday hoping the bite would be hot with the cooler air temps. Water temp however was still 70*. Marked a lot of fish but most had lockjaw. I worked for the 13 keepers I took home, plus another 5 or so dinks. No color really stood out except key lime pie but it was still tough. Caught them anywhere from 6’ down all the way down to 12’. They would not chase a casted lure, slip float and vertical jigging only. Very healthy class of 10” crappie at CC and most are thick. Excellent keeper to dink ratio overall this past month or so. Largest yesterday was a 12”er shown below. 

Side note: stopped by ODNR boat and asked how I felt about the idea of blue catfish being stocked at CC. I toldm long as it doesn’t negatively affect crappie populations I’m good with it. Anyone know if it would?


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## garhtr

I like to see that 6 ft deep number- I can start to get some on the fly 
Thanks for the constant updates.
Good luck and Good Fishing !


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## DLarrick

Thanks for the constant updates.
Good luck and Good Fishing ![/QUOTE]
I agree, thanks for the updates and detailed reports. not having to give location but depth and color helps out others for sure. have hit cowan the last couple times out but might switch it up next outing and try CC.


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## brandonw

garhtr said:


> I like to see that 6 ft deep number- I can start to get some on the fly
> Thanks for the constant updates.
> Good luck and Good Fishing !


I feel obligated to tell you only one was caught 6’ down, the vast majority were around the 9’ mark but yes I was pleasantly surprised when I caught that one so shallow. Although water temps are still warm that’s a very good sign for things to come. 



DLarrick said:


> Thanks for the constant updates.
> Good luck and Good Fishing !
> I agree, thanks for the updates and detailed reports. not having to give location but depth and color helps out others for sure. have hit cowan the last couple times out but might switch it up next outing and try CC.


Do it. I think when the water temps drop to mid 60s we’ll start to see a pattern change but you’ve seen all my recent reports, I’m certainly not complaining. CC is a great crappie lake. I made sure to tell the ODNR guy that yesterday. Told him whatever they’ve been doing, it’s working and keep doing it. 

How have you been doing at Cowan?


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## garhtr

brandonw said:


> I feel obligated to tell you only one was caught 6’ down, the vast majority were around the 9’ mark but yes I was pleasantly surprised when I caught that one so shallow. Although water temps are still warm that’s a very good sign for things to come.
> 
> 
> 
> Do it. I think when the water temps drop to mid 60s we’ll start to see a pattern change but you’ve seen all my recent reports, I’m certainly not complaining. CC is a great crappie lake. I made sure to tell the ODNR guy that yesterday. Told him whatever they’ve been doing, it’s working and keep doing it.
> 
> How have you been doing at Cowan?


 Even 9 ft gives me hope ! A few cooler days and it'll 4 ft . I won't fish much until lake is at winter pool and I'll likely fish most often at Paint Crk, but your post and 9lefts sure get me excited.
Thanks and Good Luck and Good Fishing !


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## thedudeabides

brandonw great fishing! Looks as is if you are putting in a lot of work. Thanks for the great reports! I had decent luck a couple weeks ago on crappie at Caesar's. Not much since, hoping this cold front really gets things going! How late into the season will you fish out of your kayak? Good fishing to you.


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## brandonw

thedudeabides said:


> brandonw great fishing! Looks as is if you are putting in a lot of work. Thanks for the great reports! I had decent luck a couple weeks ago on crappie at Caesar's. Not much since, hoping this cold front really gets things going! How late into the season will you fish out of your kayak? Good fishing to you.



Thanks. This will be the first winter with the yak so I’m guessing a good time to hang it up would be when water temps drop below 50*F. Hypothermia would be my biggest concern obviously but hey, we’ll see. Stay tuned to this thread for the next couple months and we’ll find out.


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## fishdealer04

brandonw said:


> Made it out yesterday hoping the bite would be hot with the cooler air temps. Water temp however was still 70*. Marked a lot of fish but most had lockjaw. I worked for the 13 keepers I took home, plus another 5 or so dinks. No color really stood out except key lime pie but it was still tough. Caught them anywhere from 6’ down all the way down to 12’. They would not chase a casted lure, slip float and vertical jigging only. Very healthy class of 10” crappie at CC and most are thick. Excellent keeper to dink ratio overall this past month or so. Largest yesterday was a 12”er shown below.
> 
> Side note: stopped by ODNR boat and asked how I felt about the idea of blue catfish being stocked at CC. I toldm long as it doesn’t negatively affect crappie populations I’m good with it. Anyone know if it would?
> 
> View attachment 247375
> 
> View attachment 247376
> 
> View attachment 247377
> 
> View attachment 247378


From what I heard they are planning to stock it with 8-12" blues next fall approx 40k of them. I think they will do very well in that lake. Sure they will eat some of the crappie and what not but not anymore than any of the other fish do. There is plenty of baitfish in that lake as well. The blues have done well at Hoover and other lakes would be nice to go out there and be catching 20-30 pound blues.

Great crappie btw! Hopefully the cooler temps will get them fired up to put the feed on before winter. Hoping to get out there this week sometime.


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## DLarrick

[QUOTE="brandonw, post: 2372231, 
How have you been doing at Cowan?[/QUOTE]
haven't been out as much as you but was out last Sat 10/07 and Sun 10/01. Found the fish pretty scattered and not really on the spots I normally would find them. Each trip I only caught 6 or 7 with a couple keepers. Fish I did catch were pretty close to the bottom. Hitting structure in 11-15' of water and needing to be within a foot or so of the bottom. I think part of what was making it tough was fishing laydown trees and the fish are tight to the bottom So getting the jig down "under" the tree without getting snagged was hard. 
And planned right I will fish the kayak as long as the water isn't frozen. Just takes a little different planning. Being prepared with extra clothes and I never go alone when its that cold. Also not getting out if its going to be really windy or something. Shoot me a PM if you want to meet up sometime. Most of my Cowan trips are solo.


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## 9Left

Took another hike at CC this morning, caught crappie in 5-8 foot of water, only two fish over 10" this morning so i released them after the pic... for the life of me, i couldnt keep the white bass off my jig, might have been more fun if they were bigger, but they were just everywhere!


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## brandonw

9Left said:


> Took another hike at CC this morning, caught crappie in 5-8 foot of water, only two fish over 10" this morning so i released them after the pic... for the life of me, i couldnt keep the white bass off my jig, might have been more fun if they were bigger, but they were just everywhere!
> View attachment 247625
> 
> View attachment 247626


Is that a BnM Cabelas crappie rod I see?


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## 9Left

brandonw said:


> Is that a BnM Cabelas crappie rod I see?


Yep... 8' Lite action rod... casts a mile with 4# mono.


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## brandonw

9Left said:


> Yep... 8' Lite action rod... casts a mile with 4# mono.


I have the 7’ and 10’ers and love’m. Great rods and can’t beat the price when ya find’m on sale.

Nice catches this morning. Wish I could get out in the mornings


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## Matt Jackson

You guys are good at finding those crappies.Not a easy task.When do those B&M crappie rods usually go on sale?Id like to try one.


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## brandonw

Matt Jackson said:


> You guys are good at finding those crappies.Not a easy task.When do those B&M crappie rods usually go on sale?Id like to try one.


They’re not on sale now but they do go on sale often. Sale price is in the $28-$40 dollar range. Ive caught countless bass, channels and saugs on these rods and they’ve held up great. The 7’ is my go-to. Keep checking the next couple months. They will likely go on sale for the holidays. Link:

 http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cab...4nO-G8keRPHdPlJzL2gaAtdNEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds


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## Riverduck11

With a president reel! All my crappie rods are now equipped with the plueger presidents.


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## Matt Jackson

Thanks guys.


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## brandonw

Got out earlier today and did alright. Water surface temp at 67*F. I jinxed myself in my last report when I complimented the keeper to dink ratio. Today was easily 2 or 3 dinks for every keeper and keepers didn’t have the size they had previously. Fortunately I probably caught around 25-30 fish total and a dozen of those were keepers. Marked fish anywhere from 3’ down in one spot down to 15’ in another. Only bait they really wanted today was a threadfin shad BG baby shad fished under a slip float. 

The highlight of the night was a decent black nose crappie. First black nose I’ve caught from CC.


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## johnnywalleye

aw man. plueger presidents and b&m rods. the secrets out.


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## Lil Crappie

I like the pfluger reels. I have 3 or 4, on BPS Micro lite rods(7' & 9'). Rods are $60. Sounds like you have it figured out. Location, location, location! Can't wait for the temps to drop.


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## Matt Jackson

We hit Ceasar Sunday night and caught about 30.Ended up with 17 keepers.I tried my new selection of BG baits with no luck.Put on minnows and the bite was steady.Ill try to figure out how to post pics.


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## Matt Jackson

Trying to delete my failed pic posting comments but it's not working.


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## Matt Jackson




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## 9Left

Nice mess of fish Matt! What depth were you finding them?


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## Matt Jackson

I caught most of them 5 foot deep in 8-10 foot of water.


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## Willi2ch

Those look like nice fish! Do you fish the northern part or the southern part? I haven’t fished the northern part, and have never done that great. I just have a little Jon boat so it’s hard for me to buzz around the lake. I have been thinking about driving a little further to a northern ramp.


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## brandonw

Made it out yesterday evening. Been a week since I was out last and water temps have dropped 3* since then down to 64*. I went to a few of my usual spots yesterday and the fish were tightly stacked together, not so spread out as they had been in recent outtings. I don’t think those are all crappie in the pic below because I did pull a saug from this spot and a lot of the individual marks look like longer, larger fish but its a great picture of a good school. Anyways, I took home a dozen yesterday total but caught a lot of dinks in the process. Most fish caught were 6’ down in 8-9 fow. Purple and chartreuse crappie tube seemed to work best under slip float. The crappie night bite has been steadily fading so I may have to a) try the day bite obviously b) target saugs or c) drift for some cats. I’ve really been in the mood for a couple of big fried cat sandwiches mmm


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## Rooster

I’ve been hunting CC crappie for the last couple of years. I’ve had most success vertical jigging either over submerged timber or open water. I’ve tried jigging around the standing timber with very little success. Are they just not there, or have I been fishing the wrong trees?

Thanks,
Mark


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## 9Left

Rooster said:


> I’ve been hunting CC crappie for the last couple of years. I’ve had most success vertical jigging either over submerged timber or open water. I’ve tried jigging around the standing timber with very little success. Are they just not there, or have I been fishing the wrong trees?
> 
> Thanks,
> Mark


 it's anybody's guess rooster ....The best luck I usually have around standing timber is in the spring. I have fish the same standing timber in the middle of summerand in the fall and skunked out ..


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## jerome price

9Left said:


> it's anybody's guess rooster ....The best luck I usually have around standing timber is in the spring. I have fish the same standing timber in the middle of summerand in the fall and skunked out ..


My pops and I did good in the fall at ceaser last year early mourning and late evening, but in between was a bust. they are in there for sure.


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## Salmonid

Ill be out with Randy ( Backupbait) tomorrow giving the crappies a shot, stay tuned...


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## johnnywalleye

wednesday, nov 1, was a lovely day. rained a lot. had the north end to ourselves. crappie not on the shallow flats. mostly in the 20 plus. minnows has been the bait since sept. plastic is black/blue w char tail. bill cleaned 5. good luck on catching anything. change in pressure causing fish not to bite. no duck hunters today. i can see why. only saw 3 geese this morning.


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## brandonw

johnnywalleye said:


> wednesday, nov 1, was a lovely day. rained a lot. had the north end to ourselves. crappie not on the shallow flats. mostly in the 20 plus. minnows has been the bait since sept. plastic is black/blue w char tail. bill cleaned 5. good luck on catching anything. change in pressure causing fish not to bite. no duck hunters today. i can see why. only saw 3 geese this morning.


Thanks for the report. Did you happen to catch water temp?


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## 9Left

brandonw said:


> Thanks for the report. Did you happen to catch water temp?


 I was out all day today with my dad and my uncle… We ended up keeping 16...caught around 30....Everywhere we went water temps on the surface were about 55 /56

the most consistent bite was between 15 and 20 feet....whether we were in16 feet of water… Or whether we were in 42 feet of water… The bite was at 15 to 20 feet


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## brandonw

I've been busy with house work and work work, haven't made it out since my last report. Hoping to make it out Thursday but we'll see how things play out next couple days. A report will certainly follow if I do.


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## crappietime

brandonw said:


> I've been busy with house work and work work, haven't made it out since my last report. Hoping to make it out Thursday but we'll see how thinlgs play out next couple days. A report will certainly follow if I do.


lake has risen 5 feet in last 2 days. Gonna make things more difficult I expect


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## 9Left

Yep... at least that! the spots I have been walking the shoreline and catching them lately are now at least 5 feet underwater! it's anyone's game now all those fish are probably ridiculously scattered


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## garhtr

Not to mention that any minute they'll open that valve and start pulling water, plus a big cold front, always seems to make for a couple tuff days, at least for me. I'll be glad to see it settle down at winter pool.
Good luck and Good Fishing


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## brandonw

Well I’ll spare you all most of the details but you were right. Tough bite last night was an understatement. Water temp 56*. I caught a total of 2 crappie, one dink and the other barely a keeper. Fish were absolutely scattered. Marked a lot of baitfish and other small schools but they were spread out and moving quickly. Water has to be 4’ higher than normal. I found myself closer to the shoreline working some small twister tails for saugs after a couple hours. No luck there but I didn’t bring any of my saug gear so not too surprised. I’ll be waiting til things settle before I head out next.


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## MuskyFan

The A.C.E. Daily Lake Report still shows C being 6' above winter pool (852 vs 846).


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## burnsj5

MuskyFan said:


> The A.C.E. Daily Lake Report still shows C being 6' above winter pool (852 vs 846).


More like 6' above summer pool, the water is definitely still high. Went out today and if your launching from wellman bring muck boots or waders as you will need to cross water to use the docks. I just beached on the shore but I saw a couple guys come down with their boats just to turn around and leave for another launch.


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## crappietime

went out yesterday. High winds limited me to where I could fish. Still managed to catch some deep 20-30 feet with jigging spoons,blade bait and tube jig.


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## fishdealer04

I was out with Randy on Thursday. Water was definitely up, 3 of the launch lanes had logs and sticks in them. Some floating debris in the lake as well once you got closer to the marina and bridge. We did manage to catch our 60 keepers. All fish caught on jigs. 15 ft down was the magic number fishing in 20-50 ft of water.


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## brandonw

Been awhile since I’ve been out but I was able to get some fishin in today after work. Water temp was 48.1*F when I left. I definitely need to figure out the late fall/early winter crappie pattern at CC. I managed 4 total, all keepers, but it was a tough bite. Caught on jigs 10’ down. Tried for saugs also but only got a dink.


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## Matt Jackson

Looks like the cold weather has set in.Ill be hunting crappie very soon.Still looking for those B&M crappie rods to go on sale.


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## brandonw

Matt Jackson said:


> Looks like the cold weather has set in.Ill be hunting crappie very soon.Still looking for those B&M crappie rods to go on sale.


They’re on sale now but the 8’ and 10’ are on backorder. 7’ and 12’ is still in stock and they have free shipping going on as well.


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## Rooster

Fished CC for a couple of hours on Sunday. A little cold, but a nice day to be out with only one other truck at Wellman’s. Action was pretty slow. There was a wide band of noise (see pic) on my sonar at the depth that I was catching fish last week. Not sure if that is a result of winter turnover? Could not mark my lure or fish at 30’, so most fish that I did catch were off the bottom in 25 FOW.

Highlight of the day was when a blue heron picked a crappie that I recently caught (very deep 35’+ below the band) off the lake and had a very nice lunch on the bank. Anything that can be done to help the crappie get back down after being caught deep?


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## Salmonid

They sell needles to vent deep crappies. Look it up


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## Matt Jackson

I watched a old timer on YouTube say they need to smacked on the water to let the air out.They were standing up in a boat catching them.He would toss them back firmly on there side.It didn't hurt the fish he was catching.


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## 9Left

best way i have found is to catch n' release..... right into grease


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