# East fork report (in progress) 11/3



## HOUSE (Apr 29, 2010)

Hit the water today around 10am. 30 crappie so far and a few dink hybrids. Fish seem to be relating to trees 8-12fow. Tight to cover. More to come...


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## HOUSE (Apr 29, 2010)

Here's the last one...

And this is right before the rain:








30% rain my @ss!


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## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

Haha sounds like a good time. You having a fish fry?


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## GarrettMyers (May 16, 2011)

Nice crappie. Go Bucks!


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## Bostonwhaler10 (Apr 30, 2012)

Are you using jigs? I'll be there all day tomorrow an Monday. Hope I can did them. Thanks for depth tip.


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## ARReflections (Jan 7, 2011)

Thanks for the report Warehouse. That place looks familiar . Just need a kayak!


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## HOUSE (Apr 29, 2010)

We were throwing jigs for them and I'm pretty sure the guys in the parking lot that said they whacked them were too. My friend swears by 1/64ounch jigs on 4pound line and he definitely caught more fish than I did. My best luck came on a beetle spin (black) with a small minnow curly tailed trailer. My friend was throwing a chartreusse jig with a straight tail minnow trailer.

The bite was very subtle on most of the hits...we had to really leave the bait down there before setting the hook. We definitely missed more fish than we landed or we'd have been well over 60 fish for the day. It was just really hard to feel your fingertips with that cold rain.

Here are a few more pics. I did catch a few hybrids, but nothing of size:









Here are a few of the keepers, there were 2 monster crappie caught pushing 13" and fat:









And finally, here's one of the smaller ones that is now marinating in my fridge in a sauce with "buttery, nutty undertones":


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## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

WAREHOUSE said:


> And finally, here's one of the smaller ones that is now marinating in my fridge in a sauce with "buttery, nutty undertones":


You are marinating a crappie in paddlefish roe?


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## HOUSE (Apr 29, 2010)

Hey, what do you guys do to kill the crappie before you fillet them? I don't keep many fish, but usually sticking them in the freezer for a while does them in. I froze these guys and they were still flopping around when I started cutting them. I cut their spine behind the head and the damn things still flopped around when I cut them. Maybe I caught zombie crappie?!?


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## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

WAREHOUSE said:


> Hey, what do you guys do to kill the crappie before you fillet them? I don't keep many fish, but usually sticking them in the freezer for a while does them in. I froze these guys and they were still flopping around when I started cutting them. I cut their spine behind the head and the damn things still flopped around when I cut them. Maybe I caught zombie crappie?!?


What I've started doing for all my fish is cutting their throats and putting them in a bucket of water or a sink full of water for like 20 minutes. It kills them a bit more humanely than filleting alive, and it bleeds them, which improves the quality of the meat.


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## mhumpjr (Mar 4, 2010)

kingofamberley said:


> What I've started doing for all my fish is cutting their throats and putting them in a bucket of water or a sink full of water for like 20 minutes. It kills them a bit more humanely than filleting alive, and it bleeds them, which improves the quality of the meat.
> 
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


That's what we did with Walleye at Lake Erie this year. There was a definite difference in the flavor compared to last year when we just threw them in a cooler full of ice.


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## HOUSE (Apr 29, 2010)

I'm a little rusty on slicing throats open, do you guys just slice them right behind the gill plate like this?


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## 7thcorpsFA (Mar 6, 2010)

WAREHOUSE said:


> I'm a little rusty on slicing throats open, do you guys just slice them right behind the gill plate like this?


 Yep, that's how we always did it.


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

7thcorpsFA said:


> Yep, that's how we always did it.


That is exactly what i do with the crappies also... catch em...put em in livewell.. then before i leave the lake for the day, i slice the throats and put em back in the livewell for about 20 minutes... then put the dead fish in the cooler full of ice for the ride home.. makes for a very WHITE fillet, with no blood..no need to soak em in saltwater after filleting either...i very much recommend doing this with crappie!!


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## ARReflections (Jan 7, 2011)

I bleed out all of my catch if I keep. This immensely helps catfish. Usually cut open the gills and hold by tail so the head is on the bottom for blood to drain. Problem I had with putting into cold water after cutting is the blood coagulating.


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## GarrettMyers (May 16, 2011)

I don't know how to quote just a part of the post but: "I'm a little rusty on slicing throats open" has to be one of the funniest things I've ever read on here.


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## mhumpjr (Mar 4, 2010)

WAREHOUSE said:


> I'm a little rusty on slicing throats open, do you guys just slice them right behind the gill plate like this?


That's the spot. I don't know how you would do it with crappie, but with the Walleye, we cut them there and put them face down in a bucket of water for about 20 minutes then put them on ice. Maybe a "Big Gulp" cup for Crappie?


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## Bostonwhaler10 (Apr 30, 2012)

I was in that exact cove today only landed 5 small crappie off minnows and a 13 incher off a rooster tail. And got skunked everywhere else. I seriously suck at crappie fishing. I tried every lure made to man. Ughhh


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## fish fry (Sep 24, 2011)

I agree i think that cutting the crappies throats and letting them slowly die is more cruel than just cuttin the head off while they are still alive and as for the meat it is the same which ever way you decide to DECAPITATE your crappie!!!!!!!


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