# Crappie bite??



## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Anyone finding a decent bite?? It's been slow for me I've been moving all over cant find consistency. Have been catching females with eggs still but not getting action in my shallows idk


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## Outasync (Mar 5, 2016)

Same with me. Catch a couple in 10 ft a few in 25 ft but no consistency


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## Upland (Nov 3, 2016)

dink's only


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Think that late temp drop really played hell on their clocks


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## Upland (Nov 3, 2016)

set-the-drag said:


> Think that late temp drop really played hell on their clocks


agree


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## Specwar (Sep 22, 2014)

You’re not doing something right. Saugeye are all legal, and crappies are 12-14”. Just gotta look for em.


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Ive been they are hiding!! Even people i see regularly and other friends at various lakes are not finding s#!+. Maybe tonight will be different idk


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Spec are you finding them shallow


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## fishnguy (Apr 14, 2004)

Not by the bucket full and not any size. The spawn is a mess.


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## Specwar (Sep 22, 2014)

set-the-drag said:


> Spec are you finding them shallow


The bigger hens are very shallow, and males seem to be holding suspended at 6-8 feet.


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

I am over in NW-OH, but according to my phone pictures and where i am catching fish this year.... they are 3 to 4 weeks later than the schedule they were on in 2020. Some of the weed growth is actually thicker though. I agree that the late cold spell really put things out of whack.


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## Upland (Nov 3, 2016)

Specwar said:


> The bigger hens are very shallow, and males seem to be holding suspended at 6-8 feet.


agree but seems as if most are not in their usual haunt's one hot spot hasn't produced any and I mean any Crappie this spot would fill your limit in a hour or so but this year ???


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## HeaVyMeTaLFiSHinGFiEnD (Oct 2, 2010)

got into a few decent ones super shallow at Berlin on Sunday.


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Going to go see what i can scratch up


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## chaunc (Apr 11, 2004)

Mosquito has been very productive for me and some friends lately. Deepest were fishing is 8ft. Jig and bobber near brush or humps are best.


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## allwayzfishin (Apr 30, 2008)

I just got back from fishing mosquito. The night bite was insane out on the boat. I was in 7ft on a gravel point next to a soft bottom with weeds. 1/8oz jig head and 2" gulp cast and retrieve slowly with no bobber. Lost count of how many I caught from 10-1230am. Took home a nice mess for tomorrow's fish fry with my Dad. South end of the lake is really really clear...hence why the night bite is so good. Most of these are still alive lol. I kinda feel bad now....


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## Mattiba (Apr 7, 2020)

We’ve been catching them in Berlin casting Bobby Garland baby shad up shallow and slowly dragging it back. Minnows don’t seem to be catching many. We’re catching a lot of short fish but the 10” to 12” fish are plentiful. If you get in the right spot you can hook up almost every other cast but I have to say it’s a little different this year.


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

allwayzfishin said:


> I just got back from fishing mosquito. The night bite was insane out on the boat. I was in 7ft on a gravel point next to a soft bottom with weeds. 1/8oz jig head and 2" gulp cast and retrieve slowly with no bobber. Lost count of how many I caught from 10-1230am. Took home a nice mess for tomorrow's fish fry with my Dad. South end of the lake is really really clear...hence why the night bite is so good. Most of these are still alive lol. I kinda feel bad now....
> View attachment 470428
> View attachment 470429
> View attachment 470430


Damn! I wish i knew you were going i would've tagged along. I couldn't get minnows so went working some weeds for eyes. Had a hook up and snap went the whistler jig. Felt like a decent fish to. Got pissed and started trolling till dark with nothing to show.


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## allwayzfishin (Apr 30, 2008)

set-the-drag said:


> Damn! I wish i knew you were going i would've tagged along. I couldn't get minnows so went working some weeds for eyes. Had a hook up and snap went the whistler jig. Felt like a decent fish to. Got pissed and started trolling till dark with nothing to show.


I sent you a text message to your cell. After these storms push through, I'll probably hit Erie near shore casting. I go back to work Tuesday btw. I may go to second shift too. If I do, I usually camp out at different lakes each night and fish the morning away till about noon then make lunch and head to work by 3pm and work till 1130. It was a great summer last year doing that. So I may do it again this year. The night and early morning bite in the summer is the best time to fish imo...


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## Don lane (Jun 15, 2020)

Mosquito causeway has been producing


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## brad crappie (Sep 29, 2015)

West branch 1- 5ft around structure has been infra go!!


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## brad crappie (Sep 29, 2015)

Please keep them black crappie runts not growing well!! I throw back the bigger ones and the whites are growing well there


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Ive noticed the same


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Welp i went yesterday and started off trolling. Got a 10" right away then rolled around for a bit then BAM!!!!!! snagged a log...... Took a minute to get my beloved crappie crank unhooked but got it and moved a little then cast back out. Almost instantly my rod started hammering and i lunge at my rod. At first i think cat then walleye but as the fish got closer i see a pan size gold flash and right away i know i got a pig crappie. I plucked a big 14.25 and then nothing trolling. I moved to my night spot and got decent action got 8 keepers to add. Wasn't a bad day!


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Decided to head back after work. Picked up a few more trolling then my battery died so no more trollie.. Kinda sucks cuz my old jointed rap was seeing action. Went back to the ole minnows and picked up 7 before i ran out. I got a decent little pile to cut up tomorrow😁


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Probably going to go for my last dedicated crappie mission of the season. Its about that time to shift to big water. Ill post the outcome later


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## Mattiba (Apr 7, 2020)

I’m gearing up for Erie also, I believe the crappie spawn is pretty much done, time to locate them in deep water and under docks. I will still hunt for crappie inland.


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

I pretty much troll for them at this point but still do minnows and lights at dark they still come around


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

set-the-drag said:


> I pretty much troll for them at this point but still do minnows and lights at dark they still come around


I love killing a summer night fishing lights for crappie!


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Plucked a handful of keepers and got a pleasant surprise whale of a 15" on the Minnie under a bobber. Thought it was a cat the way it fought she straightened the hook thank god i got the net under it. Might have been enough to keep me going back. Action was nuts before dark i had 2 rods out and it was straight chaos lots of misses and robbers. I went through 3 doz minnows in a couple hrs haven't had that kinda action all year. Trolling was a bust i only caught perch.... The yeller kind and dinks wish they were bigger i could've had a dozen


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## TMK (Mar 31, 2005)

brad crappie said:


> Please keep them black crappie runts not growing well!! I throw back the bigger ones and the whites are growing well there


How can I tell if a fish is a runt not growing well or just a young fish that needs more time?


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Depends on how they taste 😝


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Late post but went yesterday on a whim... And it was popping! The crappie bite for me has seriously picked up this last week. I put 13 in the basket in little over a hr and handled a bunch smaller between


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## brad crappie (Sep 29, 2015)

set-the-drag said:


> Late post but went yesterday on a whim... And it was popping! The crappie bite for me has seriously picked up this last week. I put 13 in the basket in little over a hr and handled a bunch smaller between


U must have a bunch of kids or u must be getting some kick back cause u keep fish all the time!!! It’s a pain in the rear to clean them all the time!


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Only one kid and a woman that loves fish! And she rather me fish than do some of the things i used to do in my 20s so i guess being a bit of a crazy partier payed of to me being allowed to fish a lot 😉. I got used to cutting up a ton of fish every year. We do big walleye frys a couple times a year. But i got a crappie technique that i can fly through them so it doesn't take any time really. Once i get to the rib i make one slice to the skin over the rib and just pull the whole side off its crazy how easy crappie skin separates at the belly its like opening a zipper.


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Soooo its been really quiet on the crappie front. Whats the deal? Am i the only one still after them or the only one still pulling them? Probably going to hit it tomorrow night to see if i still got it


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## Crack77 (Mar 19, 2021)

Not a crappie guy so much but got 10 on Monday along with some nice gills. My fishing bud cleans the crappie same way, rips the meat from the ribs


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Got like 15 yesterday all before dark after 930 it was dead


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## Mattiba (Apr 7, 2020)

set-the-drag said:


> Got like 15 yesterday all before dark after 930 it was dead


That’s what I experience almost every time I fish for crappies at dusk. Where do they go after dark? I’ve be trying to figure this out for a couple of years, my theory is that they go really shallow and scatter but I haven’t been able to prove it.


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Ive found that its not that they leave its they just shut off for a couple hrs. I think its a adjustment period or just a typical lul. Every fish has shutdown periods. I don't stick it out like i use to but ive found an hr after dark the bite comes in waves generally ill have 30min of action and maybe an hr slow that pretty much alternates all night. At least in my night spots that is


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## Mickey (Oct 22, 2011)

What is "infra go"?


brad crappie said:


> West branch 1- 5ft around structure has been infra go!!


"?


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## brad crappie (Sep 29, 2015)

Mickey said:


> What is "infra go"?
> 
> "?


Not sure that’s the right spelling in Latino! Means hot


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## dirtandleaves (Sep 28, 2009)

en fuego 😂😂 = on fire


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Brad was asleep in his high school Spanish classes lol


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## brad crappie (Sep 29, 2015)

Shoot me guys!! Am American and it was cloSe! Shoot me 🤪


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Hahahah don't worry i took German cant speak a lick


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## dirtandleaves (Sep 28, 2009)

Lol I cheated my way through Spanish class. Only reason I know en fuego is because they said it on sportscenter a long time ago when a dude made like 10 shots in a row in a basketball game


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## Lil' Rob (Apr 11, 2004)

set-the-drag said:


> Hahahah don't worry i took German cant speak a lick


Took two years of Spanish and can't hold a conversation with anyone speaking any dialect of it. Got a co-worker Argentina who often flops between English and his native language...drives me crazy...I only catch about 1/10 of what he says.


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Lil' Rob said:


> Took two years of Spanish and can't hold a conversation with anyone speaking any dialect of it. Got a co-worker Argentina who often flops between English and his native language...drives me crazy...I only catch about 1/10 of what he says.


Portuguese is what hes speaking if memory serves. Funny i studied a lot of language and cultures through my school years. I can tell you what someone is speaking and sometimes even the dialect but cant speak the languages


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## Lil' Rob (Apr 11, 2004)

It's not Portuguese...just some Hispanic dialect from where ever he is from.


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

Mattiba said:


> That’s what I experience almost every time I fish for crappies at dusk. Where do they go after dark? I’ve be trying to figure this out for a couple of years, my theory is that they go really shallow and scatter but I haven’t been able to prove it.


Crappie have really good eye site. In the winter they'll feed on the small plankton an bug larva/hatches. I'm not sure how that eye site is after dark though. I also experience the same thing. With it shutting down at dark. Especially during the spawn. Wich really confused me because when there guarding beds they bite almost everything out of instincts.
But I have found that crappies can be caught on the regular under lights . Wether that be light you produce with lanterns or fishing lights. Or boat ramp/marina lights. Minnows or small crappie jigs work well. And you can usually get them throughout the night with little breaks in the action here and there. So this kind of tells me they do see and feed better with light. But I'm sure they could still get by without it by using there lateral line and feel....


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

set-the-drag said:


> Portuguese is what hes speaking if memory serves. Funny i studied a lot of language and cultures through my school years. I can tell you what someone is speaking and sometimes even the dialect but cant speak the languages


Brasil only speaks Protugese in South America. Everyone else speaks Spanish. My “brainy” son had like three classes of Panish in HS, one in college. Made top grades in all of them but can’t speak it. Of course my wife had a swimming class in college, almost drowned one day, still is terrified of water. You had to learn to swim to pass the class.She never learned to swim, and ”passed”(nstructor didn’t want her back again in his class)!


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Welp sounds like erie isn't happening this evening so going back after the crappie later. Bought $100 worth of new crappie plugs to lose on sunken trees 🤣 maybe $30 in ill get a pig


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Problem is Idk what to start with🤔


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## durpdurp41 (Dec 14, 2004)

Mattiba said:


> That’s what I experience almost every time I fish for crappies at dusk. Where do they go after dark? I’ve be trying to figure this out for a couple of years, my theory is that they go really shallow and scatter but I haven’t been able to prove it.


I'm not quite sure exactly where they go. I'm pretty sure they scatter and go on a feeding binge. Use a floating light, especially in the summer. You'll be amazed at how many you can catch. 

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## durpdurp41 (Dec 14, 2004)

set-the-drag said:


> Problem is Idk what to start with
> View attachment 471199


Start with that jointed one. I've had really good luck with those. 

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## Outasync (Mar 5, 2016)

_cough cough_ flicker minnow _cough cough_


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

You would think that the flicker minnow would be working like gangbusters but I have not had any luck with the flicker minnows it's been all jointed and rebel deep cranks that's why I got these Bandit 300 they're pretty much exactly the same figured I'd give them a shot


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

I'd personally swap out the trolling rods for a jig n tail... Gotta feel that thump! But if I had to choose from that pile it'd be that yellow one top middle


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## Ben Fishing (Aug 2, 2010)

White Mr. Twister on a weighted jig head.


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

I'm sticking to trolling to cover more water in a short period and there is a chance of a hungry toothy critter that wants to attack


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## HappySnag (Dec 20, 2007)

set-the-drag said:


> I'm sticking to trolling to cover more water in a short period and there is a chance of a hungry toothy critter that wants to attack


they like 300 bandit-pearl color,that fire tiger catch very good eyes.
you can protect your lures with 3 way swivel ,3' to 6' droper with 3 oz sinker and 1' line with jig,twister tail and 1/4" nightcrawler ,5' line on 3 way with snap.


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

That's asking for trouble where im trolling. Id lose a lot of setups


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## Ben Fishing (Aug 2, 2010)

That 3 ounce sinker is salt water gear.


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

I've heard that called "pushing" cranks when you use a big heavy weight on a drop line and cranks on a short leader above the weight. Your lines are almost vertical straight below the boat. You can get really precise where you put the cranks then. Like spider rigging.... but with cranks. Never tried it myself.


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## HappySnag (Dec 20, 2007)

set-the-drag said:


> That's asking for trouble where im trolling. Id lose a lot of setups


i fish like that Ladue south and north,you have to adjust for dept where you fish.
if you use lighter sinker with this setup your jig is tangled with your lure from the angle line water resistance.with 3 oz you have precision control.when you run over hump the sinker stop and while you pass the sinker jump,that make the fish bite.you should have lure retreve.i use 30# braid and 17# mono.work good for me.you troll by dept,cover 5' to 8',then 8' to 12'.i am hiting fish with jig and bandit.


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

set-the-drag said:


> I'm sticking to trolling to cover more water in a short period and there is a chance of a hungry toothy critter that wants to attack


Good way to get a breeze going on a stale hot summer evening too. And no doubt one of the best ways to put them in the cooler this time of year. 
What depth of water are you fishing and how deep are you targeting? I slow troll for them in my kayak with flickers until I double up then sit on top of them an smashem....


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## Morrowtucky Mike (May 2, 2018)

I trolled Alum yesterday and the new solid chrome jointed flicker shad caught more than all others combined. The water in the north end was pretty stained and the sun was out. Even caught a couple eyes on it. Usually the blue/chrome is my best crappie color in flicker shads.


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

Morrowtucky Mike said:


> I trolled Alum yesterday and the new solid chrome jointed flicker shad caught more than all others combined. The water in the north end was pretty stained and the sun was out. Even caught a couple eyes on it. Usually the blue/chrome is my best crappie color in flicker shads.


I think the jointed baits help in the dirty water too...


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## Bprice1031 (Mar 13, 2016)

I got into a few yesterday at Berlin fishing 8 feet under a bobber. A mix of whites and blacks. It was a good day until some dumbazz ran over my lines with his boat acting like it was his lake!


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## durpdurp41 (Dec 14, 2004)

Got into quite a few crappie and giant redears tonight at West Branch. I was surprised to catch so many crappie up shallow. Everything was in 4 feet of water or less. Got a couple on small crankbaits but the rest were on gulp minnows and Bobbie Garlands. 

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## brad crappie (Sep 29, 2015)

Pumpkinseeds not redears ! U got pics


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Going tonight. Was planning on a trip to pymi tomorrow but the weather reports are not looking good was going to take the wife and baby and rent a toon for the day but that seem shot


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## durpdurp41 (Dec 14, 2004)

brad crappie said:


> Pumpkinseeds not redears ! U got pics


No pics. Just enjoyed being out last night. Definitely redears though. 

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