# Crappie at east fork



## Dolla5!3 (Jan 13, 2017)

Has anybody been having any luck with the crappie right now wondering if the wierd weather has fish biting


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## fishnisfun (Apr 16, 2012)

Dolla5!3 said:


> Has anybody been having any luck with the crappie right now wondering if the wierd weather has fish biting


Have fished EFL several times in last few weeks. Results have been poor to say the least. Lots of small fish, very few keepers. Something has really wrecked this Fall season. Maybe got too cold too fast. No idea. From what I have been able to gather, all of the state lakes (EFL, Caeser's Creek, Rocky, Paint Creek) have all had poor Fall fishing. Normal patterns not producing, fish deeper than past years. If anyone has a theory, would love to hear your thoughts. I am baffled.


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## Dolla5!3 (Jan 13, 2017)

Man i havent had to much luck anywhere this year


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## fishnisfun (Apr 16, 2012)

Dolla5!3 said:


> Man i havent had to much luck anywhere this year


I don't think we are alone. I'm sure there are many others that have had the same experience. Most of my fishing friends, all very good fisherman, have had the same results. I'm sure someone has done well. I just haven't met them on the lake or read about their success on this forum. If anyone has any advice (besides chartreuse dynamite), please chime in.


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

fishnisfun said:


> If anyone has a theory, would love to hear your thoughts.


Personally I think it's all the rain we've been having. In the last 2 months the water level hasn't been stable for more than maybe a week or so. Every time the water levels come back down to pool and begin to stabilize we get another rain and the lake levels go back up again. The lake has been fluctuating 6'-10' above pool since summer. At best our normal hotspots we've fished for years are mediocre right now. I think the news is saying we're on track for being in the top 5 rainiest years of all time.
If the weather is okay when I get up I think I'm going out in the morning for a few hours since we have the possibility of yet another big rain event starting tomorrow afternoon.


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## fishnisfun (Apr 16, 2012)

crappiedude said:


> Personally I think it's all the rain we've been having. In the last 2 months I don't think the water level hasn't been stable for more than maybe a week or so. Every time the water levels come back down to pool and begin to stabilize we get another rain and the lake levels go back up again. The lake has been fluctuating 6'-10' above pool since summer. At best our normal hotspots we've fished for years are mediocre right now. I think the news is saying we're on track for being in the top 5 rainiest years of all time.
> If the weather is okay when I get up I think I'm going out in the morning for a few hours since we have the possibility of yet another big rain event starting tomorrow afternoon.


That very well could be the cause. But I have been thinking another event happened that has caused the issue. When we had that cold front for 2 weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, the water temp dropped very fast. In doing so, it drove the shad out of the creeks and rivers much quicker than normal. Once the shad transitioned into the main lake, water temps were warmer than they like, so they went deep. I could see big bait balls on my graphs about 18-20' down. Right below the bait balls were lots of fish. My belief is the crappie went deep with them and have not needed to use normal Winter cover. They are following the bait as their food source. Not easy to stay on them and catch with regularity. And since this poor fishing has been on many of the bigger lakes, I believe this happened concurrently in all. Just an observation in my time on the water. My results have reflected this occurrence.


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

fishnisfun said:


> When we had that cold front for 2 weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, the water temp dropped very fast


Could be anything I suppose but I know a few guys who did fairly good over Thanksgiving weekend. 1 was fishing fairly shallow, the other was fishing deep. Both guys reported lots of fish but neither did very well on getting many bigger fish.
Normally I don't fish much in Oct/Nov since I spend most of my free time up in a tree stand but once deer gun season ends I'm back on the lake several times a week. It's rare that we don't get on at least some fish pretty quick but whatever is going on this year, it's different.
Looks like I got a little time before the rain starts so I guess I'm heading out. I can't catch any sitting on the couch.


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## fishnisfun (Apr 16, 2012)

crappiedude said:


> Could be anything I suppose but I know a few guys who did fairly good over Thanksgiving weekend. 1 was fishing fairly shallow, the other was fishing deep. Both guys reported lots of fish but neither did very well on getting many bigger fish.
> Normally I don't fish much in Oct/Nov since I spend most of my free time up in a tree stand but once deer gun season ends I'm back on the lake several times a week. It's rare that we don't get on at least some fish pretty quick but whatever is going on this year, it's different.
> Looks like I got a little time before the rain starts so I guess I'm heading out. I can't catch any sitting on the couch.


To be clear, my friends and I have been catching plenty of crappie. Problem has been size. East Fork has been especially disappointing. Keep to release rate is about 1 in 20. A little better at other lakes, but still poor on size. We don't keep anything under 10", so we are selective. Post how well you do when you get back today. I have a friend that fished EFL yesterday. Same result, lots of fish, few keepers.


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## Dolla5!3 (Jan 13, 2017)

I really dont care about the size of the fish jus having a nice day catchin them would be life for me right about now


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

Catching fish at EF isn't usually the problem. It's the size that's lacking.
Typical results today. I fished from 3-25 fow and got fish everywhere. Caught a bunch but only 3 keepers (over 10"). If I were trying to fill the freezer I'd go almost anywhere but there.

I don't know that things are worse at EF, I'm just surprised they never seem to get better. I have used the 10" keeper size for at least 15 years and results have been the same as long as I remember. I'm not saying we never have a good day but over the years the results have been pretty consistent. EF is 10 minutes from my house so I fish there a lot.


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## zack2345 (Dec 22, 2010)

I've never caught any big crappie at eastfork.... never so I just stopped fishing it it's the closest lake to my house but I'd rather fish Caesars rocky or anywhere else.. wish they would put saugeye in it


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## fishnisfun (Apr 16, 2012)

zack2345 said:


> I've never caught any big crappie at eastfork.... never so I just stopped fishing it it's the closest lake to my house but I'd rather fish Caesars rocky or anywhere else.. wish they would put saugeye in it


In most past years, we have been able to catch enough 10" plus crappie to keep us happy. The last 2 years have been a challenge. We also like to fish Caesars and Rocky. Both lakes have been much better than East Fork. It would be a nice addition if the state were to stock saugeye. The hybrids are still there, although fewer since they stopped stoking them in favor of musky. And the musky have failed to take. Not sure what the answer is. How about stocking blue cats? I know a lake in Kentucky that did exactly what is happening at East Fork and the state stocked blues. Completely revitalized the lake. I would love to see that at East Fork.


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

I know enough guys who use 10" as a guide for keepers at EF and at times I wonder if maybe we need to rethink that. Since the lake is so full of short fish I often wonder is the solution would be to drop the minimum size limit completely to encourage people to take some of those short fish.
I think a no minimum size/20 fish limit would help. Even though I'm so close to EF if I want a mess for the freezer I go to Rocky or Paint Creek.
I'd love to see saugeyes introduced in EF. It would be a great addition to the lake for sure and the lake has plenty of suitable structure. I asked the state about it once and they gave me some excuse about us getting the hybrids. I told the guy they could keep the mutant white bass, I'd rather see sauger or saugeye.
I thought they discontinued the muskie stocking program because it hasn't panned out as planned. All spring long they had guys running nets for the musky and they said they weren't getting many.


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## fishnisfun (Apr 16, 2012)

We fished EFL yesterday. Same type of results as before. Many fish, lots of smalls. You may be on to something about the 10" minimum. It would find it hard to believe that a lake the size of EFL could be fished down on bigger fish, but with the pressure the lake gets, maybe so. I'm pretty much gonna shut it down for the rest of Winter and wait til Spring. Maybe better fishing to come.


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

fishnisfun said:


> We fished EFL yesterday.


Maybe that was you I saw yesterday. I pulled down to the ramp and saw a boat across the lake. Boat had a white motor and a couple of people in it. I don't want to give up your spot so I won't say what ramp. I fished that spot both Tuesday and Friday and only had a couple of keepers between the 2 days.
When I got there and saw that boat I thought it was my friend cause I saw his truck in the parking lot and his boat has a white motor. He was fishing farther up the lake. He said he caught a bunch and same as you...just no size.

This is one of my favorite times to fish so I'll still be out there until ice forces me off the lake. I don't keep a ton of fish in a years time because it just me and the wife so if they lack size I still have fun if I get to set the hook. I'm not the type to keep every keeper anyway. I know a few guys over there who keep every fish they catch 9" or bigger and then they talk about how their freezer if full. Doesn't make sense to me. Keep what you can use...throw the rest back.


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## fishnisfun (Apr 16, 2012)

No, that was not us. I have a black Mercury motor. We had a stretch of bank about 30 yards long that was loaded with small crappie. Most <9". It was fun to catch them, honestly, but after so many small fish, I really wanted to catch a larger fish. Also caught a small bluegill. Happens occasionally. But with water at 41 degrees, was a surprise.


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## mkl (Apr 17, 2011)

I mentioned something similar about saugeye in the crappie com forum. I was strongly considering EF next week but I just don't want to wade through tons of 7" crappie. It's not worth it. They stocked saugeye in a couple smaller lakes in N.KY a few years back. Not only are they fun to catch (and they themselves attract a lot of fishing pressure), they really seemed to have thinned out the crappie. Where I used to catch tons of small crappie, I catch fewer but much bigger. Let's hope someone with game and fish is listening.

Having said all this, how's the saugeye population at Acton? I know they used to have a decent population but haven't heard much about them in a long time now.


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## G-Patt (Sep 3, 2013)

I would love it if they stocked EF with blues and saugeyes. I can see both species thriving there. I catch blues (some really big ones) and channel and both taste great out of that lake. Saugeyes would be awesome. Let's lobby the ODNR!


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## Tom 513 (Nov 26, 2012)

quote: Having said all this, how's the saugeye population at Acton? I know they used to have a decent population but haven't heard much about them in a long time now.
I talk to a few guys who target them at Acton I think more fish the Tailwaters, they did restock them 2 yrs ago with left overs from another Ohio lake. I cant wait to get back to Florida later this Month to target the Speckled Perch, nothing like a stringer of 2Lb crappie to kick the Winter blues.


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