R
RLeep2
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- Joined
- Oct 15, 2009
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Spent the late morning and early afternoon today in my Star Pike yak chasing crappie on one of my home lakes (I have two..) in southern Erie County. Very pleasant conditions, virtually no wind and temps in the low 70's.
Crappie were stacked up like cordwood all along the one shoreline in 1 1/2 - 5 feet of water over a mixed gravel/small cobble bottom with some submerged branches here and there and very few weeds. Wherever there were more weeds, you got bluegills 2-1 over crappie. I'm not sure what it is about this combination of habitat they like this time of year, but they are always there the last half of May and usually leave around the first week in June.
I don't think I've had a better crappie session since we moved back to PA six years ago. I was only on the water for about 3 1/2 hours and landed or hooked well over 100 crappie. At one point just for entertainment purposes, I did a consecutive cast fish count. I landed or stuck and lost a crappie on 41 consecutive casts.
Slightly more than half of them were of a size I wouldn't have bothered cleaning, but about 25-30 were in the 7-9" class and another fifteen or so were 9-11" and a couple might have made a foot if stretched.
This was a scouting mission and I didn't keep any of them. Tomorrow or Friday, I'll go back and take enough out for 2 messes for me and Petunia.
All fish came to what I immodestly call RLP's Crappie Dart. This is an all one color streamer/bugger type-fly in white, yellow or chartreuse tied on a 1XL #10 hook. Shank length sparse tail of marabou or ostrich, an estaz or crystal chenille body, a couple turns of webby saddle hackle at the head all behind a 1/8" silver bead. I don't think I've ever caught a trout on a silver beadhead, so I'm happy to be able to use my silver beads up on my Darts. The Dart is fished by flipping it out there, letting it sink a foot or two and then very slowly walking it back. This is mostly sight fishing. Watch the fly and when it disappears, raise the rod tip and there will be a crappie..
I live a ways from decent wild trout fishing especially after being spoiled out in the Driftless for 15 years , but come May and crappie time, there is nowhere on earth I'd rather be than right where I am..
Crappie were stacked up like cordwood all along the one shoreline in 1 1/2 - 5 feet of water over a mixed gravel/small cobble bottom with some submerged branches here and there and very few weeds. Wherever there were more weeds, you got bluegills 2-1 over crappie. I'm not sure what it is about this combination of habitat they like this time of year, but they are always there the last half of May and usually leave around the first week in June.
I don't think I've had a better crappie session since we moved back to PA six years ago. I was only on the water for about 3 1/2 hours and landed or hooked well over 100 crappie. At one point just for entertainment purposes, I did a consecutive cast fish count. I landed or stuck and lost a crappie on 41 consecutive casts.
Slightly more than half of them were of a size I wouldn't have bothered cleaning, but about 25-30 were in the 7-9" class and another fifteen or so were 9-11" and a couple might have made a foot if stretched.
This was a scouting mission and I didn't keep any of them. Tomorrow or Friday, I'll go back and take enough out for 2 messes for me and Petunia.
All fish came to what I immodestly call RLP's Crappie Dart. This is an all one color streamer/bugger type-fly in white, yellow or chartreuse tied on a 1XL #10 hook. Shank length sparse tail of marabou or ostrich, an estaz or crystal chenille body, a couple turns of webby saddle hackle at the head all behind a 1/8" silver bead. I don't think I've ever caught a trout on a silver beadhead, so I'm happy to be able to use my silver beads up on my Darts. The Dart is fished by flipping it out there, letting it sink a foot or two and then very slowly walking it back. This is mostly sight fishing. Watch the fly and when it disappears, raise the rod tip and there will be a crappie..
I live a ways from decent wild trout fishing especially after being spoiled out in the Driftless for 15 years , but come May and crappie time, there is nowhere on earth I'd rather be than right where I am..
