Need help fishing for Crappie.

I fish Peabody WMA alot during the year. I have caught some HUGE crappie over the years but have never caught big numbers. I have never really targeted crappie on these lakes. I am more of a Bluegill/Shellcracker kinda guy. So, this year I am going after the crappie. These lakes are very fertile, very deep, very clear, and most have pretty good cover. What would be your guys approach to these lakes. I fish from a float tube when the water is warm enough.

Thanks,

Ron

Sorry, for those that don't know, Peabody WMA is a series of old strip mine pits that have been converted to lakes.

Ron,
I fish some Peabody Lakes from a tube. I would like to fish some of them with you sometime when you are in the area. I live in Muhlenberg County. Give me a shout this spring.

CC,
I will most definitely let you know when I am coming out your way. I normally fish in Ohio County and would love to know some spots in Muhlenburg. I usually camp at Musky Lake. Not sure if you know were that one is.

Do you have pretty good luck with crappie? I have mounted a couple 17 1/2 inchers but like I said, I have never caught big numbers.

I have found that big size and big numbers usually dont happen at the same time. But if you want to target big crappie, there are a few things i would buy. You said clear water, so i would go white marabou jig, white roadrunner jig, and maybe some light hooks and some split shot. Get a minnow bucket and go to town. You can tip the marabou jig with minnows or grubs. You can fish the roadrunners vertically or like a small spinner bait with a curl tail grub on it. Or you can put two hooks about 18" apart on a line with about 1/8 of split shot between them and put two minnows down at the same time....

Biggest crappie i ever caught i got into by accidentally catching one on a shad rap while bass fishing at Ky Lake. I started throwing roadrunners like a spinner bait and limited out on 13-17" crappie.

In really cold water sometimes the minnows wont move so you may have better lucky with a super tiny rapala countdown worked like a very slow jerk bait.

Thanks WA, I will lock that away and try all your suggestions. I really feel the super clear water in these lakes just makes it a little harder. Crappie are finnicky enough without having me floating above them in a tube. I will just have to keep trying. I have never been able to catch them in the spring spawn. I guess that would help me see if there are big numbers.

I have never fished from a tube but i have fished very clear water such as Dale Hollow and the Cumberland River for crappie. We learned that the best way to fish spooky crappie in ultra clear water is to cast slip bobbers far away from the boat to the areas holding the fish. I assume the fish are from 12 to 24 feet deep and you can set your bobber stop to any depth you wish, we set ours a foot or 2 above the depth we graph them at. Also we have better luck with a split shot and hook with a minnow in these waters. Hope this helps.

Ron,
Give this a try sometime in the pits. Rig 1 U/L spining rod with 2lbtest, 1/64 oz jig tipped with minnow or crappie nibble. Rig another U/L spinning rod with 4lb test, 1/32 oz jig tipped with minnow or crappie nibble. Use 2 different colored jigs. Cast them out a good cast behind your tube, hold a rod in each hand and start "trolling" with your fins. Vary the speed until you start catching fish. This will change the depth and action of the lures. Don't set the hook. Let the fish hook themselves. You can add some tiny split shot about a foot above the lure if you want to get them a little deeper. I use a Model 110 Hummingbird Fishing Buddy depth finder. It is the cheapest Fishing Buddy made but works fine for this type of fishing. Keep moving until you find an area with fish.

PS I am going to "bump" a post that I made about a "tubers get together". Please post something on the message so I can remember to contact you this spring.

CC,
That is a great idea. Never really had thought about "trolling" in my tube. I will definitely try that method. On a calm day I can really cover some water with my flippers.

I am curious about the depth/fish finder that you use. What kind of price are we talking about and how do you mount it on the tube?

Cabela's Float Tube Buddy Holster

110 Fishin' BuddyFishin' Buddy Series
The 110 Fishin' Buddy offers a 4 level grayscale 160V x 128H 4" display, Single Beam sonar with 1000 Watts PTP power output. The ultimate in portability, with an ergonomic clamp mount designed to use nearly anywhere. No rigging, wiring or transducer to mount.

Share
MSRP $119.99