Ky. Lake Crappie at Nolin !!

Took a well deserved vacation day Y-day April 8th, went to Nolin. couldnt have made a better choice. Put in at Dog Creek, the crappie bite is on. Caught my limit in few hours I actually started to cull. When my day was done I had a limit of nothing less then 12 in. crappie all going around 2 lbs with a few going 15 in. Real slabs... Talked to several guys, they all had similiar catches with monster crappie. I caught mine casting jigs to the shore in 2-5 ft water. I was the only boat all the way back in Dog creek for most of the day,the other anglers were having good luck fishing 8-15ft water with minnows & jigs. If you want to save some gas money Ky.Lake has nothing on the fish I saw y-day. And I go there every year with much success. I've been fishing Nolin for 20 yrs, and can only remember 4-5 yrs that it was this good. You may catch a few more 3 lbs at Ky lake, but to me not worth the gas money or fighting the wind on the big lake.

What type of jigs and color were you throwing? I have fished for bass on Nolin for years, but would like to learn how to catch the crappie.

[[email protected];449362]Took a well deserved vacation day Y-day April 8th, went to Nolin. couldnt have made a better choice. Put in at Dog Creek, the crappie bite is on. Caught my limit in few hours I actually started to cull. When my day was done I had a limit of nothing less then 12 in. crappie all going around 2 lbs with a few going 15 in. Real slabs... Talked to several guys, they all had similiar catches with monster crappie. I caught mine casting jigs to the shore in 2-5 ft water. I was the only boat all the way back in Dog creek for most of the day,the other anglers were having good luck fishing 8-15ft water with minnows & jigs. If you want to save some gas money Ky.Lake has nothing on the fish I saw y-day. And I go there every year with much success. I've been fishing Nolin for 20 yrs, and can only remember 4-5 yrs that it was this good. You may catch a few more 3 lbs at Ky lake, but to me not worth the gas money or fighting the wind on the big lake.[/QUOTE]
I tagged into one of those monster crappies at cub run Friday. Biggest crappie I've ever caught in the Nolin waters. Wasn't fishing for crappies and didn't measure him but he was defiantly between 15 to 20". Caught him on a rattle trap. Fried him up for lunch that day. Also had a hey day on the large mouths.

[QUOTE=coombro;449408]I tagged into one of those monster crappies at cub run Friday. Biggest crappie I've ever caught in the Nolin waters. Wasn't fishing for crappies and didn't measure him but he was defiantly between 15 to 20". Caught him on a rattle trap. Fried him up for lunch that day. Also had a hey day on the large mouths.[/QUOTE]

Way to go! Sounds like a slab! I've got to get up there this week!

-Rich

[[email protected];449362]Took a well deserved vacation day Y-day April 8th, went to Nolin. couldnt have made a better choice. Put in at Dog Creek, the crappie bite is on. Caught my limit in few hours I actually started to cull. When my day was done I had a limit of nothing less then 12 in. crappie all going around 2 lbs with a few going 15 in. Real slabs... Talked to several guys, they all had similiar catches with monster crappie. I caught mine casting jigs to the shore in 2-5 ft water. I was the only boat all the way back in Dog creek for most of the day,the other anglers were having good luck fishing 8-15ft water with minnows & jigs. If you want to save some gas money Ky.Lake has nothing on the fish I saw y-day. And I go there every year with much success. I've been fishing Nolin for 20 yrs, and can only remember 4-5 yrs that it was this good. You may catch a few more 3 lbs at Ky lake, but to me not worth the gas money or fighting the wind on the big lake.[/QUOTE]

SHhhhhhhhh ...LOL it is hot .. my neighbor down there at wax was killing them right off the bank had 9 over 12in !!! didn't even have to launch the boat !!!!!

Does sound hot, and sounds like some nice fish. :cool:

[[email protected];449362]....When my day was done I had a limit of nothing less then 12 in. crappie all going around 2 lbs with a few going 15 in.


Glad to hear that you caught a bunch...I was at my place in Dog Creek for 4 days Thu-Sunday and the bite was definitely on. Only fished 12 total hours in 4 days (6 hours in the mornings produced 15 fish and 6 hours in the evenings produced 70, so the afternoon bite was certainly the ticket). I agree that the size for Nolin has been getting steadily better over the past 3-4 years and this year does seem to be the best. Of the 85 keepers I cleaned, approximately 15-20 would have gone 11.5-12 inches, I did measure the largest and he was 12.5. Had a bunch of 10-11 inchers and a few squeakers. 90% caught on jigs shallow, a few on minnows with the wife and kids in the morning.

Now, as for 2-3 lb crappie, I have to ask, how many of them have you ever actually weighed on a legit scale? Not trying to be argumentitive here, but it amazes me that folks talk about 2lb crappie, much less 3lb crappie as if they are a regular thing. As most any tournament bass fisherman would tell you, a 12" largemouth weighs around 1-1.25lbs. You have to know that a similar length crappie weighs no more than that if not less. I'm not sayin' that 2lb crappie aren't caught at Nolin or anywhere else occasionally, but they are far more rare than a lot of people like to claim. From my past experience and using digital scales, a 2lb crappie (depending on time of year, but usually in the spawn, must be at least 16-17 inches long). I might believe that the few you caught that were 15 inches could have scared 2 lbs, but the "nothing less then 12 in. crappie all going around 2 lbs" thing is pretty tough to believe. Thoughts?

Keep in mind, I'm not disputing you caught a bunch of nice slabs...just sayin' the weight thing is something I think many crappie fisherman over exaggerate.

Tight lines!

Here's a general scale to go by..
[url]http://www.anglersfishinginfo.com/articles/weight%20chart/index.html[/url]

A 15 inch crappie can come in just at 2 lbs. Factor in a pre-spawn gorge and that number probably goes up a little. By this scale, they start gaining 7 ozs per inch at the 15 inch mark and probably goes higher at 18. Largest crappie I've ever seen was a 19 incher. I'm pretty sure it came in at just under 4.

What do you guys think the quick rise in water is going to do to the crappie bite at nolin. My dad and I are heading that way in the morning.

They may scatter some but I would stay casting jigs w/nibblets to the bank and a slow roll ....salt -n pepper is a good color tube with a green jig head

Actually, I ve caught several crappie over 3 lbs. My best was 3.40 lb caught at Johnathan Creek Ky lake 2 yrs ago, that fish was almost 18 in, and as fat and wide as all get out. The fish I caught I did weigh the largest of the bunch it weighed 1.96 I HAD SEVERAL FISH THIS SAME SIZE, my smallest was probably 1.2 (no eggs ) as a tournament angler I have seen spotted bass go 13 1/2 in and weigh more then some 15 in bass. It's just the way it is depending on width thickness full of eggs, etc. but thanks for the debate. I did see a few fish over 16 in that day. Not caught by me but 2 other guys. Bottom line though; the fishing at Nolin had been great, with all this rain Id say the real good fishing is over though, but you never now. It s been as good as I can ever remember. Good luck this year.