Ledges hold big concentrations of crappie this time of year. Learn how three veteran anglers find and catch crappie from ledges.
Crappie stay on the go in autumn, either looking for a quick meal during favorable conditions or seeking shelter, when the weather turns nasty. Some of the best places to find fall crappie that are moving are ledges, which are available in almost every lake in the country.
“A ledge in our part of the country is definitely a change in water depth, and most of the time, it is a pretty abrupt, pretty quick change,” said Freddie Sinclair, a full-time guide on North Carolina’s Jordan, Harris and Falls lakes. “Most of our ledges are hard bottom and rock.” Sinclair noted that a ledge could be a main channel drop along the old river channel or a creek channel drop in a cove or bay.
Texas angler Jeff Schwieterman defines a ledge as “a rapid change in depth – more of a vertical drop than slow slanting.” This crappie tournament veteran said depth changes of ledges can range from 1 foot up to 10 feet or more on the waters he frequently fishes.
We talked with avid angler and professional meteorologist Dick Faurot about the effects of weather on fishing.
Most of us who have a passion for outdoor activities – like crappie fishing – are adept at staying on top of the weather. We have our favorite phone weather apps at our fingertips, and we know how to use them. In fact, we might be more accurate in forecasting our backyard weather than are the TV weather folks, right?
My longtime fishing buddy and retired meteorologist friend Dick Faurot laughed when I shared that thought with him, nodding like he’d heard that before.
“I’ve found when you’re right no one remembers, but when you’re wrong no one forgets,” said the Oklahoma native, who spent a combined total of 42 years in on-air weather duties with CBS-affiliated stations between Lafayette, La. and Tulsa. We are right f-a-a-a-a-r more often than we get credit for, and I like to use the analogy that we do a much better job of forecasting the weather than economists do of forecasting the economy.
“Weather is something we can’t be completely specific about every moment of every day,” he continued.
This new spoon from Lindy Legendary Fishing fills an important spot in your ice fishing lures box. Learn why it was created and how to use it for everything from bluegills to walleyes.
At times, subtle action is critical for finding good ice fishing action. At other times sound is important for calling in fish and prompting strikes. Sometimes both are true, which is why Lindy introduced the Rattl’n Quiver Spoon.
The slow fluttery fall of a Lindy Quiver Spoon has made this lightweight ice spoon a multi-species ice fishing favorite for the past few winters. At times, though, the fish need a little help finding a bait before they can be coaxed into biting. The Rattl’n Quiver Spoon uses the same shape and light metal construction as the original Quiver Spoon. However, a rattle built into a protruding eye delivers the sound that is sometimes needed to call fish into range and finish the job of prompting strikes.
Late fall, when the mats on grass lakes begin breaking up, is prime time call up big bass with a frog. Read on for expert advice on frog fishing from a veteran bass guide.
“You saw where that was, right?” Jimmy Mason asked, as he reeled his frog quickly away from where a bass had just blasted through the milfoil but missed his bait. “Cast right into the blowhole.”
I followed instructions and happily hit the mark because the bass slurped down my frog almost before it landed. I set the hook hard and then reeled steadily to get the fish turned my way before it dug any deeper in the thick stuff. Soon after I was lip landing 3 1/2 pounds of Lake Guntersville largemouth and another pound or two of vegetation. We kept working the same area and caught three more solid frog bass before returning to search mode.
There are few ways to catch bass that are more fun than casting a BOOYAH Pad Crasher across big mats of vegetation and prompting bass to bust through the grass. Anticipation stays high, especially on a lake like Guntersville, where you know that any bass that explodes on your frog could be a legitimate heavyweight.
Learn winning swim jig strategies for autumn bass fishing from two anglers who have been swimming jigs for many years.
Fall is generally a disjointed time, with bait schools on the move and bass hot on their heels. Action can occur just about anywhere, so anglers need a bait that goes just about anywhere. For such autumn diversity, it’s hard to beat a BOOYAH Mobster swim jig.
“It’s always on my deck because I’m going to throw it around any piece of wood, any dock, any piece of cover that I think the fish may be relating to,” said Oklahoma pro Brent Haggard. “It’s such a huge part of fall fishing, I always have several tied on.”
Chad Warner, Director of Product Development for BOOYAH Bait Company agrees and notes that the swim jig easily earns a spot in his top five fall offerings.
Bridges produce consistently good crappie action, if you know how to fish them. Learn the approaches of several top anglers.
We drive over them in our cars. We ride under them in our boats, often on the way from one fishing hole to another. Many anglers hardly give them a second thought. But when it comes to crappie fishing, maybe bridges should be an angler’s first thought.
Fishing around bridges takes a lot of the guesswork out of finding crappie, says Oklahoma fishing guide Mike Taylor. Many of his favorite waters, including Lake Eufaula, are home to multiple bridges. He rarely drops a crappie jig in the water anywhere else before pulling up to a bridge area and looking with his electronics. He’s looking for baitfish and crappie.
Whether you target walleyes, panfish or some other species, it’s important to be equipped with the right lures when you hit the ice.
If you’re an ice fisherman, few things are more agonizing than the wait for safe ice. You’ve been wearing out your weather app, hoping to start seeing crazily low lows in the 10-day, all the while dreaming and scheming about where you’ll hit the ice first and how your hard-water season will progress.
Wishing won’t ready the ice sooner, though, so you might as well make the best use of the wait time. One way to do that is to prepare your ice gear, getting all in good order and making certain you have the tackle needed when you finally get out on the ice. With such planning in mind, we’ve put a great selection ice fishing lures on sale throughout November. Everything on our Ice Fishing Lures page will be automatically discounted 15 percent in the cart through Nov. 30.
Also to aid your preparation, we’ll look at some of the lures that are important to have ready if you want to start your ice season right!
Kevin Brown’s BFL Regional Championship win on one of his home lakes qualified him to fish the BFL All-American on waters that are even closer to home.
“Winning this one and going back to the All-American is such an unreal feeling,” said Kevin Brown of Hot Springs, Ark. about his victory in the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Championship on Lake Ouachita. Brown noted that he’s extra excited for his second opportunity to compete in the BFL All-American because it is being held on one of his home lakes.
The All-American, which is one of the longest running championship events in professional bass fishing, will be held June 2-4 on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs.
“All I wanted was the opportunity to qualify for the event on my home lake,” Brown said. He did that easily, as the top six finishers from each regional championship make the All-American. However, he also earned his fourth BFL win and prizes and cash valued at $68,200.
Building glow into your crappie fishing strategies can help you catch more fish, especially when the bite is tough.
“Anyone can catch a crappie when they are biting, but when the crappie are not aggressive or the bite tapers off, that’s when using a Mo’ Glo lure or Mo’ Glo Slab Jam will get you bites,” said Mississippi crappie guide Brad Chappell.
Chappell relies on Bobby Garland’s Mo’ Glo lures, which glow in the dark, when fishing deep, early in the morning or late afternoon.
When long lining, Chappell will typically rig a 1/24- to 1/8-ounce Crappie Pro Mo’ Glo Jighead. The weight of the jighead depends on what depth he is targeting.
