Spring time crappies

[tbayboy]

Growing up in Northern Ontario pan fish to me meant perch and maybe rock bass. Here in Southern Ontario I kept here about Crappies - after I stopped laughing at the name I realized there really was such a thing and apparently they're fun to catch, shore fishable and delicious to boot. I decided that this year I'd like to try them out. Its been a month since I first went looking and 3 crappie expeditions later I've learned a lot and had some fun and tonight I'll try the taste test. But that's getting ahead of myself ...

 

The first attempt came back in the first week of April. After getting some advice from the gang here and some easy to find info off the net PatrickG and I hooked up at Bass Pro to stock up on some micro tubes and jigs and headed up the 400 for a day of following Canal road as far as it would take us to find fish. We saw lots of spots that were definitely fishable due to the lures hanging from trees and power lines but we didn't produce anything. Eventually we wound up at a spot with a wackload of cars. Not ones to be shy we parked and joined the party. Being late we didn't get the best shore spot but we managed a few and I was happy to have my first crappie

 

<a href=" title="First ever Crappie by Sean Maurik, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/2393913095_fe8eedfeae_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="First ever Crappie" /></a>

 

Patrick refused to be skunked as well

<a href=" title="Patricks Crappie by Sean Maurik, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2024/2393911939_6e507fc9e0_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="Patricks Crappie" /></a>

 

Fast forward to the end of April and Mikeh drops me a line - time to get some fresh fish slime on his Skeeter so off we head to the Kawarthas. We arrived and hung a right from the launch and started working shorelines, than bays, than rivers - all without a sniff. Finally Mike suggests we hit a marina near the launch and call it a day. Of course as we pull into the Marina we see several other boats fishing it and sure enough thats where the little buggers are hiding. We found a little corner and I tied on what is now known as the crappie bait of choice. I'd like to think I chose it based on my skill of reading the water, fish, weather etc but no - it came in a pack that said 'Crappie', was pink and white which I heard was good and came 10 for $5.99. Sometimes cheap and obvious works . These pink headed white maribou jigs were unbeatable.

 

Not exactly a glamorous or even 'sneaky' spot (shore fisherman setup, boats side by side) but after being skunked all day we'll take it though we didn't bother keeping any:

 

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<a href=" title="Seans Crappie by Sean Maurik, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3013/2447832080_c51728731c_b.jpg" width="1024" height="822" alt="Seans Crappie" /></a>

 

This weekend we took another stab at it on a different lake. This time we got into them early and decided we'd toss a few in the livewell for later. The first honey hole was a typical back bay filled with a mix of sizes. The spot is fairly accessible from shore and a bit touchy so you'll excuse the enhanced scenery:

 

<a href=" title="Mikes Crappie by Sean Maurik, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2288/2447008619_04830dfb92.jpg" width="500" height="408" alt="Mikes Crappie" /></a>

 

After getting a nice selection of dinner sized crappie (and a couple gills as well)

 

<a href=" title="Kiddie Pool Bluegill? by Sean Maurik, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3259/2483923846_436ed259c3_b.jpg" width="1024" height="731" alt="Kiddie Pool Bluegill?" /></a>

 

We moved on to try some other spot - here we are hunting away:

 

<a href=" title="Where are you? by Sean Maurik, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2322/2483922876_d0eea14374_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="Where are you?" /></a>

 

Mike suggested we try something new and I'm glad he did - we spent the rest of the day pulling crappie from undercut brush - that was really fun actually. You had to get the bait right up against the brush and then you'd watch the crappie come out from cover, grab the bait and pop back under the brush. It was a lot of fun and we saw a couple guys with long rods and no reels that I guess were really setup just for that kind of fishing - they just reached over and dipped into the holes in cover, neat way to fish.

 

<a href=" title="Little Crappie by Sean Maurik, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3091/2483923290_f4d3a4e6a1_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="Little Crappie" /></a>

 

So now that I'm a crappie expert (haha I wish) its time to decide what to do with the fillets in my fridge - thinking broiling with some onion and lemon?

 

 

See you all out there

Sean

[danbouck]

Nice Pics!

[Guest Johnny Bass]

Great Report. Every year I say I'm going to hunt them but I never do. It takes a lot of patience I hear. Sounds like your guide knew what he was doing. Good job!

[sharper]

I was at the spot in your first few pics back in April as well. That place is always pack, we caught more bulls then crappie but still fun.

[tbayboy]

Hey Sharper - I went back the week after those pics and yeah the crappies had moved out - only saw a couple caught and most people were just getting the bullheads.

 

Johnny the patience is really more just determination to search and search (or know spots from history/helpful locals) - once you find them its pretty easy but its all about finding them. Thanks to Mikeh and the tips from guys here and on the net (lots of good crappie info available) I've learned a few things to look for but I was really surprised with how you can find them in spots you're sure don't have fish - those buggers can really stack up in small spaces.

[mikeh]

great report Sean, I really enjoyed catching them in the undercut brush,also . I think the key for our day was to move if the area didn't produce , we tried 5 different spots and caught crappie in 4 of them. Overall we had a great day, although it was a little choppy returning to the boat launch.

Edited May 12, 2008 by mikeh

[Greencoachdog]

Great report and pics!!!

 

 

... but I'm left wondering where the goliaths are??? Did you forget to post some pics?

[tbayboy]

Whats your address GCD - I have to mail you a good book on sarcasm

[ccmtcanada]

Great stuff Sean.

 

I like your approach to all your fish. Pick a species, do some research and then get out there and get it done!

 

Nice pics as always...I keep waiting for you to post a "Any tips on sturgeon" thread....hehe.

[Mike the Pike]

Always enjoy your reports Sean but pool # 2 has to go

[ehg]

Looks like you had a crash course on crappie fishing this spring.

 

They aren't bad with light dusting of flour, lightly fried in olive oil, sea salt, cracked pepper, finished with squeeze of lemon.

 

You will probably do even better next spring.

 

ehg