Fishfinder Frustration

[Fishnwire]

I was fishing on the lower French yesterday and today for crappie. We got a few but the bite was not on. I had my fishfinder and often marked fish, sometimes two or three at a time, but I rarely could get them to bite. They were definately responding to the bait...if I raised or lowered it a bit they'd follow, but just seemed to stare at whatever I put in front of them, and I tried just about everything I had.

 

I got just as many fish on my deadstick without the aid of sonar as I did trying to coax graphed fish. In years past when I didn't own a sonar unit and the bite was slow, I just assumed there were no fish around. Seeing those bars on the finder and not being able to hook them is pretty frustrating. What do you guys do when you are marking fish (crappie in this situation) but they refuse to cooperate?

 

On a side note, We fished for walleye at last light last night and I got two but failed to mark either of them on the fishfinder before the struck. I was bouncing my jig off bottom and they slurped it up without showing on the finder until they were hooked. It's funny...I marked fish I didn't catch and caught fish I didn't mark.

[Kerry]

If I'm on crappies and they are rising I'll leave the dead stick alone and go to mini tubes on my jigging rod.I'll keep lifting as long as they follow and do a dead jiggle/pause,lift or drop and see what they do and continue depending on how they react.I like red/white for a start up color.

Kerry

[T Fisher]

Sounds like you need a flasher it's real time.

[Fishnwire]

Sounds like you need a flasher it's real time.

 

 

My finder has a real time sidebar mode. I can tell by watching my bait signal as I jig that I'm getting an accurate, responsive display. There was a guy there with a Vex who put less fish on the ice than me. I appreciate the suggestion, but my hardware is not the issue.

[Terry]

yup most fishfinders are real time, the just show history too, which flashers don't

[Fishnwire]

If I'm on crappies and they are rising I'll leave the dead stick alone and go to mini tubes on my jigging rod.I'll keep lifting as long as they follow and do a dead jiggle/pause,lift or drop and see what they do and continue depending on how they react.I like red/white for a start up color.

Kerry

 

 

I tried some little power tubes. They didn't want them. I also tried some Chubby Darters and a little Rapala jigging minnow. All they seemed to take was a shinner deadsticked or jigged a little and then held motionless. I tried just the heads but had no success. I guess some days they just ain't interested.

[EC1]

Did you try the exact same thing with your jigging rod (jiggle it and then pause for a while)?

 

I would also guess there is a specific colour that they wanted. I've had places fishing for crappie where they would only respond to one colour favourably.

 

Or you might have just had a terrible case of lockjaw.