shimano19 Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Hey guys I've been doing quite a bit crappie ice fishing the past couple season and have been doing well during the daytime, when the sun goes down the crappie disappear, they usually hold in a deep basin suspended over 20fow, when it gets dark there gone. I've checked nearby weedlines and humps but can't seem to find them. Any tips for finding them after dark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Far as I know crappie are not all that active after dark. There used to be a group in the late days of winter that would catch them in the Barrie marina just before ice out, maybe just enough light from the light posts around there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aplumma Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Find the minnows and you will find the Crappie. For years we only fished for Crappie after dark but we used a lantern over the water to get the baitfish in. If this is illegal up North then don't do it but in my area it is a legal way to fish. Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misfish Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Far as I know crappie are not all that active after dark. There used to be a group in the late days of winter that would catch them in the Barrie marina just before ice out, maybe just enough light from the light posts around there. LOL I was one of those fellas. It was like clock work there. Im talking 15 years ago here.So dont get all giddy up ok. Get down there at 1/2 hour before sun down. Set up and wait. Once the bite started,it was fast and furious. Sometimes you had to move around,but when you were on them,you were a happy fella. My kids had a blast. Even the late fall nights off the docks,have gone. Not sure what it,s about Simcoe and crappie. They come and go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motojoe Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Hi Brian, Depends on what kind of lake you fish, deeper lake is always good during daytime, Shallow lake will be morning and evening. If the lake you fish is good at 20 flow during day time then you need to look for the closer drop off in the evening, most of them will travel to shallow for minnow and they will suspend very high, sometimes just right down the ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 LOL I was one of those fellas. It was like clock work there. Im talking 15 years ago here.So dont get all giddy up ok. Get down there at 1/2 hour before sun down. Set up and wait. Once the bite started,it was fast and furious. Sometimes you had to move around,but when you were on them,you were a happy fella. My kids had a blast. Even the late fall nights off the docks,have gone. Not sure what it,s about Simcoe and crappie. They come and go. Yup, don't think I knew you back then, there was another fellow, his wife and little guy were there quite often. Those were fun times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC1 Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 If we are talking about a deep water bite, I usually just give up once it gets dark. Bites in the weeds however, don't start until the sun starts to set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shimano19 Posted January 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 I get them deep during the day and can't find them after sunset. So they move into weeds or cover in shallower water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tender52 Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 Personally, I cant remember ever catching a crappie after dark. I set up a lot with a teardrop and maggot 2 ft below the ice just before dark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shimano19 Posted January 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 Yea it's been tough for me after dark, I'm having trouble locating them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattybculp Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 We target crappie from about 11/2 hours before sunset to sunset but as soon as the sun sets we are gone and off the ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shimano19 Posted January 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 What's the reason for that mattyb? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 What's the reason for that mattyb? Because they disappear... I find the exact same thing in open water during the summer. Absolutely slamming them from about 2hrs before sunset until just after sunset then zip, it's like a lightswitch. I've gone deeper, shallower, you name it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manitoubass2 Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 (edited) i tried twice last year and maybe its a fluke but for shallow lakes go where electronics dont help, the shoreline. I found a big rock point with a half sandbar/half mud and started casting small walleye spinners with a berkley power minnow(use a small keel tyoe weight so you can cast). I didnt hammer them and it was tough to get a perfect cast but I was getting crazy bites in 1-2 fow. I caught limits twice but it was a weird way to fish. I had the idea from river walleye cause they will push the shore to gorge on shiners. Maybe, at least in small lakes, crappie do the same? Edited January 14, 2015 by manitoubass2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattybculp Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 (edited) The reason why is like Bill stated above because they're gone. I have ice fished for crappie for a while now, and that is the observation I have made. I have stayed out on the ice long enough after sunset to know for me, on the particular body of water that I fish, that it is not worth it for me to stay out and fish for them. After sunset I'm not going to be chasing crappie around a lake punching holes to find them. All I know is that couple hours before sunset especially that last hour can be lights out good, but like Bill said, after a half hour after sunset they're just gone. Blue gills and perch will hang around, but I'm out there for crappie and crappie only ( as perch in my neck of the woods aren't really worth the work for a small feed, jumbos like on simcoe aren't so common in my parts). If you have a "permanent hut " what I do is keep my minnows in a big clear "plastic" pickle container I drill a bunch of small holes and attach a piece of rope to it. At the end of my night my I take "minnow bucket" big pickle container put some bread in it with my pin heads and put it down the hole. Whether you believe the minnows in a clear container keep schools of crappie or other panfish around or not who knows. I have never lost my "minnow bucket" and the mortality of my pinheads is usually less than taking them back and forth to the house with me. That being said I have the ability to check my hut out daily should I want too. I don't always use pin heads, micro tubes work for me aswell . My grandfather used to do the same thing years before I was even thought of. A friend of mine showed me an email of a guy who was giving away " crappie secrets " via emails and we had a good chuckle as the "minnow bucket" idea was on his list. I don't really believe that its that big of a "secret" and my success is more than likely from years of fishing them and having my hut on a productive spot, it just eliminates me bringing the minnows in and out on the sled or atv. Man I am pumped for the early season soft water crappie bite, it has become one of my favorite times of year, and they are delicious! good luck Edited January 14, 2015 by mattybculp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manitoubass2 Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 try shallow. 4fow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinker Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 I know guys who dont start crappie fishing until after 7pm and stay till 11pm. On the ice, real shallow, weedy water. They slay 'em. I havent tried myself. In the fall we get them after dark from shore pretty good too. S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 I've had some wicked good night bites in shallow off the docks in summer. Never tried staying out on the ice at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beans Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 (edited) In the fall at Rice lake we would get down to the wharf early to get a good spot before the hordes arrived...Most of our crappie were caught between 09:00PM and midnight... I sometimes got up early (04:00 AM) and caught some then before daylight...catch one perch and the crappie are gone !!! I still remember the night we got into some big slabs and threw them back... An oriental gentleman came running over..."Hey mister, you no throw back...you give me !... "No way Jose...not after we found out you were selling them back in Toronto " Edited January 16, 2015 by Beans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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