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What's up y'all! Hope you stayed safe in this cold weather and can get out on the water soon!
Will I be seeing you at the Grizzly Jigs Show this weekend? Runs Thurs 1/29 through Sun 2/1. Going be some great gear showcases and some awesome seminars! Come say hey if you see the Target Crappie logo (me) walking around!
If youβre not already following us on Facebook and Instagram, hit those up to stay in the loop between emails. And if a buddy shared this with you, make sure you sign up here to get the free weekly email straight to your inbox. Hope you enjoy this one!
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If your email program cuts off the bottom of the email click "View this email in your browser" up top to see the whole thing. Sorry about that β email programs keep changing stuff!
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Is Clear Lake, CA the world's best crappie lake?
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There's been a lot of southern guys hanging out on Clear Lake lately, catching 3-lbers left and right, so I had to see what the deal was. Got in touch with TX guide Jordan 'Mr Find the Fish' Sanders, who was out there for 18 days π€―πͺ and got the scoop.
Btw Clear Lake is for sure one of the best largemouth bass lakes in the country/world too.
> "I found out about it 3 years ago β it's by far the best lake in the country when it comes to crappie fishing."
Why do you think crappie get so big out there?
> "It could be several reasons, of course, nobody actually knows. My main theory is that it's the oldest natural lake in the country. On paper, it dates back half a million years.
> "It's the oldest genetics in the country β [the crappie] are not mutated or anything. The state or biologists haven't messed with them."
How many were y'all catching a day, and what was the average size?
> "Last year we were only catching 100-150 a day. The average β you're gonna say I'm full of you know what, but it was well over 2.25-lbs.
> "This year we were catching 250-300 fish a day. The average actually dropped, but the overall bigger fish went up. We were catching 6-10 3-lbers a day."
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He said they were on schools of black crappie by the thousands, and as long as they stayed way off, they could catch as many as they wanted:
> "We're taking 5, 6 and 7' Ozark Bass Rods, 6-lb high-vis fluoro and casting over [schools] 60-70' away.
> "Early in the morning and late in the evening, whenever these schools are smaller, you can actually target the big fish. [3-lbers came] in the first and last 2 hrs of daylight.
> "Throughout the day, it's like they're all just ganging up trying to rest. You have a school of 10,000 fish, and you can't necessarily pinpoint the [biggest] fish out of there. As you get [the biggest fish] to react, a 10-12 inch fish is going to come up and hit it.
> "We were throwing 1/16-oz hair jigs, maybe 1-inch long. We did throw some Crappie Monster plastics. The smallest I'd say we threw with a was 0.5-inch.
> "They were all [black crappie] β everything we threw at them under 1.5 inches got eaten.
> "The discipline in me was hurting because I had to leave a school knowing that there were still 2- or 3-lbers in it that I couldn't get to eat.
> "The wild part β as soon as you're done with that school, all you do is zoom your LiveScope out 300', look any direction you want to look, and there's another school the same size."
How many 3-lbers did y'all end up catching?
> "I was there for 18 days. I don't think I'd be exaggerating if I said I put over 75 in the boat.
> "It's a special place, a very special place."
That sounds incredible! If you want to take your own rig over there, Jordan said you'd better bring light tackle, ice chains (there's 100-mile stretches through mountains), and you better not have ANY vegetation or standing water in your trailers or livewells (state regs/inspection).
If you don't wanna drag your rig all the way there, reach out to Jordan. He said he'll be out there next Jan...just hanging out if you want to....π
Have you been on the crappie game out there? Let us know! On my bucket list fo sho!
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New π₯ bait from BaitFuel
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"Those females will sit at the same depth in the water column as where they are going to spawn."
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Say what? That's LA Guide Kieth Acker droppin' some pre-spawn juice that you probably want to keep in mind come late Feb and Mar. Check out how Keith knows where fish will be spawning weeks in advance β from an ACC Crappie Stix post:
> [In the pre-spawn] Keith typically starts on flats in 10-25'. ...Keith stresses...regardless of water depth, crappie will be found at just about any level of the water column.
> "I may fish as shallow as 3-4' deep during the pre-spawn regardless of the water temp. [Crappie] may spawn on taller trees where the sunlight hits the top in 25' of water."
> He added that the females will eventually lay their eggs on limbs high in the submerged timber and frequently don't stray far from where they hold in the pre-spawn. The implication is that not all crappie flock to the bank to procreate.
> "I canβt prove it, but Iβve been told that those females will set at the same depth in the water column as where they are going to spawn.
> "If the males are making beds in 3', thatβs where the females will be holding in the water column somewhere adjacent to the spawning area."
As the fish start moving out of the winter mood into pre-spawn proper, Keith targets...
> ...deeper flats off of the secondary creeks where the fish will be moving up to spawn. The big females will usually be in the upper part of the water column (8' or less), roaming or stuck to the side of timber."
They sure don't teach that in school β that's some straight-up juice, Keith thank you!
Quick tip: From now til they're done spawning is prime orange bait season. Check out these little nest raiders you can chunk!
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How to break down new water fast
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Exploring new water seems like something folks don't do enough, including myself. After I talked with Bobby Garland's Skylar St. Yves for last week's Target Crappie about how the biggest crappie are going to come out of smaller lakes, got to thinkin' that maybe it's time to go exploring. π€
Came across this this post on Lurenet.com with MO multi-species pro Terry Blankenship talking' how to break down new lakes fast to find more crappie:
> "Typically, when I am going to a new lake, I always start with Google Earth, and I will look the lake over and try to figure out if there is a river that comes in.
> "Time of year will dictate a lot of what I am looking for. In this case, I Googled it, and what I looked for was the main river. I really didnβt see a lot of water runoff there."
For reference, he compared the small lake to one large arm of Lake of the Ozarks that he is familiar with:
> ...he notices a lot of crappie migrate up the creek in the fall and then start coming back down the creek in late Nov and Dec.
> "My purpose was to go into the upper end of this lake and look for some crappie that might have migrated down the river.
> "As I was looking through the map, I found quite a few channel swings. Whenever you see those [contour] lines really close together in one area, you know that is where it really drops fast."
Terry used his LakeMaster and Humminbird XPLORE to check out those spots. He likes those channel swings because it allows fish to hang out at any depth, depending on the weather:
> "I was trying to size it up from the shallow water to the deep water and bluff pockets and deep coves β it really minimized my time to try and locate these spots [vs] trying to go out there in the boat and graph it out.
> "I wanted to make as many waypoints as I possibly could, and whether or not we even got to them, I wanted to make sure I had already searched the lake a little bit [on the screen].
> "I just went with what I like to do and where I like to find crappie, and where I find fish a lot is on channel swings. Just from past history, I know that channel swings are always a prime spot to check in the wintertime.β
If you're not on the Humminbird game, the Humminbird One-Boat-Network app is a cool deal that even I use to find new spots!
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Ever try a Tokyo rig for bug-eaters?
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Ever thrown a dropshot or Tokyo rig? Big deals in the bassin' world, but they might be something you need to add to the arsenal to switch up the look you're giving crappie.
Here's the where and why on those rigs, and the right baits to throw with 'em. in this The Fishing Wire post:
> Panfish graze insatiably on emerging insect larvae that hatch out of soft bottom. ...crappies and sunfish [also] crunch crayfish and bugs, such as dragonfly larvae, clinging to the upper branches of aquatic plants, vertical dock pilings or tangles of brush.
> In each of these fish-attracting scenarios, a Z-Man LarvaZ, StingerZ, or Baby BallerZ rigged on a dropshot soars at a set depth, continuously.
> The natural buoyancy of this specialized ElaZtech material offers ample loft to float the hook itself...hovering and twitching nervously, right in the fishβs strike zone.
> Little ticks of the rod tip make the baitβs tail dance in place, mimicking the exact movements of a live larva.
> If sonar shows fish 2' off bottom, rig [a] dropshot with the hook riding 2.5-3' off bottom.
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> When fish gather closer to the [bottom], switch to a [Tokyo rig, aka a short dropshot], pinning the bait/hook within inches of the bottom.
> The buoyancy of the ElaZtech material keeps the bait hovering right at the fishβs eye level and out of soft, mucky bottoms where a traditional soft-plastic will descend and disappear.
> For covering more water or for imitating faster-moving baitfish, switch to a micro finesse swimbait like the Shad FryZ and drag the rig slightly faster across the [bottom].
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Looks it was a tight tournament even with plenty of big fish caught! They had 21.36 and 2nd was 20.97. Congrats fellas!
2. Bet you've never had...
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Smooth reels help you feel bites
That's The Crappie Connection's Brad Chappell on the Today's Bite Podcast talkin' why gear ratio and crunchy gears can affect your sensitivity when you're casting for crappie:
> "I want a really smooth reel. I want a reel that, as I'm turning it, feels like I'm smoothing a butter knife across butter. A 5:1 [gear ratio], somewhere in there, is really good for me.
> "You can feel a bite a lot better when you have a really smooth reel compared to a reel that grinds a little bit or catches in there β it messes with your bites and jacks with you.
> "I really like the Pflueger setups for casting. Pflueger has a really good line of reels out there. They're a little pricier but nice."
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"I call it southern ice fishing."
- That's SC crappie pro Tom Mundy talkin' in the Index Journal about crappie fishing after brutal cold fronts, which I think we can all relate to after this weekend! Be safe out there trying to get to the ramp!
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