Catching Crappies in the Winter can be hard. You may be on the lake one day and can't do nothing wrong. Get up early and go the next day and go fish the same locations with the same bait and you can't buy a Crappie! Another factor is fishing for Crappie in the Winter time is the Weather. One minute it can be pleasant. Within a few minutes it can turn deadly as an approaching front blows in without warning. But there is hope for us die hard Crappie fishermen. It is the docks and I'll show you how to discover and catch Crappie in the late Fall through early Spring around docks over deep water.
The weather is probably the single largest variable a fisherman has to deal with when trying to locate and entice Crappie to bite during the late Fall through early Spring. Fronts can blow in without warning. The wind can change direction, pick up speed or become calm all within a small window of time. Is it any wonder we have a hard time finding and catching Crappie in Winter!
There is one place where Crappie fishermen can go to get out of the weather and have a reasonable chance at catching enough slabs for a fish fry. These places are boat docks. But not any ole boat dock will work. We're looking for boat docks that have Crappie beneath them! This is sometimes easier said than done. But with a little practice and a little research, you can learn how to find the best boat docks for Winter Crappie.
To find boat docks over deep water, look for Marina's that have slips for large power boats and sail boats. These boats draft much deep and thus require deep water slips. It's not uncommon to find them moored over old creek or river channels. Find slips like this at a Marina and prepare the hot oil because there is a fish fry right around the corner!
Now that you've done your homework and found a Marina or two on your local lake that have slips over deep water, look for structure beneath those slips. Ask the Marina operator whether or not they know of any brush piles beneath the slips. More than likely they know of several. Next, you'll need to find what the Crappie want to hit. I start off with small minnows and work them around structure. If it's a fairly warm day, the Crappie may be extra hungry and you can try tube jigs to catch them quicker.
Once I find them, I'll usually switch to a 1/32 or even 1/64 ounce tube jig and fish it nearly motionless. Crappie love tube jigs and Winter can be a good time to use them. If the Crappie stop biting, I'll move along the docks fishing brush at different depths until I find them again. One nice thing about Winter Crappie fishing around docks is, if you find them holding at brush below a dock at 12 feet, you'll usually find them under all the docks holding at the same depth in the same type of structure.
One place many hardcore Crappie fishermen overlook in the Winter are heated fishing docks. The Marina operators sink brush below these heated areas to attract the fish. These can be great places to fill a stringer when Ole Man Winter is howling outside. It's also a great place to take your kids on a Winter day. There aren't many things sweeter in life than watching kids catch Crappie inside a heated dock while drinking hot chocolate!
Sadly many Crappie fishermen miss out on the fabulous fishing at other times of the year. These people only think Crappie can be caught in the Spring. Oh well, that means there'll be more Crappie for you and me! I'll see you at the docks! You bring the coffee!
The weather is probably the single largest variable a fisherman has to deal with when trying to locate and entice Crappie to bite during the late Fall through early Spring. Fronts can blow in without warning. The wind can change direction, pick up speed or become calm all within a small window of time. Is it any wonder we have a hard time finding and catching Crappie in Winter!
There is one place where Crappie fishermen can go to get out of the weather and have a reasonable chance at catching enough slabs for a fish fry. These places are boat docks. But not any ole boat dock will work. We're looking for boat docks that have Crappie beneath them! This is sometimes easier said than done. But with a little practice and a little research, you can learn how to find the best boat docks for Winter Crappie.
To find boat docks over deep water, look for Marina's that have slips for large power boats and sail boats. These boats draft much deep and thus require deep water slips. It's not uncommon to find them moored over old creek or river channels. Find slips like this at a Marina and prepare the hot oil because there is a fish fry right around the corner!
Now that you've done your homework and found a Marina or two on your local lake that have slips over deep water, look for structure beneath those slips. Ask the Marina operator whether or not they know of any brush piles beneath the slips. More than likely they know of several. Next, you'll need to find what the Crappie want to hit. I start off with small minnows and work them around structure. If it's a fairly warm day, the Crappie may be extra hungry and you can try tube jigs to catch them quicker.
Once I find them, I'll usually switch to a 1/32 or even 1/64 ounce tube jig and fish it nearly motionless. Crappie love tube jigs and Winter can be a good time to use them. If the Crappie stop biting, I'll move along the docks fishing brush at different depths until I find them again. One nice thing about Winter Crappie fishing around docks is, if you find them holding at brush below a dock at 12 feet, you'll usually find them under all the docks holding at the same depth in the same type of structure.
One place many hardcore Crappie fishermen overlook in the Winter are heated fishing docks. The Marina operators sink brush below these heated areas to attract the fish. These can be great places to fill a stringer when Ole Man Winter is howling outside. It's also a great place to take your kids on a Winter day. There aren't many things sweeter in life than watching kids catch Crappie inside a heated dock while drinking hot chocolate!
Sadly many Crappie fishermen miss out on the fabulous fishing at other times of the year. These people only think Crappie can be caught in the Spring. Oh well, that means there'll be more Crappie for you and me! I'll see you at the docks! You bring the coffee!
About the Author:
Finding Crappie in the Winter is not so easy. But with these tips and others strategies outline on my blog, you'll soon learn that fishing for Crappie in the Winter can be quite enjoyable. Click on over to start learning how to fill the freezer full of slabs before the Spring crowd gets them.
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