One of those rare days on the Rez where the wind is not blowing and the current isn't moving. Crappie were stacked up on structure just waiting to be caught...
If I’ve learned anything about Ross Barnett over the past 4 years, it’s that the weather forecast is a good starting point, but it’s rarely accurate, so we really need to be prepared to make adjustments when we get out there. The wind (and current) really do heavily influence where I fish, especially since my boat is only 17 and a half feet long. I’d encourage you to have a plan, but be flexible and make whatever adjustments you need to once you’re on the water. Stay safe, and have an incredible day!
@ thank you only 9 keepers today a couple 15” but mostly 12” fish. Never found them stacking up yet the ones I caught where mostly off brush and alone or with 2 to 3 others
So many factors! But generally speaking when that happens to me, I’ll change the profile of the jig body (upsize or downsize) and/or the color. Keep the retrieve rate constant or even speed up slightly when they start to chase. Don’t slow down or stop! Keep changing profile/color/retrieve rate until you find something they’ll commit to. I’m a firm believer in using crappie nibbles as well. But if you cycle through four our five different baits and they still won’t commit, it may be time to move on to other, more active fish…
Great video. Really enjoyed it. So with all those dots on the screen how do you know which ones are crappie and which ones are actually close to your lure? How do you find them in that big lake?
Hi Roundawg! Thanks for your comment and questions! During the summer and early fall, many crappie can be found schooled up around structure. They start “roaming” and “suspending” in the fall, so open water becomes the key. If you look at the thumbnail of the Early Fall Transition video, you’ll see a bunch of fish clustered around the tree trunk (aka “stickup”). For the most part, those would be crappie. Crappie tend to have a rounded/football shape, and time on the water using Livescope will help you dial in what you’re seeing. (Although yesterday when I found a brush pile holding what I thought were crappie-it was very surprising when I reeled in an 11” bass.) So knowing what fish you’re seeing on the screen isn’t 100% foolproof-but again, time/experience will help you get better at it. The lure is close to the fish if both the fish and the lure are the same “brightness” on the screen. If the lure is faint, but the fish is bright, the lure is not as close to the fish as it could be. Experimenting with the settings on your graph will help you dial in your picture. As you might have concluded, cast-accuracy is very important, especially when it’s windy or the current is flowing swiftly. Finding the crappie in the first place can be a day-to-day challenge. Water temperature, time of day, weather/current, and other factors all play a role in where the crappie “might be”. They move around all the time, and you have to “find” them every time you go out. Just keep moving/looking, marking structure along the way so you can check those areas another time. Using your electronics (navigational view) to set colored depth ranges can be very helpful (also remember to set the lake level “offset” so your charts are calibrated). Generally speaking, I target areas from 8-21 feet of water on the Rez (in the fall, I tend to focus on 8-15 feet of water, and in the summer and winter, 12-21 feet). That’s still a bunch of water, but it also eliminates a ton. Again, time on the water will help you discover areas that hold fish vs. areas that don’t. For crappie, structure (including brush/timber, ledges, rip rap, bridge pylons, etc.) is key. And there’s plenty of structure in the Rez. Just be very careful when boating around those areas! I usually only fish flooded timber on calm water days, but there’s plenty of other totally submerged structure that isn’t hazardous to you or your boat. Explore! I usually spend at least an hour or two per trip “scouting” new areas and marking brush piles/structure. If you’re not already watching “Today’s Bite” with Brad Chappell, I’d highly recommend tuning in Tuesday nights at 7:00 pm central time on Facebook (Crappie Connection) or UA-cam. Brad is a phenomenal guide and is an expert in crappie and the Rez. I’ve learned a ton from him. Sorry that was so long, but hopefully it helps. Good luck out there!
@@pawpawpete wow. Thank you for all the info. I watched a few more of your vids and got started watching one of Chappell’s videos. They are very entertaining and full of information. I put Livescope on my boat back in may and have only been out a handful of times. To be honest I have yet to catch a fish using LS. I generally get frustrated and go back to my tried and true side imaging and fan casting techniques. Yesterday while on the lake I was determined to not abandon FFS. I got skunked. lol. However, I did get some follows and that brought on a great deal of hope! Anyway, thank you again for the follow up and I’m sure I’ll be in touch more. Keep up the good work on the videos. I really enjoy your channel. I have fished my entire life and I have to say sometimes I enjoy watching people fish as much as I do fishing myself.
@Roundawg - Glad you’re enjoying the videos! Keep practicing and doing what you’re doing. You’ll get Livescope dialed in the more you use it. Watching UA-cam videos about Livescope and even going on a guide trip specifically to learn to use Livescope can supercharge your experience, but there’s no substitute for time on the water…go get ‘um!
Hi Maurice! I actually have both…. The 34 is mounted to the trolling motor. That’s the one I ran the entire “Early Fall Transition” video. I use that setup in calm water or when open water sniping/deadsticking. But if I just want to let spot lock “do it’s thing” while I sit over a brush pile in heavier wind/wave situations, I switch over to the 32 which is mounted to a pole (you can see the 32 on the port side (stowed) in that same video). The boat is a 2021 Tracker 175TF. Wish I would have gotten the 195 now, but still very happy with the 175…
Great video as always thanks for sharing
Thanks, Billy!
@ yes sir
Mr Pete I’ll be out there tomorrow what you think the lake will be like with 7 mph max wind ?
If I’ve learned anything about Ross Barnett over the past 4 years, it’s that the weather forecast is a good starting point, but it’s rarely accurate, so we really need to be prepared to make adjustments when we get out there. The wind (and current) really do heavily influence where I fish, especially since my boat is only 17 and a half feet long. I’d encourage you to have a plan, but be flexible and make whatever adjustments you need to once you’re on the water. Stay safe, and have an incredible day!
@ thank you only 9 keepers today a couple 15” but mostly 12” fish. Never found them stacking up yet the ones I caught where mostly off brush and alone or with 2 to 3 others
My name is Michael Lockhart I had just subscribed to your channel . I am a big crappie fisherman myself .
Welcome Michael! Thanks for subscribing!
@@mikelockhart1827 welcome buddy
Looks like you had a good trip!
Sure did! Thanks, Chris!
Every time a fish chases my bait for more than a few feet they won’t bite. Any suggestions to what I can do differently?
So many factors! But generally speaking when that happens to me, I’ll change the profile of the jig body (upsize or downsize) and/or the color. Keep the retrieve rate constant or even speed up slightly when they start to chase. Don’t slow down or stop! Keep changing profile/color/retrieve rate until you find something they’ll commit to. I’m a firm believer in using crappie nibbles as well. But if you cycle through four our five different baits and they still won’t commit, it may be time to move on to other, more active fish…
Great video. Really enjoyed it. So with all those dots on the screen how do you know which ones are crappie and which ones are actually close to your lure? How do you find them in that big lake?
Hi Roundawg!
Thanks for your comment and questions!
During the summer and early fall, many crappie can be found schooled up around structure. They start “roaming” and “suspending” in the fall, so open water becomes the key. If you look at the thumbnail of the Early Fall Transition video, you’ll see a bunch of fish clustered around the tree trunk (aka “stickup”). For the most part, those would be crappie. Crappie tend to have a rounded/football shape, and time on the water using Livescope will help you dial in what you’re seeing. (Although yesterday when I found a brush pile holding what I thought were crappie-it was very surprising when I reeled in an 11” bass.) So knowing what fish you’re seeing on the screen isn’t 100% foolproof-but again, time/experience will help you get better at it.
The lure is close to the fish if both the fish and the lure are the same “brightness” on the screen. If the lure is faint, but the fish is bright, the lure is not as close to the fish as it could be. Experimenting with the settings on your graph will help you dial in your picture. As you might have concluded, cast-accuracy is very important, especially when it’s windy or the current is flowing swiftly.
Finding the crappie in the first place can be a day-to-day challenge. Water temperature, time of day, weather/current, and other factors all play a role in where the crappie “might be”. They move around all the time, and you have to “find” them every time you go out. Just keep moving/looking, marking structure along the way so you can check those areas another time. Using your electronics (navigational view) to set colored depth ranges can be very helpful (also remember to set the lake level “offset” so your charts are calibrated). Generally speaking, I target areas from 8-21 feet of water on the Rez (in the fall, I tend to focus on 8-15 feet of water, and in the summer and winter, 12-21 feet). That’s still a bunch of water, but it also eliminates a ton. Again, time on the water will help you discover areas that hold fish vs. areas that don’t. For crappie, structure (including brush/timber, ledges, rip rap, bridge pylons, etc.) is key. And there’s plenty of structure in the Rez. Just be very careful when boating around those areas! I usually only fish flooded timber on calm water days, but there’s plenty of other totally submerged structure that isn’t hazardous to you or your boat. Explore! I usually spend at least an hour or two per trip “scouting” new areas and marking brush piles/structure.
If you’re not already watching “Today’s Bite” with Brad Chappell, I’d highly recommend tuning in Tuesday nights at 7:00 pm central time on Facebook (Crappie Connection) or UA-cam. Brad is a phenomenal guide and is an expert in crappie and the Rez. I’ve learned a ton from him.
Sorry that was so long, but hopefully it helps. Good luck out there!
@@pawpawpete wow. Thank you for all the info. I watched a few more of your vids and got started watching one of Chappell’s videos. They are very entertaining and full of information. I put Livescope on my boat back in may and have only been out a handful of times. To be honest I have yet to catch a fish using LS. I generally get frustrated and go back to my tried and true side imaging and fan casting techniques. Yesterday while on the lake I was determined to not abandon FFS. I got skunked. lol. However, I did get some follows and that brought on a great deal of hope! Anyway, thank you again for the follow up and I’m sure I’ll be in touch more. Keep up the good work on the videos. I really enjoy your channel. I have fished my entire life and I have to say sometimes I enjoy watching people fish as much as I do fishing myself.
@Roundawg - Glad you’re enjoying the videos! Keep practicing and doing what you’re doing. You’ll get Livescope dialed in the more you use it. Watching UA-cam videos about Livescope and even going on a guide trip specifically to learn to use Livescope can supercharge your experience, but there’s no substitute for time on the water…go get ‘um!
Hi. What type of live scope fish finder are you using?
Hello! It’s a Garmin Echomap Ultra 126sv.
Paw Paw what livescope do you have 32 or 34 and what type of boat do you have??
Hi Maurice! I actually have both…. The 34 is mounted to the trolling motor. That’s the one I ran the entire “Early Fall Transition” video. I use that setup in calm water or when open water sniping/deadsticking. But if I just want to let spot lock “do it’s thing” while I sit over a brush pile in heavier wind/wave situations, I switch over to the 32 which is mounted to a pole (you can see the 32 on the port side (stowed) in that same video). The boat is a 2021 Tracker 175TF. Wish I would have gotten the 195 now, but still very happy with the 175…
How do you know the current flow?
Here you go…. water.noaa.gov/gauges/jsnm6