Spring is in the air, and we all know what that means, Crappies are on just about everyone's mind.
With the warmer temps, the flats are warming up and it hasn't gone unnoticed by the fish. On a recent trip to Clinton last week with my buddy Cory Gilbert the water temp on the main lake was only 42.8 degrees, while it was up to 51.4 degrees in the back where the creek dumps in. We fished along the edges of the channel drops with 1/8 Oz jigs rigged with plastics from Z-Man fishing products and Top Secret Jigs. It seemed the bigger fish were holding tight to the bottom right where it falls off into the deeper water. We just worked our way up and down the edge picking up bites every few minutes or so. Although the backs of the flats offer great fishing early in the Season, they are very prone to getting muddied up by a good rain storm or two. Don't mind the obstacle course- These flats are full of trees, stumps, old fence rows and all other sorts of neat ways to trash a lower unit. On the other side of that though, it has plenty of great hiding spots for those bigger fish taking advantage of the warmer water. The most important thing to look for is a channel running through the flat so the fish do have some deeper water near by to run to when the cold fronts come rolling in.
Sleep in-
Early Spring still has some pretty chilly overnight temps, and the fish aren't very big fans. They will push out into the creek channel and just sit out there scattered and suspended waiting on the Sun to get it warmed up. The afternoon bite is best with the better fishing coming on sunny days with calm winds. After that water has warmed up those fish will be sitting tight to the shallow cover just waiting to smack the daylights out of the first jig that comes by. |
AuthorJoe Bragg Archives
December 2019
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