01-13-2019, 01:25 PM
[#0000FF]Crappies are a species that is well known around the country for feeding at night. But their habits on any given water are influenced by available food resources.
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[#0000FF]In Pineview, crappies feed on small invertebrates like insect larvae, zooplankton, daphnia, etc. And a lot of times they form clouds just off the bottom after dark. You can see clouds of them on sonar over mud flats at times. And when the crappies come in to feed on them they will hit much better than when they are suspended and neutral or negative.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Crappies also feed on young-of-the-year perch and crappies (cannibals)...when they get large enough. And the little tykes tend to go deep and seek out the aforementioned invertebrates...near the bottom in deeper water. Larger crappies and perch can be caught around the dense schools of these smaller fish. However, perch DO usually shut down after dark, whereas crappies may feed both during the daytime and after dark too. But if they feed well at dusk they may not be active later.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Some of the dense schools you see on sonar are often small fish...3-5 inch yearlings. They will often nibble at your baited jigs but are tough to hook. But when they show up on sonar it gets your juices flowing...expecting a bananner fishing session.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Ya cain't ketch 'em where they ain't. There are usually active fish SOMEWHERE on the lake. If you stay in one place...with nothing on sonar...or if the fish below you are not active...you need to move around until you find the munchers. And it pays to keep changing up your jigs and your baits.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Other waters? Same deal. If the food is there and conditions are right you can catch crappies after dark. In the olden days on Willard, when there were a lot of crappies, I caught crappie under the lights in the harbor at night. And when water clarity was good we would put a couple of bright Coleman lanterns on the bow of a boat and just drift out off the north marina and catch tons of crappies.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Utah Lake. I know a few regulars who catch crappies at night both in open water and under the ice. They have worked out the best places and tactics over the years...but there are times for them too when the fish do not show up or have lockjaw.
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[#0000FF]In Pineview, crappies feed on small invertebrates like insect larvae, zooplankton, daphnia, etc. And a lot of times they form clouds just off the bottom after dark. You can see clouds of them on sonar over mud flats at times. And when the crappies come in to feed on them they will hit much better than when they are suspended and neutral or negative.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Crappies also feed on young-of-the-year perch and crappies (cannibals)...when they get large enough. And the little tykes tend to go deep and seek out the aforementioned invertebrates...near the bottom in deeper water. Larger crappies and perch can be caught around the dense schools of these smaller fish. However, perch DO usually shut down after dark, whereas crappies may feed both during the daytime and after dark too. But if they feed well at dusk they may not be active later.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Some of the dense schools you see on sonar are often small fish...3-5 inch yearlings. They will often nibble at your baited jigs but are tough to hook. But when they show up on sonar it gets your juices flowing...expecting a bananner fishing session.[/#0000FF]
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[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]Ya cain't ketch 'em where they ain't. There are usually active fish SOMEWHERE on the lake. If you stay in one place...with nothing on sonar...or if the fish below you are not active...you need to move around until you find the munchers. And it pays to keep changing up your jigs and your baits.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Other waters? Same deal. If the food is there and conditions are right you can catch crappies after dark. In the olden days on Willard, when there were a lot of crappies, I caught crappie under the lights in the harbor at night. And when water clarity was good we would put a couple of bright Coleman lanterns on the bow of a boat and just drift out off the north marina and catch tons of crappies.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Utah Lake. I know a few regulars who catch crappies at night both in open water and under the ice. They have worked out the best places and tactics over the years...but there are times for them too when the fish do not show up or have lockjaw.
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