Pineview 1/12 Action

[TubeDude]

The bite was really only good well after dark. We got there at 4 and fished until 10. People who leave before it gets dark miss the good bite! I probably should have included that in my thread...

  That was how it was the night you went, and it's a good bet, but sometimes it's different.  I wish I knew what that depends on, though. 

I haven't had any first hand experience this year, but in past years the crappies have been feeding on huge thick schools of zooplankton after they rise up out of the mud after dark.  With good electronics you could watch the screen change as it went from a defined line bare bottom...to a gradually thickening and rising cloud coming up into a few feet above the bottom.  That was when the crappies moved in...at the same level of the bitty bites.  All they had to do was swim through the mass with their mouths open and fill their tummies.  They prefer small minnows and other larger prey items, but will gladly settle for green soup if that is all that's on the menu.

This accounts for the "light bite"...or nonexistent bite even though you see lots of fish on the screen.  If they are only feeding on the small stuff they ain't gonna smack a jigging spoon.  Or...if they are already stuffed with the green soup they got no room for anything else.

There are several areas around Pineview where the mud bottom seems to produce a lot of green soup after dark.  Some longtime regulars have their spots where they can usually rely on the nightly drama to play out.  And they have their assortment of little glow goodies to try to attract attention.  When it works, it works very well.  At other times...it's just fishing.