09-09-2003, 05:08 PM
[cool]There have been a lot more crappies and BIG bluegills coming out of Utah Lake the last couple of years. Inside the harbors is the best place for them, when there is enough water to float docks and provide cover. Some of the larger crappies I have heard about have been from AFBH, and there have been some decent ones in the Jordan, down below the pumps, if you can find a quiet pocket with some depth.
You fish crappies differently than white bass. They tend to suspend above the bottom and around structure (rocks and sticks...and under docks). They don't like a lot of motion to the lures. Suspending a small jig below a bobber is sometimes the best way to get them to bite. Either that or just drop it a couple of feet below the surface and wiggle and jiggle the rod once in awhile. They do not hit hard, like whites. Often there is just a little bit of pressure on the line...or a slight "tick" as the fish swims up and sucks it in.
That's why a lot of crappie specialists use small bobbers that are sensitive to the slightest movement. You watch them closely and if they move even a half inch sideways, without going under, lift to see if you have a customer. There are times when I see guys missing a lot of takers just because they do not recognize the subtle movements on their bobbers.
Another thing about crappies is that they hit really small stuff. During the spring fling you can get them on big twisters and even crank baits. But, once that is over, you will always do better with TINY jigs and small baits. In deeper waters, like Pineview, the crappies will often suspend twenty or thirty feet deep during the summer and you have to have a good sonar to find them. Then you need to send down a vertical presentation of a small jig...sometimes as small as 1/64 oz...and barely move it. I have caught slab crappies over 3 pounds on jigs no bigger than a size 14 fly.
By the way Cat Dude, shoot me a PM with your mailing address and we will see if I can get the Pony Express to deliver a few trinkets to ya...for "field testing" in the water. If things get any drier, you WILL be fishing in the fields.
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You fish crappies differently than white bass. They tend to suspend above the bottom and around structure (rocks and sticks...and under docks). They don't like a lot of motion to the lures. Suspending a small jig below a bobber is sometimes the best way to get them to bite. Either that or just drop it a couple of feet below the surface and wiggle and jiggle the rod once in awhile. They do not hit hard, like whites. Often there is just a little bit of pressure on the line...or a slight "tick" as the fish swims up and sucks it in.
That's why a lot of crappie specialists use small bobbers that are sensitive to the slightest movement. You watch them closely and if they move even a half inch sideways, without going under, lift to see if you have a customer. There are times when I see guys missing a lot of takers just because they do not recognize the subtle movements on their bobbers.
Another thing about crappies is that they hit really small stuff. During the spring fling you can get them on big twisters and even crank baits. But, once that is over, you will always do better with TINY jigs and small baits. In deeper waters, like Pineview, the crappies will often suspend twenty or thirty feet deep during the summer and you have to have a good sonar to find them. Then you need to send down a vertical presentation of a small jig...sometimes as small as 1/64 oz...and barely move it. I have caught slab crappies over 3 pounds on jigs no bigger than a size 14 fly.
By the way Cat Dude, shoot me a PM with your mailing address and we will see if I can get the Pony Express to deliver a few trinkets to ya...for "field testing" in the water. If things get any drier, you WILL be fishing in the fields.
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