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The second reason for targeting fish at the shallow end of the deep water spectrum is that these are the fish most likely to be feeding. A good rule of thumb is that the shallower they are, the more likely they are to be feeding. I always start by working the shallowest fish first, moving deeper as needed.
Lindy rigging with live bait produced all of the Walleyes that we caught on both lakes. Large Creek Chubs and Redtails accounted for a few fish, Leeches accounted for a few more, but night crawlers accounted for the lion’s share of our Walleyes. Pitching jig and minnow combos into the weeds fooled some Northern Pike and slip-floating leeches in the cabbage patches tricked some nice Bass.
I believe that it was our effort to stay out of the “goo” that made the night crawlers better than the rest of the baits. By injecting them with a bubble of air using the worm blower, we were able to make these baits run clean longer than we could with the others.
I could be mistaken, but I think that this mossy stuff is more prevalent this year than it has been in recent times and as usual, I always wind up with more questions than answers. So here’s one that have for you today; “can anybody tell me what is causing the extra heavy buildup of slippery, green, moss-like substance that is clinging to every weed and rock? What is it called and where does it come from?”
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Crappies are interesting critters, they move around a lot. They travel in and out of shallow water feeding areas and when it comes to catching them, timing is probably 10 times more important than skill. In fact, when fish are present and when they’re biting, skill is the last thing you need, just tie on a jig and minnow, clip on a bobber and throw out it into the weeds; the fish do the rest.
I may not have the timing down perfectly, but I do think that I’m beginning to understand more about how certain key elements must converge before you have the makings of a good, summertime Crappie spot.
It wasn’t until I joined the DNR Panfish Workgroup last year that I learned that these fish move around a lot more than I ever realized before. It’s their nomadic behavior that sometimes makes summertime Crappie fishing a hit or miss proposition. It also helps to explain why anglers can be catching Crappies hand over fist for 45 minutes, only to watch the feeding frenzy stop dead in its tracks.
For Crappie anglers, the trick is to figure out one place where the fish are gonna show up for sure and then be there at the right time.
In the Grand Rapids area, early summer, post spawn Crappies love Cabbage Weeds. But we know that they also love deep water and absolutely know that they love food!
During the fall, Crappies are easy to find and catch in deep water, they are tightly schooled, stacked up and very cooperative. But I believe that during summer, they don’t feed in deep water, I think they use the deep water as a sanctuary and migrate into the weeds when it’s time to put on the feed bag.
If you think about it, the theory makes lots of sense because during summer, most of the food is located in the weeds. The heavy cover provides sanctuary for everything that swims and they produce the Oxygen that all fish need to survive. But if the Crappies stay in the weeds, they become vulnerable especially in Pike infested water. I think that it’s in the Crappies nature to get into the weeds, feed until they’re full and then get the heck out of there before they become the next meal.
Later, I’ll explain why the feeding pattern changes during the fall, but for now, I’m up against the clock and want to give you this important clue. Every good Crappie spot that I know has 3 key ingredients; A large weed flat, an inside corner and a deep water hole. Wherever the 3 elements converge is usually the travel route that the Crappies use to move between feeding and resting areas.
Tomorrow, I’ll get a map or two that illustrate this type of location, but for now, I have to get to work. Do me a favor and check back tomorrow for the rest of this report.
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Meanwhile, just a few miles down the road ...
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Rivers and streams are opening up fast and outside my back door, waterfowl are whistling overhead; spring appears to have sprung. 
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I happened to be using my old standby, a Frostee Jigging Spoon tipped with waxworms. That produced a 50/50 mix of Sunfish and Crappies. Some of the others were using spoons tipped with minnows and some were using artificial baits, once the fish began moving, they all produced action.
I guess that the bluebird sky probably worked against our earlier exploration and I'm wondering what would have happened if we waited until sunset. At this point, it doesn't matter because I had a delightful day. I spent time with a wonderful young man, under a gorgeous blue sky; we caught some fish and who could ever ask to be that lucky.
I couldn't think of a better way to do a soft close on the hard water fishing season.
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 When Panfish are moving and active, use aggressive baits that have a lot of attracting power. I used a small Perch Talker, Pink/Glow color and tipped the treble hook with several waxworms. |
And Do You Know that you can even post your own helpful hints to my fishing reports page on facebook? YES! You Can! You don't have to tell us your secrets, just go ahead and brag a little when you get a whopper! >>> Click Here >>> Fishing Reports Minnesota . |
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