At what temp. do the crappies tend to turn on (or off for that matter)? I have been a little miffed, as I thought that at about 55 degrees they should start to bite like wildfire, but where I have been going it has been that and warmer yet(up to 63), but nothing happening. Is there a difference between clear lakes and dark lakes for temp driven bite????
Crappies are a cold blooded creature so the level of their activity will always be related to water temps. I caught crappies on a lake if the Fifty Lakes area 2 weekends ago. Well actually it was on a creek that beavers have dammed. We go all the way to the dam (1/4 to 1/2 mile) and anchor in 3 to 4 feet of water. Because of the dam the settlements settle out of the water and have created a small shallow ‘black’ silt bottom. Because of the silt bottom it absorbs the suns energy faster than say a rock or sand bottom. This lake is also tannin stained so visability is 3 feet at the max. The lake is also smaller and shallower than the lake my parents are on, so we tend to fish this lake on the opener because the stained water seems to me to hold more of the suns energy. I’ve found temperature differences as much as 6 or 7 degrees between this lake and the one my parents are on (which has had secchi disk readings of as much as 17′). The lake my parents are on is also deeper hence it will take longer for this lake to warm up. So I’ll generally go after crappies on the lake my parents are on a week after the opener. My advice I guess I’m trying to say is look for shallow black bottomed bays as far removed off the main lake as possible. Because this water will warm up first. Hence making the crappies more active. Also since they are in shallower water they tend to spook easier so sometimes it’s neccessary to move into these areas with stealth.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
