Trying to see if any of you have thoughts on why the crappie bite stops/slows drastically when we still had good ice at Pineview....My last trip - unsuccessful - was Feb. 27 P.M. trip....and my last successful trip (even on a Full Moon!) was Feb. 10...from Browning Pt. ..... Are they moving to a spawning area that time of year? Do the daphnia that they feed on die or just disappear? Does it happen about this time every year? I know some of you talked about them switching more to a "Morning to Noon" bite, instead of the hot Dec., Jan., and early Feb. "Evening" bite....but that didn't seem to last very long....Any thoughts??
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Does anybody ever consider that when the fish stop biting --- that maybe , just maybe they have all been caught . LOL
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This is the purest of wild-ass guesses, but here goes: Pineview is a fairly sterile lake as far as vegetation is concerned. So at the end of a long winter, especially one with a lot of snow over the ice, there's very little growing down there to produce oxygen.
The primary sources of oxygenated water are the river inflows. So maybe, just maybe, the fish are forced to migrate towards those sources when the main lake body gets oxygen depleted.
They stop biting where you've been finding them because they aren't there any longer.
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I think that makes sense... and also maybe why the 'gils at Mantua go a little shallower at real late ice? ... Maybe more food source or oxygen closer to shore there also? ..... back to Pineview .... last year Tube was talking about the nitely daphnia feeding, and when that seemed to end, around early to mid Feb, a lot of guys said they had a pretty good early to mid day bite on the crappie....that's why I was wondering if those water fleas move, or die off, and maybe the remaining crappie have some other day food source for awhile....before heading to more oxygenated water??
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[#0000FF]I think the fish are just sensitive to changes. This is a transition period. Water levels changing. Water chemistry changing. Food resources changing locations and habits.
You can bet there are still plenty of crappies in Pineview. But you cain't ketch 'em where they ain't. If they go somewhere else to eat...or just shut down where they are at...you gotta come back another day or keep trying different places until you find active fish.
If they are bringing in a lot of new snowmelt water from the tributaries, that is likely to be more oxygenated...and might have some food tidbits. On the other hand, if they are releasing water from the bottom of the dam, that creates an outflow current that sometimes draws in the fish.
Unlike perch, crappie do not slow down their feeding as the spawn approaches. They eat before during and after the spawn. So that ain't an excuse.
Without having a whole bunch of cameras watching different areas and different depths of the lake you are pretty much limited to guess work. And you can guess anything you want...as long as nobody else can prove you wrong.
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I know you are searching for the Crappie, but if you really want to get on Pineview early then the Bullhead fishing in late March/early Apr there is very good. The mudders seem to wake in the spring there pretty early in the year and catching a stringer full can be fast fishing with the old reliable earthworm. The bullhead there average 11-14 in and it beats a day on the couch.
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[#0000FF]You probably meant to reply to the original poster, but I totally agree with your suggestion. Bullheads are about the first species to wake up in many waters, including Pineview. And if you can find a shallow south facing bay with sun-warmed waters you will usually find some winter-weary bullheads waiting for whatever you wanna serve them.
Speaking of serving. I love bullheads. Most people think they are just ugly pests. They ain't purty but they are good on the table. Those from Pineview are usually excellent...good white flesh with no bad tastes.
Here's a little sumpin' sumpin' I put together on Bullhead Prep.
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TD is absolutely correct about the "forkability" of Pineview bullheads, especially Spring bullies caught before the water starts to simmer.
Last year, I could hardly keep them off a small white spinnerbait with a curly-tail Gulp minnow slow-rolled just north of the Port Ramp. All 12"+ and I could've filled my kayak with 'em.
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