Fishing Forum

Arrived at Browning Point at a little before 5 am this morning to a cold 5 degrees. Typical picky crappie and even the perch were picky. Two crappie and about 10 perch. Slow, slow slow. I don't know if it is just that that area has been hammered, or if the fish just aren't interested all my different offerings. JArner met up with me this morning but left early after catching 2 crappie. Didn't miss much. Thanks for donating the 2 others to my small pile.

(02-10-2024, 10:01 PM)Jig-fisher Wrote: [ -> ]Arrived at Browning Point at a little before 5 am this morning to a cold 5 degrees. Typical picky crappie and even the perch were picky. Two crappie and about 10 perch. Slow, slow slow. I don't know if it is just that that area has been hammered, or if the fish just aren't interested all my different offerings. JArner met up with me this morning but left early after catching 2 crappie. Didn't miss much. Thanks for donating the 2 others to my small pile.

Did you have sonar?  Maybe move around some.

Never fish without it. That's the frustrating part. You can see the crappie, put your offering right at their level, and they just ignore it. Perch usually are more aggressive, and a few were. Talked to several groups on the way out, same story.

Crappie just seem to be off more than on this year. That’s what I am seeing anyway…

If you don't pay the $20 launch fee, they don't throw the "fish biting" switch.

Too bad the crappie bite was so poor but good the perch bite was decent. How long did you stay and fish?

(02-11-2024, 02:40 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote: [ -> ]Too bad the crappie bite was so poor but good the perch bite was decent. How long did you stay and fish?

I left at 10:45 am. When I went 2 weeks ago it was slow, but at least I scratched out a half a limit of crappie. What worked then didn't work yesterday. I tried lots of different lures, baits, sizes and colors. From teeny glow to larger drop chain style, tubes and tungsten, and some others that i like. Waxies, spikes, perch eyes and chub for tipping.

BUT, I would rather be out fishing, even if it is slow, than doing almost anything else.

(02-11-2024, 03:56 PM)Jig-fisher Wrote: [ -> ]

(02-11-2024, 02:40 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote: [ -> ]Too bad the crappie bite was so poor but good the perch bite was decent. How long did you stay and fish?

I left at 10:45 am. When I went 2 weeks ago it was slow, but at least I scratched out a half a limit of crappie. What worked then didn't work yesterday. I tried lots of different lures, baits, sizes and colors. From teeny glow to larger drop chain style, tubes and tungsten, and some others that i like. Waxies, spikes, perch eyes and chub for tipping.

BUT, I would rather be out fishing, even if it is slow, than doing almost anything else.

I hear on you about being out fishing, even if it's slow, than not going at all. Have you ever tried one of the lights that you put down the hole to draw the fish in? Not sure if it would make a difference or not, when they are not biting.

Just wondering...has anybody done a "CSI" post-catch exam on their fish...to see what they have been eating and how much?  As we have observed with other species in other waters...like Walleyes in Willard...when the fish are full of easily obtained food they are less likely to bite whatever anglers are showing them.  It's baby shad in Willard but the crappies in Pineview are prone to slurping vast quantities of zooplankton when that is all that's available. 

I have a theory that with all the new water and nutrients in the lake this year that there is probably a bumper crop of the invertebrates for them to eat.  I know in the past...night fishing...it was possible to see the clouds of the bitty bite critters coming up out of the mud after dark and then seeing the crappies move in on them...and to start catching the crappies while they were feeding. But if they are feeding effectively throughout the day and are already full up when anglers show up then they will not be as active.

As we know, there is no big population of small minnows for the fish in Pineview, so the predators have to make a living on what is available.  There are young of the year perch and crappies for a few months, but during the winter they are back to living on "soup".  

(02-11-2024, 08:59 PM)TubeDude Wrote: [ -> ]Just wondering...has anybody done a "CSI" post-catch exam on their fish...to see what they have been eating and how much?  As we have observed with other species in other waters...like Walleyes in Willard...when the fish are full of easily obtained food they are less likely to bite whatever anglers are showing them.  It's baby shad in Willard but the crappies in Pineview are prone to slurping vast quantities of zooplankton when that is all that's available. 

I have a theory that with all the new water and nutrients in the lake this year that there is probably a bumper crop of the invertebrates for them to eat.  I know in the past...night fishing...it was possible to see the clouds of the bitty bite critters coming up out of the mud after dark and then seeing the crappies move in on them...and to start catching the crappies while they were feeding. But if they are feeding effectively throughout the day and are already full up when anglers show up then they will not be as active.

As we know, there is no big population of small minnows for the fish in Pineview, so the predators have to make a living on what is available.  There are young of the year perch and crappies for a few months, but during the winter they are back to living on "soup".  

I have only went out once on Pineview this year at Browning point. I managed two crappie about 10 inchers. Pat I think your knowledge may be right on. A few years back I managed to find a nice mess of perch at Pineview. They were spitting up baby crappie about two inches long or so. I had small plastics that were relatively the same size so I presented them and did really well. 
Gabe

I just finished fileting yesterday's catch. Not much in the crappie at all. Could be zooplankton, but nothing much was coming out of them. They did have egg sacs, but not like the perch where they are bloated with them.

The perch were indeed bloated with their egg sacs. But I had several spit out baby fish about 1.5 to 2 inches long. They were too far digested to make an ID on them. I tried jigs about that size, but they were uncharacteristicly still picky. It may have been more about the weather pattern. Post cold front and rapidly dropping temps, clear and cold where it was stormy most of the week probably put them on a cool mood.

(02-11-2024, 10:59 PM)Jig-fisher Wrote: [ -> ]I just finished fileting yesterday's catch. Not much in the crappie at all. Could be zooplankton, but nothing much was coming out of them. They did have egg sacs, but not like the perch where they are bloated with them.

The perch were indeed bloated with their egg sacs. But I had several spit out baby fish about 1.5 to 2 inches long. They were too far digested to make an ID on them. I tried jigs about that size, but they were uncharacteristicly still picky. It may have been more about the weather pattern. Post cold front and rapidly dropping temps, clear and cold where it was stormy most of the week probably put them on a cool mood.

The small edibles were probably young of the year perch.  Most of the crappie and perch schools follow the baby perch when they go deep in the winter...for the zooplankton.

We fisherfolk types are quick to blame the weather for fish attitudes, but it is true.  They are affected by rapid ups and downs in the barometer.  That's why I usually try to plan my trips for at least two or three days after a front has passed through.  But with our recent cycles of weather there is seldom much time between weather anomalies.

Still...better to have fished and missed than never to have fished at all.

Hey Paul, looks like I found your report, thanks for the update... Sorry it was a rough outing, how did the ice seem? Thanks Jeff

(02-12-2024, 03:48 PM)SkunkedAgain Wrote: [ -> ]Hey Paul, looks like I found your report, thanks for the update... Sorry it was a rough outing, how did the ice seem?  Thanks Jeff

Ice was still holding. 6 or so inches of frozen snow/slush and another 4 or so of clear ice beneath..

Sounds good, maybe this cold will buy another week or so for Pineview... Thanks for the info... Jeff