Echo was dead

[RockyRaab2]

Beautiful morning out there today: calm and 55 degree air, 66 degree water. Only one other boat prepping in the lot when I launched, and I was first out. Tried four different lures, all guaranteed to catch smallmouth. Only the Ned rig succeeded, and it only caught dinks. Had a lot of rattle-rattle bites that had to be perch, but no decent smallies at all. Talked to one pair of trout trollers who were quitting when I did, and they managed only one. 

Still lots of waterlogged limbs on the bottom. Snag city everywhere. The good news is if you just pull slow and don't yank, you can usually get the snag to the surface. The lake is down about 12 feet from full and there's plenty of ramp and docks. Passed over one bit of brush that showed a dozen or so fish right around it - looked a lot like crappie would look - if there are crappie in Echo. 

I don't know where the smallies went. If they went deep already I didn't look at anything below 30 feet because I don't like to winch them up from that deep.

[TubeDude]

At least you didn't lose another rod...or didn't admit it if you did.

Earlier in the year the walleye guys were doing well up toward the inlet end of the lake.  And they were getting some smallies in with the walleyes...and in water less than 20 feet deep.  Since the water level and temperature are both dropping it is the biblical system..."Seek and ye shall find"...maybe.

[Bubman1]

I struggle at echo this time of year for some reason even fishing deep. I typically do better in the afternoons for bigger fish but not very many. Just one of those things I guess.

[BRL1]

Sounds like a better day than sitting in a waiting room while my wife had another foot surgery.

As for the Crappie in Echo, I have heard of a few being caught over the years.  My brother in law claims he and his dad used to catch quite a few over below the semi pull off on the southwest side.

From the DWR fishing report page the description for Echo says possible catch of Black Crappie.

[RockyRaab2]

I'm convinced. If ever there was a "crappie infested brushpile" it was the one I saw. On down-scan, it looked like a decorated Christmas tree. But it's also the only one I've ever seen there.

[Cowboypirate]

We have a youtube video of cookie catching a really nice crappie out of echo.