06-06-2014, 12:09 PM
[quote Springbuck] Listen to the doctor! Remember, we fall apart piece by piece, think of it as uneven tire wear from a bad alignment. Ha! At least you have motors, and I hope she gets fixed up soon.
TD, any tips for finding post spawn crappie for those of us who don't have the lake bottom mapped out and would have a hard time doing so with pedal powered tubes?
Again, I don't need coordinates, but what am I looking for as far as depth, distance from shore, structure, in the big bathtub of "structureless" Willard? I would like to catch more crappie in there.
You also said you were casting for them? Do they get that aggressive, post spawn?[/quote]
[#0000FF]I have fished Willard since the 1970s...mostly by float tube. But I have only had sonar since moving back to Utah in 2004. Before that I had my best areas kinda located but didn't know why they were good.
Now I have the advantage of some old Google maps and a lot of sonar readings at different times of year and different depths. I have a better understanding of the underwater topography. But I still have to hunt down the fish on every trip. I begin by heading out of the north marina in a general NW direction...while watching the sonar. There is a lot of variation due to some gravel bars and depressions.
The first crappie-holding hump is about 60 yards almost due west of the marina. That is where TubeBabe and I caught our first fish yesterday. After that the depth drops and the bottom stays pretty constant to the west. If you go north...doing S turns...you will find a line of ridges and humps that rise about 2 feet above the bottom. Depending on depth and time of year they can hold fish of all species.
The most productive post spawn crappie area for us yesterday was straight out off Eagle Beach. There are several humps and bumps out there and almost any that were in 6-8 feet of water...with deeper water close by...held fish. But there were also some bigger crappies up to 11 feet deep in between. It takes good sonar and a lot of casting.
Yes, casting. I am more accustomed to finding the crappies and then making finesse vertical presentations. That works well under a tube...with a lot of fish coming from right under my fins only a few feet down. But yesterday I was making long searching casts. Often I would flip the bail and raise the rod to find weight...or get a good strike as I began the retrieve. They weren't bashful at all.
In case you missed it when I posted it last week, here is the old Google map showing low water Willard. The spots marked "exposed gravel & rocks" out off Eagle Beach are what you are looking for.
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TD, any tips for finding post spawn crappie for those of us who don't have the lake bottom mapped out and would have a hard time doing so with pedal powered tubes?
Again, I don't need coordinates, but what am I looking for as far as depth, distance from shore, structure, in the big bathtub of "structureless" Willard? I would like to catch more crappie in there.
You also said you were casting for them? Do they get that aggressive, post spawn?[/quote]
[#0000FF]I have fished Willard since the 1970s...mostly by float tube. But I have only had sonar since moving back to Utah in 2004. Before that I had my best areas kinda located but didn't know why they were good.
Now I have the advantage of some old Google maps and a lot of sonar readings at different times of year and different depths. I have a better understanding of the underwater topography. But I still have to hunt down the fish on every trip. I begin by heading out of the north marina in a general NW direction...while watching the sonar. There is a lot of variation due to some gravel bars and depressions.
The first crappie-holding hump is about 60 yards almost due west of the marina. That is where TubeBabe and I caught our first fish yesterday. After that the depth drops and the bottom stays pretty constant to the west. If you go north...doing S turns...you will find a line of ridges and humps that rise about 2 feet above the bottom. Depending on depth and time of year they can hold fish of all species.
The most productive post spawn crappie area for us yesterday was straight out off Eagle Beach. There are several humps and bumps out there and almost any that were in 6-8 feet of water...with deeper water close by...held fish. But there were also some bigger crappies up to 11 feet deep in between. It takes good sonar and a lot of casting.
Yes, casting. I am more accustomed to finding the crappies and then making finesse vertical presentations. That works well under a tube...with a lot of fish coming from right under my fins only a few feet down. But yesterday I was making long searching casts. Often I would flip the bail and raise the rod to find weight...or get a good strike as I began the retrieve. They weren't bashful at all.
In case you missed it when I posted it last week, here is the old Google map showing low water Willard. The spots marked "exposed gravel & rocks" out off Eagle Beach are what you are looking for.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]