East Canyon Crappie help, please?

[Springbuck1]

Despite my best efforts, I'm being forced to be a good sport and go on a trout-fishing expedition with a couple of buddies still too young to properly appreciate panfishing.    

 They have elected East Canyon as the destination, and, hoping to salvage the day out as best I can , I'm wondering if anyone can provide a little guidance on hitting the crappie up there? 

 Anybody know how?  Is it even worth a try?  Are they big enough bother, having only been stocked 5 years ago?   My crappie experience in Utah has been limited to Willard (where I'm totally hit or miss), Pineview, and Utah Lake, and it seems to me that East Canyon is a quite different lake from any of those.  

 Where do I look?  Shallow or deep?  Likely to be suspended over deep water?  I finally have a functional sonar, but it isn't much.  What kind of structure am I looking for?  

Failing crappie, who knows how to catch SMB through the ice?  I'm hoping not to have to even TOUCH a slimer..................

[Jig-fisher]

I've fished East Canyon for many years and have never caught a crappie.  Although I have never targeted them either.  I have only spoken to one person personally that has caught some.  That was several years ago and it was in the spring.  The size he described was very nice, but no pictures to verify.  There just isn't a big population of crappie there.  Maybe someone has caught SMB through the ice, but those have eluded me as well.  I bet they are very deep, deeper than I usually fish up there.

[Springbuck1]

I've fished East Canyon for many years and have never caught a crappie.  Although I have never targeted them either.  I have only spoken to one person personally that has caught some.  That was several years ago and it was in the spring.  The size he described was very nice, but no pictures to verify.  There just isn't a big population of crappie there.  Maybe someone has caught SMB through the ice, but those have eluded me as well.  I bet they are very deep, deeper than I usually fish up there.

That's kind of what I was afraid of.  Darn.

[wiperhunter2]

As I'm sure you are aware, there is also wipers in there but as mentions, all those warm water fish are extremely hard to catch in the Winter and I've never been able to catch them there in the Summer either.

[Springbuck1]

As I'm sure you are aware, there is also wipers in there but as mentions, all those warm water fish are extremely hard to catch in the Winter and I've never been able to catch them there in the Summer either.

I forgot about wipers, but that gives me one more idea to try.  

Yeah, I've gotten a few SMB, mostly not that big, but never even tried for anything else.   East Canyon was one of the first lakes I ever ice-fished. 

Sounds like a "secret spot" and anybody that CAN catch crappie there probably won't be talking.

[wiperhunter2]

As I'm sure you are aware, there is also wipers in there but as mentions, all those warm water fish are extremely hard to catch in the Winter and I've never been able to catch them there in the Summer either.

I forgot about wipers, but that gives me one more idea to try.  

Yeah, I've gotten a few SMB, mostly not that big, but never even tried for anything else.   East Canyon was one of the first lakes I ever ice-fished. 

Sounds like a "secret spot" and anybody that CAN catch crappie there probably won't be talking.

I think you are right about the crappie, one guy posted about them years ago but we never heard from him again.

[Therapist]

Someone posted pics of a dozen or so nice crappie, thru the ice, last year, from East Canyon. They SUSPEND during the winter, so look for marks on your graph up off the bottom. They can be anywhere in the water column, so watch for them. Use small jigs, tipped with spikes, wax worms, or half a crappie nibble. A bobber is very helpful, to keep your bait suspended, and to help detect strikes. Often times the bobber will just move sideways in the hole, so be aware. Just because no one catches them, does not mean they are not there. Even during open water, crappie are an enigma to most Utah anglers! Give it a try, you might be surprised, pleasantly !!!

[Springbuck1]

Someone posted pics of a dozen or so nice crappie, thru the ice, last year, from East Canyon.  They SUSPEND during the winter, so look for marks on your graph up off the bottom.  They can be anywhere in the water column, so watch for them.  Use small jigs, tipped with spikes, wax worms, or half a crappie nibble.  A bobber is very helpful, to keep your bait suspended, and to help detect strikes.  Often times the  bobber will just move sideways in the hole, so be aware.  Just because no one catches them, does not mean they are not there.  Even during open water,  crappie are an enigma to most Utah anglers!  Give it a try, you might be surprised, pleasantly !!!

Appreciate the tips.  I've got some experience with crappie generally, and that was about the plan, although I might have used a whole crappie nibble..... I ALWAYS have either spring-bobbers or slip-bobbers on, and I know what negative bites look like.  I'm less worried about the techniques of catching them than I am about finding them.  You just never have time to drill holes all over the lake, so I guess I'll start on generic stuff like looking for suspended fish in clusters over deep points or whatever. 

As long as they aren't secretly in three feet of water, ONLY where the willows stick through the ice, or ONLY in the deepest part of the creek channel near the dam which I don't have a GPS mark for.

---

Someone posted pics of a dozen or so nice crappie, thru the ice, last year, from East Canyon.  They SUSPEND during the winter, so look for marks on your graph up off the bottom.  They can be anywhere in the water column, so watch for them.  Use small jigs, tipped with spikes, wax worms, or half a crappie nibble.  A bobber is very helpful, to keep your bait suspended, and to help detect strikes.  Often times the  bobber will just move sideways in the hole, so be aware.  Just because no one catches them, does not mean they are not there.  Even during open water,  crappie are an enigma to most Utah anglers!  Give it a try, you might be surprised, pleasantly !!!

Appreciate the tips.  I've got some experience with crappie generally, and that was about the plan, although I might have used a whole crappie nibble..... I ALWAYS have either spring-bobbers or slip-bobbers on, and I know what negative bites look like.  I'm less worried about the techniques of catching them than I am about finding them.  You just never have time to drill holes all over the lake, so I guess I'll start on generic stuff like looking for suspended fish in clusters over deep points or whatever. 

As long as they aren't secretly in three feet of water, ONLY where the willows stick through the ice, or ONLY in the deepest part of the creek channel near the dam which I don't have a GPS mark for.

[Freakyfisherman]

Despite my best efforts, I'm being forced to be a good sport and go on a trout-fishing expedition with a couple of buddies still too young to properly appreciate panfishing.    

 They have elected East Canyon as the destination, and, hoping to salvage the day out as best I can , I'm wondering if anyone can provide a little guidance on hitting the crappie up there? 

 Anybody know how?  Is it even worth a try?  Are they big enough bother, having only been stocked 5 years ago?   My crappie experience in Utah has been limited to Willard (where I'm totally hit or miss), Pineview, and Utah Lake, and it seems to me that East Canyon is a quite different lake from any of those.  

 Where do I look?  Shallow or deep?  Likely to be suspended over deep water?  I finally have a functional sonar, but it isn't much.  What kind of structure am I looking for?  

Failing crappie, who knows how to catch SMB through the ice?  I'm hoping not to have to even TOUCH a slimer..................

Although I haven't scored crappie through the ice on East canyon, I used to catch them from the bank near submerged brush when the lakes stayed filled up enough for that to happen. That was back in the 1990s. I have heard them caught near the dam through the ice. Pre dawn to just after sunrise will probably your best time, or from dusk to just after sunset. I haven't tried to get one through the ice there, but I'm thinking 30 ft of water near a drop off would be a good place to start and as mentioned suspended. Good luck
Gabe

[Springbuck1]

Good luck
Gabe

  Thanks Gabe!