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02-23-2022, 03:57 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-23-2022, 04:00 PM by MWScott72.)
Went back for more crappie vittels Monday evening and the pattern of the past month finally changed a little. Went back to the same spot that has been producing, but instead of instant action at 6:15, there was almost nothing until 7:30. After that, fish started to come thru, but not in the larger schools I had been marking on previous visits. The bite was also even lighter...if that is actually possible. Often times, they would peck at it once, maybe twice, and that was it. My supposition is that the front that passed through earlier in the day may have turned the crappie off somewhat. Perhaps the constant pressure has something to do with it too. Maybe peak "crappie time under the ice" is waning? I don't know, but I suspect it's a little of all three and hopefully more of the first than the other two.
Between four of us 37 crappie and 3 gills were brought to the surface. Haven't seen gills before under the ice in the Narrows. Catch rates were 19, 11, 6, and 4. Those with lower catch rates had a much more difficult time "hooking up" when bit, although it was much slower for "4" than the rest of us. Not sure why - we were all within 10 feet of each other using similar setups. Same jig setups as I've mentioned before, although wax worms caught a few of the fish this time. Nibbles were still king though. We fished from 6:15 - 9pm.
Good luck to everyone on the tail end of the season. Clear ice is still 12-14"" minimum, but cloudy ice is starting to form on the upper layers of the ice sheet. I bet there is still at least 1.5-2 weeks of safe fishing up there, but if it gets really warm, that could change quickly. Be careful!
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(02-23-2022, 03:57 PM)MWScott72 Wrote: Went back for more crappie vittels Monday evening and the pattern of the past month finally changed a little. Went back to the same spot that has been producing, but instead of instant action at 6:15, there was almost nothing until 7:30. After that, fish started to come thru, but not in the larger schools I had been marking on previous visits. The bite was also even lighter...if that is actually possible. Often times, they would peck at it once, maybe twice, and that was it. My supposition is that the front that passed through earlier in the day may have turned the crappie off somewhat. Perhaps the constant pressure has something to do with it too. Maybe peak "crappie time under the ice" is waning? I don't know, but I suspect it's a little of all three and hopefully more of the first than the other two.
Between four of us 37 crappie and 3 gills were brought to the surface. Haven't seen gills before under the ice in the Narrows. Catch rates were 19, 11, 6, and 4. Those with lower catch rates had a much more difficult time "hooking up" when bit, although it was much slower for "4" than the rest of us. Not sure why - we were all within 10 feet of each other using similar setups. Same jig setups as I've mentioned before, although wax worms caught a few of the fish this time. Nibbles were still king though. We fished from 6:15 - 9pm.
Good luck to everyone on the tail end of the season. Clear ice is still 12-14"" minimum, but cloudy ice is starting to form on the upper layers of the ice sheet. I bet there is still at least 1.5-2 weeks of safe fishing up there, but if it gets really warm, that could change quickly. Be careful!
40 between 4 of you isn't too bad, especially when you were there less than 3 hours. Are you guys fishing in a shelter or out in the open? What kind of lights are you using?
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A friend of mine wants to head out there Friday evening for some Crappie. Hopefully we will find a few willing to bite our offerings. Debating on hitting the narrows or somewhere closer to Browning point.
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Going out there tonight. I’ll post a report. Fished there last Thursday and had a ball… approx 30 fish for me plus what the others caught, in 2 1/2 hrs. Didn’t matter what jig or spoon as long as it glowed. Spikes and waxies worked well.
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(02-24-2022, 05:36 PM)Troutster Wrote: Going out there tonight. I’ll post a report. Fished there last Thursday and had a ball… approx 30 fish for me plus what the others caught, in 2 1/2 hrs. Didn’t matter what jig or spoon as long as it glowed. Spikes and waxies worked well.
Appreciate it!
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The Narrows fished really well last night. The fish didn’t come in in numbers until 8:00 pm. We were in 37 fow, small spoons and tungsten jig hooks tipped with spikes. The hard tackle MUST GLOW. I caught 10 to my friends 1 until he started using my uv light to glow his jig. That trail down is slick! I really need to invest in some boot spikes.
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(02-25-2022, 04:51 PM)Troutster Wrote: The Narrows fished really well last night. The fish didn’t come in in numbers until 8:00 pm. We were in 37 fow, small spoons and tungsten jig hooks tipped with spikes. The hard tackle MUST GLOW. I caught 10 to my friends 1 until he started using my uv light to glow his jig. That trail down is slick! I really need to invest in some boot spikes.
Thanks for the great info!
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(02-23-2022, 11:24 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote: (02-23-2022, 03:57 PM)MWScott72 Wrote: Went back for more crappie vittels Monday evening and the pattern of the past month finally changed a little. Went back to the same spot that has been producing, but instead of instant action at 6:15, there was almost nothing until 7:30. After that, fish started to come thru, but not in the larger schools I had been marking on previous visits. The bite was also even lighter...if that is actually possible. Often times, they would peck at it once, maybe twice, and that was it. My supposition is that the front that passed through earlier in the day may have turned the crappie off somewhat. Perhaps the constant pressure has something to do with it too. Maybe peak "crappie time under the ice" is waning? I don't know, but I suspect it's a little of all three and hopefully more of the first than the other two.
Between four of us 37 crappie and 3 gills were brought to the surface. Haven't seen gills before under the ice in the Narrows. Catch rates were 19, 11, 6, and 4. Those with lower catch rates had a much more difficult time "hooking up" when bit, although it was much slower for "4" than the rest of us. Not sure why - we were all within 10 feet of each other using similar setups. Same jig setups as I've mentioned before, although wax worms caught a few of the fish this time. Nibbles were still king though. We fished from 6:15 - 9pm.
Good luck to everyone on the tail end of the season. Clear ice is still 12-14"" minimum, but cloudy ice is starting to form on the upper layers of the ice sheet. I bet there is still at least 1.5-2 weeks of safe fishing up there, but if it gets really warm, that could change quickly. Be careful!
40 between 4 of you isn't too bad, especially when you were there less than 3 hours. Are you guys fishing in a shelter or out in the open? What kind of lights are you using? Sorry for the late reply. We have been in the open...no tent.  That is on my list of wants for next year! It was on this year's list actually, but didn't make the cut after other needs.
We aren't using any light in the water, if that was your question. Just a lantern on ice and head lamps. Glow jigs REALLY make a difference. If not bit in 5 mins, pull it back up and re-glow it with a UV light. Seems to.make a huge difference.
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