Willard Crappie?

[acey]

I drove by the Willard Bay north marina today and there was no ice I could see on the lake or marina. Would it be possible to put the boat out and fish for the crappie in the marina area and have any success this time of the year? Are the crappie even active in the winter time? What are your thoughts? Acey
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Finding them is always the key. I tried them briefly on one trip just after the marina iced over. Didn't fish the whole marina, just around the main docks. We saw fish, but had no bites.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Crappies do come into the north marina pretty good during the winter months, and they do hit all year. Sometimes the schools suspend and just hang anywhere out in open water. Other times they stay around and under the docks. Sonar is absolutely necessary.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Until they warm up in the spring and start to get ready for the "spring fling", they are slow biters. You have to fish them just like ice fishing. If you have a long "crappie rod", one of those 12 foot "dip sticks", you can keep your boat back away from the docks and drop your offerings quietly next to the docks.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Once your sonar tells you how deep the crappies are holding, you should rig a small slip bobber to keep your jigs at the upper end of the range they are holding. They will move slightly up to hit, but will not go down to get the jigs. You also need to watch that bobber closely. Sometimes it will just twitch. Other times it will move only an inch or so across the water, without sinking.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Use TINY jigs or ice flies, tipped with waxies or meal worms. They will hit small bits of crawlers or minnows, but you will usually do better at this time of year with a juicy waxie.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In prospecting, you can start at the inlet to the marina, along the deep cut dredged in the opening and then just keep sonaring in a zig zag pattern until you mark some fish. If you find some, stay back and toss out a marker buoy for reference. Sometimes, if you are anchored and quiet, the fish will move under your boat, but not often.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If the fish are not anywhere in the open, then work along all the edges of the docks. Those silly crappies can be anywhere from as little as two or three feet deep to clear out in 13 feet, off the ends of the docks. If there is bright sunshine, they will usually be on the "shady side", or around the inside corners.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you are anchored up, you might want to use your two pole permit to hang a minnow down near the bottom for any stray wipers or walleyes that come wandering by. Heck, you can even catch chilly kitties in the marina during the winter.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good luck.[/#0000ff]
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[acey]

Pat- Thanks for your thoughts on the crappies. It sounds like it would be better to wait until it warms up some before I try it down there. I do have a fish finder on the boat, and it is always fun to explore. I have shore fished the north marina before without much luck on the crappie, and thought that my odds would improve in the boat with the finder. Maybe that way I could locate the schools like you said. Years ago I fished the crappie in Newton and had a blast. I hated to see the place go down hill with its low water problems. I hope there are enough left to eventually repopulate and thrive again in Newton. What time of the year does the "spring fling" start? I assume that is around the spawning time, correct? Thanks, Acey
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Between my past records, and my "reckymembry", May is usually the magic month for easy crappies in Willard. Of course, it always depends on the weather patterns for the year and what the water temps are. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have pictures from the past of large strings of crappies taken along the rocks on Mothers Day (mid May), when we took our kids in a boat and fished minijigs under bobbers in about four or five feet of water. Everybody was catching fish as fast as they could cast out and wait for the jig to settle under the bobber.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That was during the actual spawning period, but you can start catching crappies almost anytime the water warms above about 40 degrees. That is also when the walleyes get frisky. Mid March has usually been a good time to count on that. I have taken quite a few crappies all around the lake while casting white or chartreuse twisters from the rocks for walleyes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]April is usually a pretty good month to fish the shoreline inside the North Marina too. There are several areas the fish seem to congregate each year, and you will find "the regulars" out there almost every day, casting their jig and bobber rigs. Some days are better than others. Some guys catch more than everybody else.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The key is to change up the jigs...size, color, depth below the bobber, etc. Also, keep moving around the shoreline until you find fish. Once you find a couple, you can usually bet there are more. They do school at this time of year.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Most guys fish about three feet under the bobber. That's a good place to start. Use light stuff...1/16 or 1/32 oz. White or chartreuse is always good. I used to do well with two tone minijigs...yellow and white, red and white, blue and white, etc.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The basic technique is to cast not too far out and let the ripples settle down from the cast. If the bobber does not twitch within a few seconds, give the reel handle a turn and let it sit again. Keep bringing it in, a few inches at a time, resting between pulls. Once you find the zone, make each cast just beyond it and work the jig back through it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When the fish are active, they will pull the bobber under. When they are slow, they may just make the bobber wiggle a little, or even just move sideways slightly. Bobber fishing is an art and you need to be attentive when fishing for crappies.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When the crappies are in full spawn, they congregate in places around the rocks, almost anywhere on the lake. Slow trolling small jigs, or even flies on a sink tip line, will help you locate them. Then you can anchor up and harvest.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I'll likely hit that pond a few times my own self in the coming months. With the higher water here again, the crappies should do well in the future.[/#0000ff]
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[acey]

Several years ago I talked to one of the "regulars" that was fishing the north marina. I think he used a balsa wood type bobber and he had spray painted the top black color. He said he could see that easier against the water and reflections. He showed us the jigs he had made and had good hits on. They reminded me a lot of the jigs you make with hair tied right behind the head and loose and flowing out to the end of the hook. We asked if we could buy some and he agreed. Some were Captain America colored with red, white, and blue hair, but he said the best ones were the yellow and orange colors. The material he used looked familiar, but I couldn't figure out what it was, so I asked him. It was Troll doll hair! He worked at the Deseret Industries store in Ogden, and was always on the lookout for donated Troll dolls coming in. He would buy them and use the hair to tie his jigs, so Pat, there is new one you may not have tried. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to seek out Troll dolls and experiment with it! He claimed it made the most effective jigs he used. Hey, anyone out there got any old troll dolls we can steal from your kids and send to Pat? Acey
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Troll Dolls? That's like buying a Harley Davidson just so you can pry off the logo and hang it on your wall. You can buy "fake fur" in any craft shop. Whats more, almost all fly tying outlets sell a "faux fox" stuff that is even finer and better for tying flies and making jigs. I have used it for years.[/#0000ff]

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[#0000ff]That superfine synthetic hair makes good stuff, and it comes in just about every color imaginable. I do use it for wings and tails, but not nearly as much as I do marabou or bunny fur. Maybe I should use it more, but I have never had the fish request it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I guess I will play around with it some more for my new "spring lineup".[/#0000ff]
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