Panfish Tubing

[smallmouth89]

[black]Was out tubing in a local reservoir yesterday for crappie. The hotspot is at the far end of the reservoir so I towed my tube down with my kayak thinking i would be able to hover over the schools most efficiently in the tube.

Well the wind was so strong it was too much work in the tube so I kicked back to the kayak and had a supper break after which I deflated the tube and lashed it down in the tankwell of the kayak. In the kayak it was easy to paddle upwind and then drift across the holding areas. As evening wore on the fish really started hitting the jigs. Up until that point I thought I was going to be skunked. I had a lot of fish on but only landed a few

The "papermouth" characteristic of the crappie has me ready to revert to barbed hooks. In the past couple of weeks I have lost more crappie than I have landed. It seems if they can get their head above water they are able to shake my barbless 1/32 oz. jig. Any suggestions from you fellows that fish crappie all the time. I'm up here in Southern Ontario, Canada.


I don't miss them all. See the attachment. The fish are on a 2 foot by one foot sheet of plastic.

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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]When you have to downsize your jigs, to fit the summer finickyness of the crappies, you also have to adapt your techniques. Many of the successful crappieites use long whippy rods (flyrods) and once the hook is set they do not horse them to the top. Instead, let them pull down all they want, until they wear themselves out. Then, once they start to roll over pull them up and over a net in one smooth movement. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are a lot of fish that seem to be schooled in the art of opening their mouths, shaking their heads and rattling the small hooks loose. that is not as much of a problem in the spring, when they are more aggressive and hit larger lures...with bigger hooks. All part of the fun game...and the balance between art and science.[/#0000ff]
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[smallmouth89]

You know I used to take my flyrod with me on all my canoe trips in my younger days. I just loved using it with small jigs with my ultralite spinning reel taped to the handle. So I could certainly get into that.

I've actually been using my flyrod with a regular fly reel and floating or intermediate line but I haven't caught any on it yet. Yesterday after swapping out the kayak for the tube. I thought I would change my luck by switching to my ultralite spinning rod. I could have easily caught more than a dozen slab crappies if I had landed them all. The increased action I'm sure was due more to time of day than presentation and I think I could have hooked up pretty well with the flyrod as well but the slip bobber with the jig rising and falling repeatedly seemed to work well. Later a white plastic minnow on the small jighead was taking them on the troll(drift). I removed the float for that presentation.

We had to force ourselves to leave just as the fishing was really turning on. Unfortunately, this reservoir is on a closely managed conservation area which closes at 9 pm. We managed to get back to the cars for that time but had employees trying to hurry us along in loading our vessels as they wanted to lock the gate and go home. Apparently they want everyone off the water by 8:30 pm. This place looks like a quality warmwater fishery. It's too bad it's not managed as such. It doesn't open until 8 am and locks up at 9 pm. The quality dawn and dusk warmwater bite is not accounted for. Oh well at least there are no gas outboards as only electrics are allowed. The shame of it is I now know a large part of the answer to my earlier question to you on fishing for suspended crappie is to fish at lower light levels. That would mean fishing until 8:15 p.m. at the latest as the hotspot is a 15 to 20 minute paddle away from the launch area.

By the way, I got back faster in my kayak than my friend who was in a canoe powered by an electric motor. I thought that was really cool!
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[smallmouth89]

Here is my travelling fishing setup on one of the most windy days I've been out on. Kayak for long haul distance and tube for hands free precision fishing. Unfortunately the tubing part of the equation wasn't so efficient in this kind of wind. Here's where the kayak takes over. Paddle upwind and do a controlled drift over areas
where you are marking fish.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I think you have fingered the final piece of the puzzle on those suspended summertime crappies...low light levels. I have always done better on crappies early and late...and even at night during the summer. Bummer about the "bankers hours" fishing schedule for that lake.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I might suggest, however, that you watch the shortening daylight hours and dropping water temps in the late summer or early fall, and get back on the lake then. Fall is a magic time for crappies and they are both much easier to catch on larger offerings, and move back in around shoreline structure as they feed up for the coming winter.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Count yourself fortunate to still be able to catch a few, even under less than ideal conditions. Using a small spinning reel on the flyrod is a good tactic. I have several long "dipsticks" I have made from flyrod blanks...with spinning handles. They are usually 9 footers in six to eight weight. I make them on fast or medium action blanks. I also use them for "bubble chuckers"...when throwing flies behind a bubble. I can send them a long ways "downrange" with those rigs.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good luck and keep on keepin' on.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Nice yak. [/#0000ff]
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[smallmouth89]

Thanks Pat,

Do you think leaving the barbs unpinched on some of my jigs is a necessity when fishing for "papermouths"? By the way i've had a couple of fish get off my stringer as well. Gonna have to make one of those baskets. Is it just laundry bag attached to a circle made of pool noodle?
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I doubt that leaving the barbs on your hooks will make much of a difference in the number of hooked fish you bring to your tube. A softer rod and lighter touch will have much more affect. Too much pressure, against the thin walls of a crappie mouth, and it opens a hole. The hook either tears out or is easily flipped out when the fish thrashes at tube side.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Kokanee salmon here in the western United States have a similar reputation for having soft mouths. Most experienced koke trollers use a soft rubber "snubber" between the rod and the lure, to absorb some of the shock to avoid tearing fish off the hook on the way in.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Many kokes are also lost from stringers, for the same reasons. Their mouths simply are not strong enough to withstand the tearing action. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have long used baskets instead of stringers for several reasons. First, it is less damaging and stressful to the fish. And, it is also a good way to prevent losing fish to opened stringer clips or torn mouths. It can also help to better control active fish, that might wrap around legs (in a tube or toon) or puncture waders or air chambers with spines.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are many different ways to make a fish basket. You can use a mesh bag, but they tend to collapse in on the fish and restrict swimming/aeration. I prefer the wire mesh baskets. And there are many models. In a nutshell, I buy the 19" X 30" size...which is the largest. And, I do not get the models with the floating lid. Too much hassle to get fish into the basket...especially smaller fish. The floatation of the foam noodle around the top takes care of any floating you need.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I secure the foam noodles to the top of the basket using the good old electricians plastic ties. Premeasure the length you need...but cut extra. You can always trim. Start at the rear, opposite the front opening of the lid and right behind the hinge for the top lid. Cinch up the first tie at that point. Now, bring one side around and cinch another tie about half way around. Do the same on the other side. Run some cord or light rope through the middle and tie the circle closed...leaving a short length of tether rope with a clip to attach to your craft.[/#0000ff]
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After wearing out a lot of different fish baskets over the years. I have standardized on the 19" X 30" wire mesh baskets. I add some flotation, from a kids' swimming "noodle" and attach a clip for hanging it on an outside D ring on my craft.


Closeup of the connection.


The twin wire carrying handles can be brought down and wedged inside the foam to prop the opening of the basket open while fishing. [/size]
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