Lexington Crappie fest 8/13

Come join me and the surfingmarmot if you aren't in Elk for a good time catching crappie this sunday at Lexington.

We only have a few more weeks to fish this resevior before they close it for the pipeline work, so let's go get 'em.

We know where they are, we know what they are biting.

Should be good fun and good eats.

MolBasser

Any idea on where to buy the tripel Threat Grubs? the only Kalin's Mel Cottons and Fisherman's Warehouse (Cupertino) have are the Motor Oil (Red Flak and Gold Flake) and Amber Hologram colors for Surf Perch. I am going to try Sportmart tonight but after that I have no idea where to try 

If you order online today, you will get them by this weekend from either bass pro shops or cabelas.

Other than that, I dunno.  I will check outdoorworld here in SC today.

MolBasser

Ordered from Bass Pro Shops--Cabela's only had Lunker Grubs in 2" (whcih are not the same color patterns) and only 3" Triple Threats which are too big for Crappie. Grubs shoudl arrive in time and I'll definitely be there Sunday.

About the limit: I thought it was 12 but don't know why I thought that 25 is a lot of cleanin' but I can do it.

Yeah, outdoorworld didn't have 'em.

25 is a lot of filleting, but the payoff is sooooooo sweet.

'course, we gotta catch 25 to have that problem.

See you Sunday.

MolBasser

Molbasser,

I am thinking about coming out to Lexington on the 13th.  I was going to come last week but had some things I had to do in the AM.  I did come out later see if I could meet some of you and see how the fishing was; I spoke to you from the bank once I found out where you all were fishing.  I don't think I can order the triple threats in time for Sunday so I wonder if you have any suggestions for an alternative?

Thanks,

Doug

 

probably I will be out there sometime between now and sunday to test out my new sonar and my own alternatives to the triple threat grub in acid rain, lemon meringue, and tennesee shad which I do not have and absolutely frickin refuse to buy since I have a few shoeboxes full of similar lures already.   

vegemite, note that lexington crappie have been caught on small crankbaits in shad patterns and 5cm countdown rapalas in firetigerby ncka anglers this year. so there is precedent for a successful alternative.

If I go I'll post the results of my efforts.


 

Any small curly tail grub will work.  I just use the triple threat because I have a long and storied past with this lure.

You are attempting to mimic a small minnow which is what the crappie are feeding on.

I'll let you in on a little secret, (shhhh don't tell anyone), a very small rapala verticle jigging minnow (typically an ice fishing bait) is pretty effective too if you are over a school and not drifting too fast.  Small suspending rapala minnows will work, and they can be caught on drop shot too if they are holding near the bottom. 

Ah, so that was you up on the hill, marmite.  I couldn't see you.

MolBasser

MolBasser,

I hope to meet you Sunday.  I'll be in a yellow Tarpon 140, possibly with a friend and his wife.  We have kayak fished exclusively from Santa Harbor except I entered the HMB derby hoping to meet some NORCAL anglers.  Although I used to fish for steelhead and salmon on the Eel many years ago I only recently restarted fishing after becoming intrigued by the potential I saw in kayaking.  As such I really don't have experience with fishing for bass, etc., and would be very excited to learn how to fish Lexington and Loch Lomand since they are the two bodies of water closest to home (South San Jose and Scotts Valley for my friend).  We haven't been terribly successful in our kelp bed excursions, and we'd like to have an alternative to the ocean when the conditions are not so nice.

I am going to pick up some artificials Saturday, but I was wondering how worms work for crappie, or if its legal to trap minnows in a minnow trap for bait?

Thanks,

Doug

I got one of those little ice jigs last time I was in Kansas at Cabela's can't wait to give it a try.

MolBasser,

I hope to meet you Sunday.  I'll be in a yellow Tarpon 140, possibly with a friend and his wife.  We have kayak fished exclusively from Santa Harbor except I entered the HMB derby hoping to meet some NORCAL anglers.  Although I used to fish for steelhead and salmon on the Eel many years ago I only recently restarted fishing after becoming intrigued by the potential I saw in kayaking.  As such I really don't have experience with fishing for bass, etc., and would be very excited to learn how to fish Lexington and Loch Lomand since they are the two bodies of water closest to home (South San Jose and Scotts Valley for my friend).  We haven't been terribly successful in our kelp bed excursions, and we'd like to have an alternative to the ocean when the conditions are not so nice.

I am going to pick up some artificials Saturday, but I was wondering how worms work for crappie, or if its legal to trap minnows in a minnow trap for bait?

Thanks,

Doug

Minnow traps are legal, but for this trip way more trouble than they're worth with the bite the way it is.  I would stick to curly tail grubs.  Worms are not the best for crappie as they are mainly piscavours.  It is best to imitate small fish.

MolBasser

MolBasser,

Is there a color for the jig head that you prefer?

Doug

Just a lead head in 1/32 oz or 1/16 oz (1/8 oz as well in case they _aren't_ in the cove and we have go to 25 feet in a bit of wind in the main lake). Some I have show black eyes on the lead while some do not--the fish don't seem to distinguish between them. I believe they attract fisherman more than fish . I've seen colored heads and I am sure some people swear by them, but all of us (if I recall correctly) were fishing plain lead heads last week to great effect. It isn't the jig head but the grub they seem to notice. Again, a lure is often designed more to catch fisherman in the store than fish who are far less particular when hungry.

Personally, I have never subscribed to color as a big factor since I am pretty sure fish view the world mostly in monochrome--they are pretty much a brain stem with gills and a tail. I do believe that the lightness and darkness of lures matters in terms of the silhouette and reflectivity in different lighting, depth, and clarity situations. But that only for visibility against the background and to approximate the shade of the bait you are imitating--not the actual hue. In fact, I think a plain lead jig head is probably just a silhouette and that grub flapping round is what looks like a minnow--especially at 15 feet or more in depth. I'll keep mine bland and hope they fade into the visual noise.

As MolBasser said, Crappie are piscivorous nearly exclusviely, so imitating the crayfish, frogs, and leeches which Bass devour, does you no good. Anything that imitates a 2" or so minnow will be grabbed if it wanders near a school of highly competitive Crappie. The objectives are two-fold: 1) deception: imitate the small minnow in form and action and 2) placement: put the imitation at the right depth and right location (the school). The rest is up to the fish and I doubt they'll let you down 

Looking forward to meeting you Sunday.

Where is Lexington Reservoir? Sounds like a good place to bring the kid. Is the water warm?

MolBasser,

Is there a color for the jig head that you prefer?

Doug

In my opinion, the three main factors in lure presentation for crappie are (in this order)

Depth
Speed
Color

As Marmot said, we were just using plain lead, but chartreuse and red and chartreuse with red eye spots all work.  It is the least of my worries, but given the chance I will use color leadheads.  Bass pro shops has a good deal on two tone jigheads.

Granite dive, there are directions for lexington in the lexington mbf threads.  The water temp is around 75-78, but it is a no body contact lake if you are thinking of swimming (as far as I know).

The latest tip that I got from my crappie guru's down south is to tip the triple threat with a Berkley Crappie Nibble (a little plastic thing that looks like a tic tac that is sold in jars like trout power baiit).

MolBasser