Crappie are easy to catch
There aren’t many Ohio fish that qualify as a family favorite, one that’s plentiful, easy to catch, and excellent in the skillet.
There’s at least one though, a beautiful black and silver, flat sided species that comes in either black or white types.
They call them crappie, and they hit very well indeed each spring so whole families gather around the shores of such lakes as Charles Mill and Pleasant Hill, and plenty of other Buckeye hotspots.
Most have little equipment other than a bucket of minnows and rods with a float, splitshot and small hook. That’s really all you need to catch a stringer of spring crappies.
But these tasty panfish will bite all summer and all fall too, and they’re biting right now.
The only difference is they’re holding much deeper, sometimes 8 – 12 feet, even more As before, favorite spots to dunk those minnows is around shoreline brush, fallen trees in the water, drowned willows and other places where the fish find deeper cover.
Place a few lawn chairs close to the water, hand the kids a baited rod, toss out minnows adjusted to proper depth, and wait for a float to slowly and sedately slide under the surface and move off. Then pick up the rod and bring a pretty, flapping crappie ashore to add to your growing stringer.
Add a relaxing morning, coffee and soft drinks, a sandwich or two, and temperatures that are just right, and you’ve got the makings of a crappie trip.
For most people, nothing more in needed, but for some of us there’s an urge to catch LOTS of fish, and in Ohio lakes that have no limit on these prolific breeders (some do), it’s a chance to not only fill the skillet, but add some to the freezer. If you’re in this category I’ll offer some good advice.
For example, a couple of years ago I fished once again with one of the top crappie hunters in the state. We fished a 125 acre private lake that’s loaded with crappie and badly underfished for that species, and we made our trip just at this time of year.
We spent the morning in a comfortable pontoon boat, and got an early start working selected portions of shoreline that had the right bottom and cover.
Our rigs were both the same, 1/16 inch jigs an inch long with soft rubber skirts. The front half of each was red, the latter half white, and we added a single splitshot for a bit more weight and to allow the jigs to sink faster. The most important addition to each jig was a single waxworm.
Lacking one we often had a tap or two, but no takers, with it they ate the bait with gusto!
My partner had a simple tactic for success – keep moving.
So, we drifted along the shoreline, tossed our lures around fallen timber and brush, and whenever a dock turned up, we took time to flip well back beneath each and make a slow retrieve after allowing the jig to sink near bottom.
That was quite a morning, and I was amazed at our final tally.
OUTDOORS
A careful count showed that in just a few hours we’d taken 164 fish, 91 crappies and since bluegills were at the same depths, 73 of these equally tasty pansters.
We kept every single one, fish just 4-5 inches long, others up to 12 or 13, because my partner said “in this lake I keep everything because there are too many fish. Every one I take out means more food for those left and lets them grow bigger, so I keep half a dozen good meals, give some to friends, and either put the little ones in my garden or feed them to the raccoons and possums in a woods near my house.”
It’s a good practice in similar lakes where the crappie limit isn’t just 30 fish.
Some people don’t want to work so hard, but it isn’t necessary to do so.
You can fish around a brushpile or fallen tree and usually do well if the bottom is right and fish are present, but even here you’ll want to work one spot, skim off the cream, and when bites slow to near nothing, move to another likely spot.
Following this simple tactic will ensue you make a good haul and have a fine dinner that night. Which is what you’re looking for.
Hooks & Bullets
— There’s more great news for Lake Erie walleye and perch anglers. Preliminary result s indicate that the 2020 walleye and yellow perch hatches are both above average and continue an exceptional era of fish production in the Western Basin. This years hatch of walleye fry combined with the exceptional 2015, 2018, and 2019 year classes mean the lake will be chockfull of fine fish for years to come. The above average hatch of yellow perch fry will help bolster populations in 2022, along with the strong 2014 and 2018 hatches. There’ll be limit catches next year, and lots of them.
— According to the Sportsmen’s Alliance, their Rally and Spring Fling will be canceled due to COVID-19 size restrictions, but they will be able to host their Ladies Weekend on Oct. 24 and 25. Over the two days women and girls will learn how to safely handle, load and shoot rifles, handguns, shotguns and bows and arrows. at a price of $125 per person. Call 614-888-4868
Quick Notes: The access road beyond the Sportsmen’s Migratory Bird Center at Magee Marsh Wildlife Area will be closed temporariiy beginning Sept. 28. The Put-in-bay Chamber of Commerce will be auctioning off 30 decorative paddles in late September and early October. Each will be handcrafted by local artists. See them at www..32auctions.com/ pibpaddles.
Dick Martin is a retired biology teacher who has been writing outdoor columns for over 30 years. You can reach him at richmartneo.rr.com.
eighth grade volleyball squad include: front row, from left, Ava Bowman, Baylie Hoffbauer, Alyssa Booker. Second row, Rees Lewis, Ava Burkhart, Eve Schwemley and Kendra Walp. Back row, coach Mackenzie Weaver, Alyssa Niese, Katelyn Grove, Adelyn Cornette, Kennedy Studer and Alexis Mohn.