What’s more fun than a warm winter day on the lake crappie fishing? In the southern U.S. where the season is often full of mild winter days, anglers don’t sit home wishin’ they were fishin’ – they grab a rod and go!
My good friend and long time fishing guide, Rick Loomis shares a few of his best crappie fishing tips with us today. Rick guides on Lake Fork, the home of Texas trophy bass fishing – where presently, talk has turned to crappie fishing instead. Loomis’s tips work well on all lakes, so take notes no matter where you fish.
Each fall – crappie begin their annual migration out to the main lake where eventually, they go deeper and take up winter residence along the main river. In February and March they will return to the shallows to spawn. But in the meantime, the main lake area will be covered with a flotilla of boats, each tempting crappie with a variety of lures and live bait.
In a recent interview, Loomis said, “Lake Fork is turning on for a great crappie season. Look for main lake points and humps in 18 to 24 feet – that’s where crappie are now. Eventually, they will hold at depths of 35-40 feet. Just move deeper as the weather gets colder – and by December and January, the crappie will be at their deepest in the main lake.”
By graphing main lake humps and points, you should be able to locate the crappie which will look like a wave on graph, with 3-4′ rises. They usually stay close to the bottom, so Loomis suggests dropping your lure into the water and letting it fall all the way down until it stops.
“Then just turn the handle a few times to get it off the bottom – and wait” he says. ” If you don’t get any hits after awhile, turn it two more cranks up, raising the lure depth slowly until you reach the magic zone where bites begin. And try to remember how many cranks off the bottom your lure is when you catch the first fish.”
Experienced crappie anglers set out brush to attract fish. “Brush piles are usually not good until May or June, after the spawn, but then, they are good all summer – until the crappie pull out in early fall and on their annual migration to their winter haunts on the main lake. There, the cycle begins all over again.” Never built a brush pile? Loomis explains how:
“It doesn’t take massive brush piles and you don’t need big, hardwood tree limbs. Willows make great brush piles because they’re flimsy and you can un-hang a lure much. Just a few limbs tied together weighted by a cinder block attract more fish than you think.”
Location matters. Set out brush piles where you can tie up over them. Fish vertically, tying up to a nearby tree – or inside a boathouse. Putting brush piles in out-of-the-wind places (like back in coves) helps, too, making it easier to stay on the fish and brush piles on windy days.
When asked about lures, Loomis has a few tricks up his sleeve. “A lot of people use live minnows but I prefer jigs, especially hair crappie jigs which are better than tubes because you don’t have to re-set the lure body if you miss a fish” he explains.
“Bright colors like chartreuse and blue or bright pink work well in stained water but my best colors on Lake Fork are cinnamon and blue, and pink and blue. Other colors work, too. You just need to find out which color the fish want and how they want the lure presented that particular day. Sometime, they like it moving and other times, just sitting still.”
Loomis continues: “I throw two crappie jigs on my line about a foot apart. (The extra weight makes casting the rig easier.) I use 1/16th ounce jig on the top and the 1/8th ounce on bottom.
Equipment is affordable. All you need is 6 -8 pound test line spooled onto a small, light spinning reel. The rod should have good tip with action, yet it needs to have enough backbone to pull the crappie up and out of any cover. A good combo rod and reel runs about 25$. You’ll only need a bobber if the fish suspend.
As for where to go, Loomis likes bridge fishing. “The best bridge on Lake Fork right now is Hwy 154. The crappie have been in 18 to 24 feet but will be moving deeper soon” he says.
The Lake Fork guide also has a comfortable lodge with affordable, cozy rooms and attached boat garages separating each room. For more information on guide service and room reservations contact:
Rick Loomis Lake Fork Guide Service, Lodging and New Boat Storage. For more information email [email protected]
Loomis is sponsored by: Lockhart Lures, Fisherman’s One Stop, Yamamoto Baits, Nickels’ Bait’s, H&W Marina Marshall, TX, Triton Boats and Powell Rods.By: Kathy Magers
