I use that website too even if the temps it gives can get wonky when the flow is high at the dam. I also carry a simple thermometer on 3 feet of string to get 3ft down temps where I am. I totally agree that you want to look for an upward trend in water temp. Going from 53F up to 56F is usually better than going from 59F down to 56F for example. I am not going to be able to fish as much this year & being more selective on when I do. I'm looking for a time where the the trend is upwards from where it is now & looks like it might reach 56F. It is just a selective target for when I want to try the next time since I have to be more picky?
CAESARS CREEK 2023 CRAPPIE THREAD!
Let's start this thing off boys!
I took a hike last week in the afternoon for a few hours, water temp is 53°… Fished four hours, jig and a jig n bobber... nuthin.
Fast forward to this morning .... showed up around 7:30 AM… Water temp has jumped up to 57°… Nothing on retrieved jig… However the jig n bobber, set 18 inches deep… In about 3 feet of water.
success!
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and they wanted it too!
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slowed down a little bit around 10 AM… I started casting and retrieving a 1/16 ounce chartreuse jig and I was able to get a couple takers but all the fish on the retrieved jig were only 8" or so. Kept 10 for the pot all were over 10". no hawgs yet.
can't wait to hear everybody's caesars reports on this thread… The annual Crappie campout is going to be a little bit later this year the third week of May… But I will be sure to post all the pics… Good luck, everybody!
I took a hike last week in the afternoon for a few hours, water temp is 53°… Fished four hours, jig and a jig n bobber... nuthin.
Fast forward to this morning .... showed up around 7:30 AM… Water temp has jumped up to 57°… Nothing on retrieved jig… However the jig n bobber, set 18 inches deep… In about 3 feet of water.
success!
and they wanted it too!
slowed down a little bit around 10 AM… I started casting and retrieving a 1/16 ounce chartreuse jig and I was able to get a couple takers but all the fish on the retrieved jig were only 8" or so. Kept 10 for the pot all were over 10". no hawgs yet.
can't wait to hear everybody's caesars reports on this thread… The annual Crappie campout is going to be a little bit later this year the third week of May… But I will be sure to post all the pics… Good luck, everybody!
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well, let's keep this thread alive.... the annual camp out is in two weeks… But I took the boat out to CEASARS today because the weather is getting nice, and I wanted to run the boat through its courses to make sure everything works as it should… Always a little nervous, starting her up for the first time every year… Anyways, the boat ran perfect no issues ..
Launched at the north pool ramp at 7 AM and as I expected... it was a little slow going…
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By 2 PM we only had 12 keepers in the boat.. retrieving jigs and jig n bobber set 3' took about a dozen fish throughout the day… Then at 3:30 PM all hell broke loose and we hit 30 good fish in about 5 feet of water… Jigs, jig, and Bobber set at 2' both worked great. I figured as much, the water temp lagged several hours behind the air temp and the fish finally turned on… I don't think it would've mattered what spot we were in we just happen to be up the creek near the campgrounds and hit them on the shoreline pretty fast and furious in timber.
Can't wait for the camp out! Can't wait to post the pics of the results. It should be on like donkey Kong in a couple weeks.
Launched at the north pool ramp at 7 AM and as I expected... it was a little slow going…
By 2 PM we only had 12 keepers in the boat.. retrieving jigs and jig n bobber set 3' took about a dozen fish throughout the day… Then at 3:30 PM all hell broke loose and we hit 30 good fish in about 5 feet of water… Jigs, jig, and Bobber set at 2' both worked great. I figured as much, the water temp lagged several hours behind the air temp and the fish finally turned on… I don't think it would've mattered what spot we were in we just happen to be up the creek near the campgrounds and hit them on the shoreline pretty fast and furious in timber.
Can't wait for the camp out! Can't wait to post the pics of the results. It should be on like donkey Kong in a couple weeks.
well... the spawn bite is ramping up more n more every day! headed out early this morning with my dad and my brother-in-law, launched from the campground boat dock at 6:30 AM. The jig bite was immediately on however, we had to work through some short ones throughout the morning.(9 inchers). I'd say we were getting a fish every other cast throughout the entire day. No bobbers needed... fish were chasing jigs in open water… Most of the big ones we found anywhere between 6 and 10 foot of water.
1/16 ounce chartreuse jigs, no need for a slow retrieve.
lots of eggs in fish, however, in my opinion, the eggs were not quite that soft yet, so I think we still got a few weeks of good slab fishing.
56 on the day.. plus a bonus 20" saugeye!
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made it home around 5:30 PM. Shared a couple beers with my dad and cleaned a cooler full of slabs. Great way to spend the day. all fish were 10 inches plus… We had a few 12"s and a lot of 11"s.
campout is coming up next weekend. It'll be sure to post some more pics… It's shaping up to be a good one!
1/16 ounce chartreuse jigs, no need for a slow retrieve.
lots of eggs in fish, however, in my opinion, the eggs were not quite that soft yet, so I think we still got a few weeks of good slab fishing.
56 on the day.. plus a bonus 20" saugeye!
made it home around 5:30 PM. Shared a couple beers with my dad and cleaned a cooler full of slabs. Great way to spend the day. all fish were 10 inches plus… We had a few 12"s and a lot of 11"s.
campout is coming up next weekend. It'll be sure to post some more pics… It's shaping up to be a good one!
Nice saugeye Carl 😂 So we had 60 keepers on Thursday. Minnows early and then finally got them to go on jigs. Lots of great sized fished in around 6 foot of water. 90% of the fish we caught Thursday were females and they all had very soft/runny eggs including a lot of them that were spewing eggs in the boat. Couple bonus saugeye, white bass, and bluegill. Went back yesterday (Saturday) fishing the same area. Complete different bite for us. Still managed 60 keepers, 4 saugeye, a bunch of nice gills, and some white bass. However I would say 75% of our fish were males, a lot of shorts and smaller fish. The females that we did have had firmer eggs in them. So I definitely think eggs were being dropped on Thursday and the next round should be happening soon like you said. Which makes sense since not all fish spawn at the same time. Great time with my dad both days and my 3 year old joined us Saturday with the best part of the day being him catching his first keeper saugeye at 20" on his own pole!
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yup... you're lookin' at that picture correctly… That is an empty stringer…😳. Took a hike early this morning with my goal set on picking off 15 slabs and heading home quickly… Lol… First cast was at 6:30 AM… I fished until noon… 5and 1/2 hours, I caught exactly4 crappie and 1 white bass.. none of which were over 9". Sometimes I think I got this temperature thing and spawn thing down pat and then **** like this happens and I'm back to the drawing board… I couldn't buy a fish today. Oh well… Hopefully the camp out this weekend will be much better and i will get the kids on some fish.
After seeing it's going down to 42 tonight, decided to go today. Everyone we spoke to said had been catching a few 10-15 ft deep. Got there around 1pm and didn't catch a fish in a spot that had been real productive Saturday. Didn't do well at all the 1st hour or so. Tried spot #2 and it was real good. I'm guessing 30-35 fish in 3 hours once we started catching them. Haven't counted or cleaned yet, but kept around 20. Most around 11 inches, several 12's and a 13. 2- 3 ft deep on minnows
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