19 Dec 13 Gamelands - Last chance for the year

SKUNKED!

Heard from crappieassassin that the bite was HOT this afternoon and didn't hesitate to throw the yak in the truck and get to the water.  Gamelands was closest and it was already 2PM.  Got there and the wind was blowing steady and hard.  Pushed off the shore and before I could get sorted I was already drifting into the dock.  Got off the dock, dropped a couple crappie tubes, started rigging a carolina rig and just as I got it tied off I was already into the opposite shore.  Fought the wind for a while and finally let it push me into the sunken trees and tossed a texas rig around trying to get something biting.  As the sun went down the wind died off and fish started hitting top water.  Switched over to a swimbait which is usually pretty reliable for drawing strikes in the vegetation but no luck.  Made my way out of the trees and started working the flats with a crankbait.  Sun was getting down and I'm guessing crappie were hitting on topwater.  Kept tossing the crappie tubes under a bobber with no luck meanwhile I was surrounded by aggressive fish breaking the water.  An all to familiar story.  And on that note I'm heading up to the snowy north to ring in the New Year and hopefully I have better luck in 2014.

I've finally come to my senses and I'm going to stop chasing bass while they're sleeping on the bottom.  January should come with a fish finder and probably a new ultra light rig and small tackle box of crappie stuff.  Not going to go crazy stocking up on crappie gear but if I'm going to do it I'll at least do it right.  A broken 5' ultra light, 1 package of 1/16oz jigheads, and 1 package of white crappie tubes isn't exactly cutting it.

Really this whole post is just trying to bait crappieassassin into posting up his report.  I want pictures.

Better luck next time! The fish finder should help you locate structure that should hold some fish. I really enjoy fishing with ultra light gear and it is a must for crappie! What color jigs were you using today? One thing you may want to add to your crappie list is a Crappie jig kit so you have multiple color to choose from.

Fished it the same as last time just on a different pond.   1/16oz chart jighead, white crappie tube, floating between 2-3ft.  Fish were popping next to it.  I wasn't fishing for crappie very hard.  I was still trying to chase down bass but I really have no idea where the bass are hiding out at.  I was planning on dragging a carolina rig through the channel but the dead grass mat on the bottom shut that down pretty quick.  I can see why everyone stops bass fishing and starts chasing crappie once the water cools off.