Caught my personal best crappie

[Shoemoo]

I know all of you southerners are going to laugh, but up here any crappie bigger than 12" is considered exceptional. The state record black is 'only' 17". I caught a few 12" and 13" last year, so my goal for this year was 14".

Aside from a few days during warm spell we had at the end of April, crappie fishing this spring was very tough due to cold fronts rolling in every week. It would get warm for a few days, then cold for 3-5 days, wash, rinse, repeat for about six weeks. The last few trips haven't been worth the gas money for the 100 mile round trip to the best local crappie reservoir. I decided to go one last time before switching to cats on closer waters.

Went night fishing on Thursday and only caught one crappie, but by golly, at 15 1/4" she was a whopper for up here. Caught her on one of Fatman's tiny pill heads tied with copper/black new age chenille, black rubber legs and a few strands of black cryatal flash for a tail. She smacked it right next to shore, just as I was about to lift the jig from the water. Got her right in the hard part at the edge of the top lip. It was a miracle the hook found a place to stick, since it looks to be around size 12. When I cut her open, she still had a huge clump of eggs in her. Normally the spawn is over by the beginning of June. Maybe there won't be one this year. :/

 

[StumpHunter]

That is a very good report, enjoyed reading it. Congrats on a nice slab crappie and your new PB crappie. It seems this year the spawn was off here also because of the fronts.

 

[saskcat420]

Shoemoo thats great , keep up the good fishing.

 

[Radtexan]

Congrats Shoe,,,thats one to be proud of anywhere !!!!

 

[Lost Pole]

That's a great fish for anywhere, Shoe! Congrats and high hopes for hopefully just a delayed spawn.

 

[Jig Man]

Congrats Shoe,,,thats one to be proud of anywhere !!!!

That's a great fish for anywhere, Shoe! Congrats and high hopes for hopefully just a delayed spawn.

What they said... :icon14:

 

[Fatman]

Nice Shoe!!!!!!!!!!!!! Those small hooks will hold look at all the large trout caught on hooks smaller than that. Congrats!!!!! and post some cats when you start going after them!!!!!!!!! You use any dip baits out there???

 

[Shoemoo]

Thanks, guys. Those bigger blacks sure have some nice shoulders on them. Got a pair of nice fillets off of her.

Fatman, some of the stores around here sell it, but I've never used dip bait. I generally avoid stinkbaits due to the mess and smell. My personal preference is cut bait. Nothing beats a fresh bloody chunk or a head with guts still attached to make the big channels come running IMHO. Suckers or pikeminnows when I can get them, otherwise whatever small fish I can catch on the water. If I don't have any cut bait, I will use fresh raw shrimp or chicken livers tied up in cheesecloth. Some folks use spawn netting, but the stuff isn't biodegradable and I worry if the fish gets away, it might die from an intestinal blockage.

I also caught a 14" yellow bullhead on a worm while beating the water to a froth for crappie on the other pole. I've never eaten bullhead before, but I've seen a few folks down there who swore the "yellow bellies" were great eating, and I have to admit he was tasty. Did not taste muddy at all.

 

[toadfrog]

I f you cleaned him before he croaked and got the yellowish meat and deep red meat off that is why it didn't taste like mud . Tons of those around here . Mostly in ponds . 14'' is a good one just right for eat'n . The only fishing I'm going to do while it's 100 - 105 is at night .

 

[Shoemoo]

Actually, I didn't much feel like cleaning fish after fishing all night, so I tossed them both in a plastic bag and put them in the fridge. Didn't clean them until the next morning when I had them for breakfast. With cats it's sometimes hard to tell when they're really dead, so maybe he was still alive. Couldn't get the skin to come off without tearing, so I just scraped it thoroughly and rinsed the fillets well under cold water.

Maybe it's the different water conditions, and the fact the water has been pretty cold and clear up until just recently?

 

[LedHed]

WTG Shoemoo - now you'll have to go after the state record! Congrats on the slab - big fish anywhere. Better yet - was caught on your own tye.

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

That's a good one anywhere in the country,congrats on your pb crappie.

 

[Fatman]

Whenever we caught bullhead in muddy water we cleaned them and got the bloodline out - then soak them in the fridge in buttermilk overnight. If you do this skim the top off don't just pour it out then rinse in cold water and cook whichever way you want.