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Trolling for Crappie on Mark Twain Lake |
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News -
Fishing reports
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Written by Cannon Dam General Store
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Monday, 15 September 2008 12:16 |
It was a cold rainy Thursday morning, as I got out of bed, I thought, "there will be no fish caught today." But Ray had promised me that he would show me a different technique to catch crappie. Being one who love's to fish for the sweet meat. I took him up on it. Little did I know what was in store for me.
We met around 7 A.M, and I wondered just what the day would be like. As we got on the water, Ray informed me that we would be trolling for Crappie using crank baits. My first thought was right…sure… crank baits. To say the least I was skeptical. Ray told me how he started using crank baits, to catch Crappie and how productive they were.
The water temp. was around 72 and it was a rainy over cast day. The rain was light and was not going to last all day. As we sped across the lake, I took in all its beauty. Mark Twain Lake is the 3rd largest lake in Missouri and the largest of Northern Missouri's Lakes. It is a body of water that is truly beautiful.
We came to a spot where Ray stated "this is where we will start." Taking out four rods, he picked four different crank bait's to start the morning.
Ray is a Guide on Mark Twain Lake and has been doing so for the last three years. Working at Cannon Dam General Store, I would see him as he bought some of his customers in to have their pictures taken with their catch. (We put the pictures on our web site, www.cannondam.com) I would ask him how he caught them and he would smile, that smile of his and simply say crank baits. Since this is such an unusual way to fish for Crappie and I am a true Missourian I said "Show Me". Today Ray promised to do just that.
So now here we are, he cast the baits about 60 feet behind and to the sides of the boat. And we started a slow troll of about 1.5 miles an hour. We were in 40 feet of water and the cranks dove to about 13 feet down. As we trolled and talked, I found out his father in law had taught him this method of
fishing for Crappie. He stated that few knew and used this technique for Crappie. Ray informed me that most people seek Crappie around tree's and stumps, but that you can also find crappie in more open water. It just takes some know-how and the right methods. But Trolling?? Northern Pike, Walleye, yes… but Crappie??
We had been out for about half an hour when BAM! My rod bent over. I looked at him in wonderment and began to reel in the fish. At first I could not see it and I thought it has to be a Bass, but to my surprise it was not, it was a one pound, five ounce crappie. A true slab, and the first fish of the day! I looked at Ray and he smiled that smile he has, said "today is going to be a great day."
We trolled about a half mile down the bank, and to my surprise, we caught a couple of nice crappie, all over 10 inches long. He made a point of letting me know anything under 10 inches we did not keep.
We came to a point, and Ray turned the boat around and went back the other way. BAM! Another Crappie! BAM! And Another! BAM! And Still Another! I could not believe we were catching so many fish and BIG CRAPPIE at that. As the day progressed, we changed crank baits a couple of times, until we found a color that they took after and hit with a vengeance.
All I could do was shake my head and think that I never knew one could catch Crappie on a crank bait.
Strike after strike produced Crappie well over ten inches. In five hours, we had our limit of 15 a piece, and were heading back to shore. Ray made it quite clear that everyday we would not catch our limit, A number of factors would prevent us from doing so. but on this day, WE NAILED THEM TO THE WALL!
If you are a lover of Crappie fishing and would like to learn a new technique to fish for them.
contact Ray Kiel at Fish'n Podna Guide Service, you can find them on the web here:
www.cannondam.com/raykiel
Keep your rod tip high,
Lee
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 20 September 2008 18:22 )
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