November begins the Shad and Crappie Derby! Celery City Craft Beer Garden will host the Derby Kick-off meeting Thursday October 28th starting at 6:30pm. This is the ONLY opportunity to pre-register. All anglers receive the official Derby Photo Token and Derby Ruler. After the kick- off meeting, enter this FREE tournament by visiting one of the Derby sign-up locations. https://coastalanglermag.com/orlando has all the information.
In October, we get the highest water levels in the St. Johns River. Love bugs and the first cold front bring in the Fall season in Florida. The river mullet have migrated north past Central Florida and the black crappie bite has turned on. Largemouth bass will readily take topwater baits, rattling crankbaits, artificial frogs, and soft plastic worms and swimbaits. American Shad will show up in December, until then it’s crappie time!
Catching crappie is easy. Simply tie a small 1/16th or 1/8th ounce jig on 8 lb. test monofilament and tip with a minnow. Drive your boat to the up-wind side of the lake and longline slow troll behind the boat – up to 50 feet back. You’ll be fishing with the wind, trolling around 1.0-1.5 mph. On two of your short rods, tie a 3⁄4 oz. egg sinker 12 inches above the jig. Drop it in the water allowing the sinker to hit the bottom, then reel down until the rod tip touches the water – stop. Put the rod down at the stern on each side – this will catch the big fish of the day. Tip: vary jig tail colors and fishing depths. Hint: all professional crappie anglers tip jigs with minnows.
