By Perry Hensley
It’s that time of year on the water when it is bitterly cold and the temperature barely gets out of the 40s but, despite a chilly boat ride to your favorite location on the lake, the crappie bite can heat things up in a hurry.
As the winter water temperatures get steady, the crappie move, following the baitfish into shallower waters of the coves, points and flats on the lake. It’s a perfect time to take advantage of those schooling, suspended crappie.
I have said it before and I will repeat myself by saying that the most common method used by the anglers on the lakes of Cherokee and Douglas here in East Tennessee is the hair jig (tipped with a minnow) and float method. One thing I need to mention also is that if you are fishing these areas and the bite seems to shut down, try downsizing your bait to a smaller profile bait and like my father told me time and time again, “slow down on your presentation”. Be sure to remember though, the key to locating these sometimes-finicky crappie is again, to follow the baitfish. This can be tricky to do as the baitfish will move into an area, bring the crappie in, and then move out again taking the crappie with them. Sometimes, all you need to do is locate a pile of 15-20 boats in one area to find schools of crappie (lol). It’s no secret to anyone that the word gets around pretty quickly regarding when and where crappie are being caught in certain areas here on Cherokee and Douglas Lakes.
If crowds annoy you as they do me, I have a solution for that. Being an Angler that prefers to feel that “thump”, I mainly continue using the tight-line casting and vertical jigging methods on brush, laydowns, steep banks or rock piles. Seems these dead winter slabs can be anywhere. For myself, if I am looking to have the best chance at a limit of fish, I will fish these areas in addition to the crowds. The advantage that I’ve found by doing this is that I am more apt to catch a mixed bag of black and white crappie instead of just the white slabs, therefore increasing my chances on catching a limit of fish. This also eliminates me wasting too much time in a dead area.
In closing, let me say that these tips and techniques are not the only methods that produce, but based on my own experiences, they continue to produce for me throughout the cold winter months, year after year. The biggest thing to take away from this article is first, to get out there and make some memories with those you love and the second is to keep an open mind and try new things when the same old-same old, isn’t working great. I know, in my case, it has made me a more productive and versatile angler. Tight Lines! Perry Hensley