Fishing the Cracks for Crappie
By Mark Tobin
I once had a
dream that I was fishing for crappie through the floor of my
living room. If the fish was too small I'd throw it on the
carpet. It would wiggle around a few times and then disappear. I
remember thinking as I dreamt that it would be so cool to be
able to catch crappie right through my floor! When I woke up and
realized it was just a dream, I was so disappointed.
I was thinking
of that silly dream one Fall day, though, when I was fishing
from a dock on the Lake of the Ozarks. Suddenly, I felt the boat
slip and, as I turned, I dropped my lure through a large space
in between the boards of the dock and BANG - A frisky crappie
engulfed my lure. And thus, "Crack Fishing" was
born.
First of all,
the cracks to which I refer are not found when someone's pants
ride a little low on the hip but are simply the spaces between
the wood flooring on the docks. Any space wide enough to pull a
crappie through is fair game. It could be the space between the
walkway and the dock, a missing board, an attached swimming dock
or a trap door. It only needs to be near whatever is keeping the
dock afloat, and be 1 ½ to 2 inches wide. You'd be surprised at
how big a crappie can fit through such a small space!
The best Crack
Fishing occurs in the Fall. As the temperature starts to drop,
crappie leave their summertime hangouts and move to shallower
water, such as mainlake flats, points, coves and creeks. Docks
in these areas will be good candidates for Crack Fishing. When
water temperatures drop into the 70's, Crack Fishing starts to
get really good. Peak activity occurs as the temperature drops
into the mid 60's which, incidentally, coincides with the same
temperature at which the crappie spawn in the spring. Although
they do not spawn in the Fall, you will be able to find crappie
in a lot of the same places you do in the Spring. Crack Fishing
will remain good even on shallow docks (5 feet deep or less) as
water temperature drops through the 50s. In Missouri, I have
caught crappie in the cracks from September through
mid-December.
What makes Crack
Fishing successful, is the algae that grows under the float
material on the docks. Shad and other baitfish feed on small
organisms in and around the algae. For this reason, and contrary
to popular belief, brush is not necessary for good crappie
fishing. At times, however, crappie tend to show a preference
for one float material over another. Plastic may out-produce
foam, or vice versa. White foam may be better than blue or
orange, etc. Just make sure you fish all types at first. If a pattern develops, then you can concentrate your efforts. If
you're fishing during a period of stable weather, shallow docks
well away from deep water will produce the best results. During
adverse weather and times of change, concentrate on docks that
are closer to deep water or that sit over creek or river
channels.
Fishing the
cracks is simple. As you approach a dock, use slip bobbers set 6
inches to 1 foot deep to cast the outside of the dock as close
to the foam or plastic floats as you can. Crappie hang out just
under the foam and quite often you can see the crappie dart out
from underneath to grab your bait (an occurrence that will give
any fisherperson a heart attack).
My dad taught me
at an early age that when a fish bites your lure, you should try
to pull its lips free from its face. This is a technique which
is a little bit of overkill when it comes to the tender mouthed
Crappie. Under a dock, hooksets like that can lead to missed
fish, a broken rod, and a good deal of language that the kids
just shouldn't hear. Use shorter rods and set the hook gently.
Artificial baits
are my favorite choice this time of year although minnows are
also good especially when the fish aren't very active. I like
tube baits when vertical fishing. In murky water, I use white or
chartreuse but always experiment and let the fish tell you what
they like. In clear waters, use darker colors like purples,
blues, clear with metal flake.
Copyright © 2004 The American Outdoorsman ®
About the Author:
Mark Tobin is the host of The American
Outdoorsman, a Hunting & Fishing TV Show devoted to bringing
the best in Outdoor Entertainment. Their site hunting and
fishing tips, outdoors info,
pictures, video clips & downloads, recipes, games,
recommended travel locations and guides, and more! Visit http://www.theamericanoutdoorsman.com today!
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