Red River Crappie Fishing

Marty · October 26, 2004, 06:01:28 PM

I wasn't sure where exactly where this post should go, & I didn't see any of the old crappie posts from last year around this time, so here it is. If ya'll want to move it someplace else, that's cool too! Around this time every year is when my bass club tournaments are winding down, I get into my crappie/white perch fishing mode. Over the last several years I have been able to pretty much fill the freezer in the months of November, December & maybe a week or two of January. Mostly I have just fished the Red River in community holes, although I did take a few here & there on Caddo. So....since it's getting close to that time, a time which I REALLY love.....I was just wondering if anybody has already been out there catching 'em? I know lots of folks around here fish for crappie year 'round & do pretty good, I'm just not that expert at it. I pretty much have to find them all bunched up before I can do much good. I have never put out any brush piles, but if somebody would be willing to take on a student, I'm willing to learn

. So....is anybody on the slabs yet??? How about just the pre-slabs or future slabs?

Man oh man, I can taste them feeelays already!

Marty

Mike Cork · October 26, 2004, 06:53:22 PM

Marty, I normally don't fish for them until April when I can catch them on a bettle spin and a "Hank Parker Rig" with a crappie jig. But I do know that I have missed a lot of action during the winter months. Last winter in December I caught a bunch of good slabs in the lilly pad stems on Cross. Now I haven't been out there yet but I imagine it is too early for that. I would love to follow you around on the Red on day this winter. When I first got stationed here we tried it and had no luck......

This is a great place for this thread but I may change it to Louisiana Crappie fishing, that way we can discuss different lakes all in one thread.

Rickoos · October 27, 2004, 12:54:28 PM

Mike, that sounds good, a place to talk about catching crappie also, sometimes we like to just chill out and catch a few slabs, that's how me & merila got started.....

Marty, I would love to trailer up and follow you around chasing some good slabs, maybe later this year we can get together and try some..........

Ricky

bassadict69 · October 27, 2004, 01:01:41 PM

If I could learn as much about crappie fishing as I have about bass fishing from this site, that would be awesome!

A buddy of mine tries every year to find them but never does much good. I have been with him several times when we have heard everyone was tearing them up. We would catch a couple if we were lucky.

Mike Cork · October 27, 2004, 01:15:45 PM

When it gets going again we will get you hooked up BassAddict. Last year Marty was really on them and was very specific about how to catch them. This year I plan to try a little more we will see what happens....

bassadict69 · October 27, 2004, 02:45:49 PM

I can't wait...I always hear all the stories but have never been able to experience it myself.

docwaldo · October 27, 2004, 09:14:38 PM

:toot:marty--i catch a ton of crappie every winter over here in east texas. they get bunched up around xmas when it gets really cold, and i mean really cold. you just idle arond until yoiu find a creek channel and then look for a brush pile on the edge of the creek. then anchor down and start yolking them. the limit in texas is 25/day/man, so the trick is to take 4 or 5 of you in the boat so you can have a haul day. or just keep an ice chest in the truck and catch youi limit and transfer them and go get another limit. i have caught 50 in less than an hour and these are the slabs. 2-4 pounds. hawg mommas. one day i got ouit there early and anchored down and startted fishing and when the sun came up it looked like a post card. there were no less than 1000 boats almost bumper to bumper. youi could probably walk a mile from boat to boat. when they start biting i will definitely get the word and post it here. abouit two months away still, but getting closer. all you need is about 4 rods each and a bucket of shiners. i can show you how to rig up. i have found a way that has been much better for me. just fish strait down under the boat. when they are biting a little slow, i will drift for them and i have done pretty good that way too.

i will keep you posted on the situation . . .

doc

Marty · October 28, 2004, 10:57:19 AM

Doc...I know what you are talking about with the drifting, by late Dec last yeqr that's pretty much all I was doing, & it was producing the slabs. I'm just guessing you are talking about LOP? I have never tried crappie fishing over there but I have heard alot about it. You can expect to be hearing from me in a couple of months, I will definitely take you up on that deal! As far as fishing for them here on the Red, I would be glad to take or show any of you guys but I'm really only just fishing community holes, I don't have any secret spots. I'll post when I find 'em snapping! Hehe...we'll just have a big 'ol convoy going down the river! By the way, Doc....yeah, I know the TX limit is 25 fish, of course you know it's 50 here in LA. I gotta tell ya though, by the time I clean 30 or 40 on a cold winter evening in the dark I have had about all I want for that day. Sometimes I just leave 'em in the cooler on ice & do it the next day, but I really prefer to get it done the same day. 25's a pretty good number if they're all slabs. Thanks for the invite!

Marty

docwaldo · October 28, 2004, 02:23:49 PM

marty--i did not intentionally leave out the lake's name. yes it is lake o' the pines. and when they are on, they are way on. and the colder the better. i have been ouit there before when i had ice on my rod tip in a matter of minutes. i have some spots saved on my gps that have been more productive, but the real key is to just find some trash on hte edge of a creek. and hang on. the days where the wind is blowing are a little better (azs long as it is not gail force winds) b/c it keeps you in the same spot insetad of drifting back and forth. my shiner store closed up right by the lake, so i am gonna have to find another place to get shiners. sholdn't be too hard to find the shiners. but i would love to "hook up with ya!!" and anyone else for that matter. this is no secret. there will be over a thousand boats out there when they are ripping lips like crazy.

drop it deep over a brush pile, , ,

doc

Marty · October 28, 2004, 03:05:51 PM

Doc,

How about a jig bite? HAve you done pretty good with jigs? I usually have some minners with me, but if I can get 'em to bite a jig, then the minners can go for a swim, hahaha!

Marty

Rickoos · October 28, 2004, 03:09:28 PM

Doc & Marty,

Please remember us when they start biting, man, that is something I have always dream of and would love to put the wife on some crappie like that. She's learning how to bass fish, but bream & crappie fishing is her love.......Should would like to get on a trip like that for sure.......

Ricky

Mike Cork · October 28, 2004, 03:12:57 PM

Rickoos, The crappie up here are massive 2-4 pounders are really caught alot. I take it you don't have that down there. We have two good times to catch them here. The dead of winter and then my favorite, the first week of April you can catch them on the shorelines with a bettle spin. It takes some covering water but the bonus is once you find the pack you can catch them cast after cast. I have caught 23 out of 25 casts, when you hit the right hole.

Rickoos · October 28, 2004, 03:15:26 PM

OK, guys!!!!!!! You can sign me up anytime now for the next available crappie trip, OK....

Ricky

Marty · October 28, 2004, 04:06:54 PM

Hey Mike,

This past spring, a friend & I were fishing in the 1st Baptist Church open tournament out of Clark's. Anyhow, we were working down a bank line with lots of laydowns, looking for Mr. Bass, & we got into the slabs, & caught a good mess of them. The reason I'm mentioning it is that we caught them all of junbug lizards! Like I said, we were fishing a tournament, but we didn't mind those big old slab crappie hanging out in the livewell too. I told another friend about them later & he went down & stroked them too. You know they're good sized when they're eating 6" lizards!

Marty

Rickoos · October 28, 2004, 04:35:27 PM

Marty,

you're breaking my heart, buddy....

I sure hope we can make a trip this winter and catch a few of those nice crappie.....

Ricky

Marty · October 28, 2004, 06:16:22 PM

Rickroos, don't cry buddy

! If I'm lucky enough to get on them like last year, then there will be plenty to go around. Hopefully it will be a repeat of last Nov,Dec & Jan & the harvest will be bountiful. I don't mind sharing, heck that's how I "found" them myself. I've always felt pretty good about sharing fishing info, even spots (unless I have a soon-approaching tournament & need to keep my mouth shut)! I would have more fun perch jerking with some friends than just keeping a good spot secret & fishing it by myself. At least half the fun is seeing everybody else catching too. If/when I get on them you are welcome to come up here & partake. I'll be glad to show you what I know, which ain't all that much. Sounds like doc has the ticket over there on LOP. Even with the smaller limits, & the high-dollar TX license for non-residents (that's the worst part!) and a little further to drive, I'd still make the trip because it sounds cool. Hey doc, where do you normally put in at? I'm assuming somewhere close to the dam? I know there's a ramp on the wet side of the dam, I have fished for bass in that area a time or two.

Marty

Ron Fogelson · October 29, 2004, 08:29:12 AM

Rickoos even after the Nov/Dec/Jan crappie bite is done Jan/Feb/Mar is when the white bass start running on the Sabin (spell) River. I missed out on last years run do to my lovely vacation in Iraq. Anyhow, we go out there by the boat load & you can sit on a hole all day long and they will hit, just about everything. No kidding I watched a guy pull them in for over an hour on chunks of green apple. The point? Your more then welcome to come on up anytime & fish, Bass, crappie or white bass, like Marty said the fun is in fishing with friends and having a good time.

Play Nice or Die!
Fogy

Rickoos · November 01, 2004, 11:14:45 AM

Thanks guys for the invite, I will surely take ya'll up on that............

lloks like we will be trailering up at least once a month for sure if not more..............

Ricky

Marty · November 07, 2004, 11:41:20 AM

Well............the river's muddy from all that rain we just had but I just had to try it out anyhow. Only caught a couple of dinks in the community hole and it didn't look like the other couple of guys who were there did much better. I did manage to get into some schooling bass later in the afternoon that were chasing shad all around. I saw a few bass come completely out of the water after them. Caught a few of the bass on traps then they quit as suddenly as they started. Nothing real big, up to 1 1/2 lbs I would say. The crappie bite should be getting better with each passing day that the water clears, though. I have heard rumors about a few good catches, but nothing consistent yet. Shouldn't be long now, though

!

Marty

Mike Cork · November 07, 2004, 04:54:16 PM

Good deal, catching a couple means it won't be long now. Hey if you don't mind where were those school bass?

Marty · November 14, 2004, 04:17:20 PM

I went to the community hole yesterday and right away, within less than 10 minutes I hooked into a 7 lb. catfish on my long crappie rod with 4 lb test line. Took awhile, that bad boy did not want to come up from the deeps at all, and with 4 lb line there was no horsin' him either. It stayed on the bottom for what seemed like about 20 minutes, but I didn't really check the time. All I know is it was stripping line more than I was winding back in and by the time it finally got tired enough to let me get a net under it, I was about 60 feet from where I started & had gone down to the last inch of line on my ultralight reel at least twice! 7 lbs ain't a monster, but on 4 lb line & a 10 ft wimpy noodle rod is might as well be a 150 lb tarpon. Anyhow, back to the crappie report: not a single crappie caught!

I really thought they would be biting at least a little, but I was the only boat out there & I guess they all knew what I didn't, they're not on yet. I caught a few small bar fish & a bream & that's it! Now my boat's going back to the shop because my motor's still not 100% since getting the powerhead replaced earlier this year. I figured I better get it straightend out while the fish (crappie) are slow so I'll have it when they're on! Oh yeah, last thing, on Thursday I went to the Cypress River, or Big Cypress Bayou at the Hwy 43 bridge in TX with a friend who thought the crappie bite was on. Well....at least for us on that day.....it wasn't

We must have gone about 10 miles up river & down river as far as the Caddo State Park but all we had to show for our efforts was 2 keeper crappies, a few dinks, a few small stripers & 3 small bass. It looked like a great fishing hole, though & I will definitely be back to try again. He says the fishing is outstanding up that way in general with lots of slab crappie that WILL be caught when they get going.

Marty

Mike Cork · November 14, 2004, 04:22:56 PM

WOW thats a monter cat on such a rod, bet it was fun...

Thanks for the report, since they haven't started yet looks like you will be the first to know

I know the red is usually muddy this time of year but right now it is really bad, do you think that will slow them down a bit?

You will have to keep us posted on the Caddo Crappies too. Thanks

bassadict69 · December 22, 2004, 09:03:27 AM

Any reports on the white perch yet?

docwaldo · December 26, 2004, 08:51:08 PM

see my post under dock talk and also in the texas lakes reports under lake o' the pines. they will get better for the next few weeks. holler if you wanna go. i am off friday.

bassadict69 · January 01, 2006, 07:45:00 PM

Fished the river for crappie today from about noon til about 4:45pm. We were fishing the bridge pilings on 12 Mile Bayou. Ended up with 23 crappie, 3 bass, 1 catfish & 2 gasper gou (for the cats)

All fish caught on silver shiners. Water temp was 56-57 degrees.

Going back in the morning & will post another report tomorrow evening.