Clearlake crappie

[Quinnphoto]

I got hooked last year on crappie fishing at Clearlake. I went only twice but I put it in my calendar to get back again close to the same time of the year. The crappie are in a pre-spawn mode so they can be found in fishable fly fishing depths. What’s so fun with the Clearlake crappie is their size. They are quite sizable fish getting up to four pounds. Most are in the 1 1/2 lb to 2 1/2 pound size and scrappie fighters. I didn’t quite reach double digit numbers but a guide I fished nearby with his two guests got into 62. He said his totals were down a bit from the week because of the full moon stage. I guess I now have a reason why I didn’t get into the double digits.
I think I will have to try again and see if I can attain my goal of over ten fish for this year.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

They are a beautiful fish......

A 3 pounder would probably be a battle.

How do they fly fish for them.....?



A friend of mine fishes for them at night from a boat with lights in Lake Berryessa.

[Quinnphoto]

I used both a floating line with a midge or balanced leech or an intermediate line with a nymph or wooly bugger.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Thanks Bill

[BS]

I got hooked last year on crappie fishing at Clearlake. I went only twice but I put it in my calendar to get back again close to the same time of the year. The crappie are in a pre-spawn mode so they can be found in fishable fly fishing depths. What’s so fun with the Clearlake crappie is their size. They are quite sizable fish getting up to four pounds. Most are in the 1 1/2 lb to 2 1/2 pound size and scrappie fighters. I didn’t quite reach double digit numbers but a guide I fished nearby with his two guests got into 62. He said his totals were down a bit from the week because of the full moon stage. I guess I now have a reason why I didn’t get into the double digits.
I think I will have to try again and see if I can attain my goal of over ten fish for this year.


This sounds a lot better than spending $ 24.00 just to practice casting for the day !!!!! :p:p

Way to go Bill, I'm envious. :D:D

I may have to give Lahontan Reservoir a try real soon .............. however, there's no Dang Cutthroats in there. !!!:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Keep the reports coming !!!!! :cool::cool:



Bob

[Quinnphoto]

This sounds a lot better than spending $ 24.00 just to practice casting for the day !!!!! :p:p

Way to go Bill, I'm envious. :D:D

I may have to give Lahontan Reservoir a try real soon .............. however, there's no Dang Cutthroats in there. !!!:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Keep the reports coming !!!!! :cool::cool:



Bob

Will do Bob. I think our fishing skills vs our patience for Pyramid is waning thin. Maybe wait a little longer for more fish to come closer to shore.

[BS]

I think our fishing skills vs our patience for Pyramid is waning thin. Maybe wait a little longer for more fish to come closer to shore.

Your words of wisdom never spoken any better !!!! :cool::cool:


Bob

[Jay Murakoshi]

I use a sliding bobber with a balanced leech pattern, usually olive or black. I adjust the depth using a bobber stopper. Usually around 10' to 12'. We have some sunken Christmas trees in most of the coves at the lake I fish. They are not as big as what you are catching, I wish they were.

[Jcolin]

Would you guys recommend april-may for crappie? Ive only caught them incidentally when bass fishing, usually earlier in the season. Thanks

[Quinnphoto]

Would you guys recommend april-may for crappie? Ive only caught them incidentally when bass fishing, usually earlier in the season. Thanks

Good question. I think your timeline is correct for most bodies of waters in the valley. Clearlake’s season for crappie is starting now and gets better as the spawning starts taking place.

[McFish]

Fish are away from shore now. Closer to shore (spin cast distance, or fly rod) by mid-March. IMO late March-April is best; my club uses pontoon boats then. USE A FLAG to warn bass boats who like to fly by at 40 mph or more.

[Quinnphoto]

Went again Thursday. The water was low vis but it seems that way every time I go. The water temp was 47 -49. Used my fish finder and never did see a school all day. The guide came by at one point and I asked him if he saw any schools, he said it was a tough morning so far. He was covering a lot of water with three clients. I pretty much stayed where I thought fish might eventually come by. I focused on staying around 13’ deep and fishing my indicator midge rig at 3 and 6 feet. Had another set up with a white balanced leech set at eight feet. I stripped the rig with slight pulls and pauses. I know my white balanced leech was the right color and size since the guide boat had a client throw over my line and while untangling the mess I saw his terminal set up. All in all it was a day of fits and starts but a beautiful winter day. I eventually did get 11 chunky crappie and got home in time to do some volunteer work in the evening.

[lee s.]

We fished Sat and Sun afternoons getting double digit bags each day.
The schools are REAL small, only generally producing a large speck on the sounder and hard to see on side view. We like to drift when not too crowded, but anchor when traffic dictates. We toss white sparkle buggers or colors of the hour...fishes' choice. One rod gets a sinking line set up (type ll this w/e) and one get a bobber (indicator) set up so that boredom can be alleviated somewhat.
Most of your high scores are produced by users of "live scope" or such sonar allowing them to follow the extremely small schools. I'm sure you saw your guide (Ed?) and others wandering around and thru boats focusing on their "TV's" with the electric motors.
All fishing beats the couch and crappie are fun to figure out....even when there are just a few.
....lee s.

[Quinnphoto]

We fished Sat and Sun afternoons getting double digit bags each day.
The schools are REAL small, only generally producing a large speck on the sounder and hard to see on side view. We like to drift when not too crowded, but anchor when traffic dictates. We toss white sparkle buggers or colors of the hour...fishes' choice. One rod gets a sinking line set up (type ll this w/e) and one get a bobber (indicator) set up so that boredom can be alleviated somewhat.
Most of your high scores are produced by users of "live scope" or such sonar allowing them to follow the extremely small schools. I'm sure you saw your guide (Ed?) and others wandering around and thru boats focusing on their "TV's" with the electric motors.
All fishing beats the couch and crappie are fun to figure out....even when there are just a few
.
....lee s.
You’re right Lee, it was Ed. I don’t have live view so it’s a pick your likely spot anchor and hope they come by me. Your day sounds like a good one for the few numbers of fish in the schools.
I think the herd was thinned out last year with so many meat eaters.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Some years ago when I worked at the bait shop in West Sacramento a Crappie Chaser told me that when they caught a fish, they would hook a bobber to it and turn it lose. It would go back to the school and they would follow the bobber.


I think it might be illegal?

[Quinnphoto]

Some years ago when I worked at the bait shop in West Sacramento a Crappie Chaser told me that when they caught a fish, they would hook a bobber to it and turn it lose. It would go back to the school and they would follow the bobber.


I think it might be illegal?

So many ways to catch or find fish. It’s fun thinking out of the box. I love fishing!!!!!

[dave earl]

We fished Sat and Sun afternoons getting double digit bags each day.
The schools are REAL small, only generally producing a large speck on the sounder and hard to see on side view. We like to drift when not too crowded, but anchor when traffic dictates. We toss white sparkle buggers or colors of the hour...fishes' choice. One rod gets a sinking line set up (type ll this w/e) and one get a bobber (indicator) set up so that boredom can be alleviated somewhat.
Most of your high scores are produced by users of "live scope" or such sonar allowing them to follow the extremely small schools. I'm sure you saw your guide (Ed?) and others wandering around and thru boats focusing on their "TV's" with the electric motors.
All fishing beats the couch and crappie are fun to figure out....even when there are just a few.
....lee s.

Interested to see if anybody here uses livescope for crappie and bass? Pricey but if it works could be a real game changer.
I fly fished clearlake with Ryan 2 years ago and he hadn't heard of it.

[Rossflyguy]

Interested to see if anybody here uses livescope for crappie and bass? Pricey but if it works could be a real game changer.
I fly fished clearlake with Ryan 2 years ago and he hadn't heard of it.

Now there’s the 360 instead of just side scan.

[dave earl]

Now there’s the 360 instead of just side scan.

I figured something new is out since livescope is on sale

[MThompson]

I installed Livescope on my boat a few months ago. Wouldn't want to fish without it. It's very popular with serious crappie fishermen and they are some of the best at using it. It is different tech than Hummingbird's 360. Livescope only shows you what the forward facing transducer is pointed at. The image is truly live and active fish will show up as a bright blob on your screen moving exactly as the fish does. You can even see the turbulence from an active fishes fins. I'm still learning it and there is a lot that goes into dialing it in.
And of course, just because you can see them doesn't mean you can catch them. There's been plenty of times when they follow a bait to the bottom and just stare at it or swim off. Frustrating.

[Jay Murakoshi]

You should be able to see your lure/fly. My buddy watches the screen and can see when the fish grabs his worm. Amazing technology nowadays. I remember years ago when I had a hummingbird graph. One big roll of paper and a plotter which would make the contours and structure. The bad thing is you couldn't GPS the location.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

50 years ago it was 'Lowrance' and 'Ray Jefferson' bottom and fish finders that were circular "Flashers" in a metal box.

17771

[lee s.]

The technology IS absolutely fantastic! I, for one, am not so sure just how effective our predation should be allowed to go. Remember the sardine? As a cycling resource, crappie would seem to NEED their "hard to find" time to rebuild. There is a reason nature works with balance....
....lee s.

[Scott V]

Why even fish if you are staring at a screen watching your lure or fly get taken by fish. Main reason I don't like indicators, boring as hell waiting for something to go under. I know guys that use those new finders, takes the fun out of fishing in my opinion. But hey, whatever you need to catch a fish.

[MThompson]

Have you used one Scott?

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

A simple fish finder / bottom finder is good for just seeing where the drop off are and the deeper holes.

I like the GPS /mapping features.

Most will never be able to afford the top of the line like the live action stuff.


Scuba spear fishing is pretty effective.


We fly fish, mostly top water, barbless and don't touch the fish much so we hope we have little impact.

In a day we don't catch very many fish anyway.

I hate going to a popular trout or steelhead fishery were all the fish have no mandibles.


I am sure the World's commercial Asian fleets are using the best there is to clean the oceans of all protein.

[Bob Smith]

This is off another forum, sea lions and herring in Yaquina Bay Oregon as viewed through a Garmin Panoptix:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DelNehJ9tc

[lee s.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_cTEL0EnqM
Some of that kind of stuff being done in this video. Looks danged fun to me! However, it seems more in the realm of acquiring and operating electronics....with a BIT of fishing thrown in. Sorta like ANYONE can drive an automatic....but give'em a clutch?
A FISHERMAN can still take a boat and a rod and catch some fish....
....lee s.
P.S.
Bill,
It is by far NOT only Asian fishing fleets using the very best and newest electronics to be the most efficient at plundering the bounty.

[Scott V]

Have you used one Scott? nope, and would never use one especially at $1,000. I have about a dozen buddies that use them. I only use my fish finder to know the depth. If I don't catch fish, oh well. I'd rather be skunked then use something like that, its just not me. To each their own, use dynamite if it is legal for all I care.