Posted by Dave Brandes from rtg-lan1.oag.com on January 30, 1999 at 21:32:40:
In Reply to: Re: Chain 1/30/99 posted by Doug V. on January 30, 1999 at 20:37:43:
: :
: : : Fished Pistakee this morning. Had a good Crappie bite thanks to Dave and the rest of the guys who posted here. Most did not catch fish and they were on the bottom. Fish that were feeding were suspended at about 12 feet.Small pimple and Nail tails were doing the trick. We left at 11:30 and the ice around the edges was still firm. There's about 8 inches of good ice, but there are many black areas starting to develop, be careful and fish with a buddy. Tight lines.
: : I also had a killer morning Crappie fishing thanks to Dave Brandes, Caught over 18 Crappies this morning with the largest crappie just a hair under 14 inches, All caught on nail tails without tipping never thought iI could catch Crappies thru the Ice without tipping the jig. Well anyway Thanks Dave for the accurate Posting.
: I also was at Pistakee this morning along with probably another 50 other guys.
: The bite was good when a school of fish came through which were suspended in the 10 - 15 foot range. If you could get more than one crappie when a school moved through, that was good. It really seemed like the crappies moved around a big area today. It may have something to do with the bright sunny conditions. I picked up a few catfish, drum and some small white bass.
: I spoke to a gentleman this morning from Orland Park who referenced the bulletin board also. I did not catch the gentlemans name, however I believe he had a decent day also.
: What has the afternoon bite been like? I have had to leave by late morning always.
: Happy Fishing.
: Doug
The crappie fishing on Pistakee although it's been good can be very frustrating to say the least. They've been moving around more than white bass which are famous for being an open water roaming species...the mild temperatures the last few winters may have something to do with this. My experience has been, consistently cold weeks(with highs at least below freezing) with thick ice(at least 1.5-2feet thick) hold the crappie schools in one area longer. These mild weeks we've been having seem to break the large schools up into many different smaller schools and put them on the run searching over larger areas for their food source.
The afternoon bite for us has been about equal to the morning peak activity...yet, it's still necessary to keep searching to find the scattered schools, get a few and then move on. Last winter I posted it might payoff to try after dark...a week later I talked with anglers who were getting 100-200 crappies after dark on small minnows.