The One Question

 Fellow fishers are always curious about how other fishers are catching fish. They ask what kind of bait or color you are using, but the one question that everyone ask, that is probably the most irrelevant, is "how deep are you fishing"? The one thing modern technology has proven is that under most circumstances, there is no right answer to this question. Unless there is extreme weather like really hot or cold, fish will be all over the water column. This is especially true for crappie. 

Livescope technology has totally changed the perception that fish all school together at a certain depth. As a matter of fact I have seen fish swimming a few inches under water, even in 30 feet of water. One would think that if a fish in that depth of water, it surely would be suspended deeper than a few inches. 

Even in cover like standing timber, some fish may be at the top, some in the middle, and some may be on the very bottom and all on the same tree. 

So next time you are fishing and are curious about how someone is catching fish, the one question you can skip, is "how deep are you fishing"?

That being said, there are exceptions to every rule. At one of the Crappie Masters events, the winning team used livescope technology and had found most of their big fish right on the bottom. In cases like that, the "how deep are they" question might be appropriate. But the other 90% of the time, that probably won't be the case

The best question you can ask when other fishers are catching and you are not, is "can I see that bait you are using?"  It seems that the key to catching more fish is presentation, type of bait, and color. 

So for those who don't have the latest technology, how does one know how deep to fish? The best answer is to experiment and change depths until you locate fish. Just because you found fish 2 feet deep in one spot, doesn't mean they will that deep at the next.

For the novice fisher, when fish are active, like during the spawn, fishing the same depth will be beneficial. When fishing brush piles in deeper water, fish will often be at a certain depth. But the rest of the time its trial and error. 

So the next time you see someone catching fish, ask them "can I see that bait" and skip the question "how deep are you fishing?"

Good luck fishing. Hope to see ya on the water. 






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shallow Water Live Scoping

Image
Shallow water livescoping is not as easy or simple as one might think. The sheer amount of noise can make it difficult to spot the targeted fish you are trying to catch. When talking shallow, I mean 6 ft or less. So you have bought the coveted holy grail Garmin livescope or the new Lowrance Active Target. These innovations have changed the way fishers fish for certain. Deeper lakes/reservoirs are easier to navigate and spot brushpiles and fish. Shallow water seems to be more difficult. The settings are basically the same, usually noise rejection on low or medium. Then you adjust the gain and depths accordingly. Some scopers like to keep the bottom at the lower part of the screen which works fine in deep water. But sometimes in real shallow water, the view gets distorted and it's harder to see the fish. I like to put the depth at half or three quarter screen. These are only personal preferences that work for me. The key to catching more fish in real shallow water, is knowing what t
Read more

Catching That Crappie Wave

Image
Every year, starting late winter, well-into late spring and even early summer, crappie begin their spawn. The wave starts here in the deep south and will continue as far north into Canada. It is perhaps the favorite time of year for crappie anglers. It's that time of year when even the novice of novice fishers can catch numbers of spawning fish. Just like clockwork, the spawn occurs here in the southern regions of the United States and progressively moves like a giant wave of crappie fishing heaven. Typically starting late January to mid February, the flurry begins and spreads north through the middle states from middle March through April. The wave continues north through April and May. So if you are a crappie enthusiust, and have time to travel, you can ride this crappie wave all the way to Canada. This may be a little far fetched for most of us, but it is possible to catch part of the ride by traveling a few hours north of where you are fishing. Perhaps the best example here in
Read more