Crappie

March 26, 2012

I dropped off Gabe at Boy Scouts about 730pm and had an hour before I had to pick him up. In that hour I ran down to the Potomac River at a mouth of a popular creek to try and fish for crappie beneath the bridge. A few days ago I tried this but mostly threw Muskie lures and did not fish crappie tubes under floats, just free lined them, and was skunked. Plus I must have tried several other times for crappie there this winter without a sniff.  I rigged a 2” red and chartreuse grub/tube by YUM on a 1/16oz head about 3.5 feet below a fixed float and threw it under the bridge near the log jams. Maybe the second cast when the bait drifted towards the middle of the southern shore tunnel the float dropped. A respectable crappie. Next cast, massive, 12+ inch crappie and that continued for a few more casts. After the fifth one I decided to keep one thinking I’d have a fish fry but you guessed it, I only caught small ones after that. But the fish were still hitting when it was well past dark, although not nearly as well. The local guy named Tom I think with the lazy eye and all the dogs who gets the cops called on him all the time by camp Culeva was there. He claimed to have landed two bass over 5 pounds this year and one about 9 pounds. Said he was going to show me a picture of the 9 pounder but said his phone was dead. I could see it lit up just fine. He’s been known to catch a few fish there and claims to have caught 500 something bass there last year, but he fishes nearly every day and says he lives in Chantilly. So why come all the way over there?

Weather had been nice with the longest stretch of record breaking heat I’ve ever seen in the spring. Then some rain came over the weekend, less than .5 inches, and a front arrived. Air temps were in the 50’s and dropping with much cooler air coming later that night. The fish were feeding very well. Good to know the spring crappie bite is good near that bridge. I had been skunked several times already this year trying just that but finally put it together. I think the fact that I fished near current in deep water near structure was the key. Previously I fished near more structure and deeper water but no current and no fish except bluegill. Weird how the crappie were not over on the northern bank with more trees in the water. It must the current situation. Or the fact that I suspended the tube with a float. These crappie are equally as big as any tidal Potomac river crappie I’ve ever seen. Who needs to run down there to fish the spoils and catch contaminated fish when good old local Creek is loaded with them? I can’t wait to get back down there today sometime and put in a little more effort. I'll just have to stretch the truth about what I'm doing. I already told my wife I was cooking dinner. She asked me what and I wasn't going to tell her. Not sure how I'm going to say how we got all those crappie. Look at me, assuming I'm going to do well again. But I have a feeling I've figured this out.

Most people would be like, Crappie?! Who cares? Well, I used to be that way too. I've never really had a good crappie bite. Of course I've seen thousands on TV, mostly with those idiot guys like Bill Dance who is about as exciting as a watching grass grow or that half breed Jimmy Huston who a lot of people say I look like. I think in that single hour yesterday, or more like 30 minutes when you take in driving time, may have been the best crappie action I've ever experienced. That and the other day coming back to National Airport at the end of the day, already running late, I found a good school under the boat dock there at the ramp of all placed. I think that must have wet my appetite for more crappie. Then I go at one of the closest places to home and have a phenomenal 30 minutes of fishing. Gotta love that. The allure for me was that I've never really been able to do it well before. Plus I've rarely put that much time or effort in to Crappie fishing. It's nice to put a little effort into something very specific and have it pay off. We'll see what kind of fish fry I can come up with later tomorrow.

March 28, 2012 Update




You guessed it. I fished from 5:30pm to 7:30pm yesterday with Ryan and we didnt' get a bite. Well, we did hook into bluegill but that was it. I couldn't believe it either. Ryan was getting very impatient again and even said the dreaded words "I don't like fishing anymore Daddy." But he did enjoy hanging off the bridge while I grabbed his sweater so he could watch his float.  Except he'd contstantly set the hook, we've been working on that technique. I thought for sure I had those fish figured out. There were two other guys trying who Tom must have brought or called to tell about the crappie bite. They knew what they were doing and were also throwing tubes under floats and such. The only difference from the other day was that we left when I arrived yesterday. It's possible the fish didn't turn on till later but I highly doubt it. Even when Tom swears they mostly get crappie after dark. This guy also said he caught a 9 pound bass. Both are believable but unlikely. I think Crappie can feed after dark but not as well and therefore the fishing won't be as good as the magic hour, that hour before/during sunset. So did the cold weather that moved in the night before affect the fishing that much? People were catching smallmouth, just not crappie. Did they fish move on? Move out to the river or up the creek? Or is there no other explanation other than that's fishing. Sometimes there just isn't any rhyme or reason and that's when that annoying word "luck" comes into play.


I hate that word when synonymous with fishing.  The other day someone asked me, "Any luck"?  Yea, we all know what he's implying but I still dont' like it.  And guess what, I didn't have any luck.  Anyway, back to the crappie one more time before I try something/somewhere else.  The snakehead have shown up in the eddies around Chain Bridge but my past experience over the last couple of years is that they have lock jaw this time of year.  You could make a dozen casts at the same fish and it won't show any interest. The shad fishing is reportedly better than the weekend even though the river clarity and height has changed for the worse. I'll figure something out but I'm suppose to meet my wife in her office to help with some data entry.  Maybe  I can squeeze in a quick trip before or after.  After all, I am supposed to be the opportunistic fisherman.