When I catch a cooler full of crappie, I always use an electric fillet knife but when I only catch a handful, I just grab a straight knife. I normally use a 6-inch knife but this time I tested out the Smith’s 8-inch Mr. Crappie Slab Sticker.
I’ve never seen the movie Ice Age. But a buddy would periodically quote things out of it and said that there was a random squirrel that would pop up now and then.
Well, with the current weather pattern I think that I’m going to make a sequel-ICE AGE PART II! To add a new twist, I’m going to use a whistle pig instead of a squirrel so it has an Idaho flavor.
When I was a kid, I distinctly remember one of my grade school teachers teaching us that the sun was going to eventually burn out and everything on earth would freeze.
Now, 60 years later they’re scaring small children with global warming. After this winter (Which is still going on.
I flew home on 4/14 and it has snowed this week three times and was 27 degrees some mornings with a hard frost on our windshields) I’m more likely to believe that we are in danger of dying of the 2nd ICE AGE than of Global Warming!
But regardless, Saturday I had to man-up and perform my husbandly duties and go try to catch some fish to feed the family. Normally by this time of year the crappie spawn is going on hot and heavy.
I knew that it was too early but I have to fly out on 4/24 so I figured I’d check them out even though I knew that I was early since I wouldn’t be able to fish for two more weeks.
The experts tell us that crappie will move out of their wintering holes when the water temps hit 45-50 degrees.
At 55 they will stage outside of their spawning areas and at 60 the males will move in close to shore to prepare a nest. At 60-65 the females will move in to spawn and it’s game on!
I’ve caught thousands of crappie but never have caught one that was carrying a thermometer. So, we’ll assume that the above temps are approximates. I always forget to carry a thermometer until I’m out fishing. But some year I’m going to carry one so I can test those theories.
Now realize, those temps listed above are approximates. Some will move in to spawn sooner and some later but these temps I would assume cover the majority them.
And as I suspected, it was just a little too early for the spawn. I fished about 5-hours and only caught 13 fish.
A couple of the males had bloodied their tails building nests and could tell the females were definitely plump with eggs. So, if you go right now, you’ll get a handful that are up close to the bank spawning but not many.
The best way to catch them at the moment is to get into a school that is staged out from the bank. I don’t have a fish finder on the Black Pearl which of course would have been a big aid in finding them.
Looking at the weather it appears that the temps are going to be in the 80’s by the end of the week. The first day of warm weather and everyone will be all gung-ho to go fishing but remember, it takes a few days for the water temps to rise.
Since the fishing was bad and didn’t provide much fodder to write about let’s talk about some of the new gear that I tested.
ROD/REEL
The older I get, the less time I want to spend fishing with Kmart quality rods & reels. It takes a lot of time, money and effort to get out on the lake. I don’t want to spend my fishing time fishing with a dysfunctional reel. This year I got a couple of Daiwa reels. Their Exceler 25000D and 15000D reels. It was a delight fishing with the 250000D Saturday.
I also got their Spinmatic-D-Ultralight rod. Just because I’m using an ultralight on panfish doesn’t mean that I don’t want some spine to the rod. I don’t want to fish with a noodle. I like 6 ½-foot rods so I can cast further and fish more efficiently.
RAIN GEAR
I grabbed A Frogg Togg River Toadz raincoat. Always, always carry a rain coat. It’s miserable to be out on the water in the rain with no raincoat. The River Toadz is a very compactable raincoat and easy to carry. And don’t forget, use a raincoat to block a cool breeze blowing across the water. It is always cooler on the lake.
I also broke down and grabbed a FT waterproof bag-their FTX Boat Bag. I normally stuff my coat, food etc. in a plastic bag.
But since the not so seaworthy Black Pearl has mysteriously sprung a few minor leaks, it was time to get a real waterproof bag.
PLASTICS
You got to try out the Lake Fork Trophy Lures plastics. They have slotted tails so any movement and they wiggle.
I met the owners Ronnie and Anne Parker 10-15 years ago. I went down to Texas and stayed with them in their lake cabin, fished a couple of days and toured their plant. They have since sold out and a new guy owns the company. I love their plastics.
SUMMARY
Well, I have the cool gear, just need for the ICE AGE II to warm up so the crappie unthaw! Gee, it snowed three days last week. If it doesn’t hurry up, 200 years from now some archeologist will be digging around a remote high desert lake and discovered an ancient ice age victim. I can visualize the report now.
World renown archeologist Fred Pudd discovered an ancient hunter/gatherer that unfortunately appears to have been frozen solid in a sudden artic blast. He named the specimen Ice Age Tom.
It is figured him and his family would have starved anyway. He only had one small crappie in his cooler. Probably was good to get him out of the gene pool.
Tom Claycomb is a hunting enthusiast and writes a bi-monthly column for Great Basin Sun.