Trolling for Percy Priest Crappie
 

This is my summertime favorite. Went out late Friday morning. Caught about 25-30 fish a mix of short crappie 4 nice bass and yellow bass all on crappie style cranks. Did have 11 keepers, 2 largest pushing 15 inches several 11-13 range and a few 10 inches. Electronics were key I was in 20 FOW most of the day off deep channel areas fishing about 15ft or so. When I saw bait I was marking fish. If I didn't see bait I moved on. I put in at Long Hunter and fished there and Hong Kong island area. I trolled with 3 rods and had several doubles which is always fun! Water temp was 85-86.
Interesting one crankbait ruled the day it was pearl colored with a purple back with red eyes. I'll post some Lowrance HDS 7 screenshots soon.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...c9dae24673.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...59cf4ee3c5.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...73712fe52c.jpg





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Nice catch.


Regards

Nice!

Awesome information, John.
That has always been my favorite area to troll in.
How fast were you trolling?
Nice to know which color was dominant.
I haven't trolled for crappie for a coupla years, generally I'm searching for hybrids.

Hey Merv I was trolling from 1.8 to 2.2 mph. I haven't trolled for hybrids for a while.


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A few screen shots from my crappie catch. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...201ef680c5.jpg
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...e31c9a1ce3.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...6302e1a4d6.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...8e15359fe2.jpg


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Hmmmmmm.....not enough evidence in those screen shots to convince me to stop and fish. LMAO.
whats cool there, is you can see where the fish are in relation to the bait.
in some pics the fish are above the bait and others they are below the bait.
Good stuff man!

Interesting report Dakota. I had almost identical results Friday morning. Same depths, same speeds. Lots of big fish. Caught more largemouth bass than I could shake a stick at. Had a decent (7lbish) hybrid break me off at the boat. More yellow stripe than I cared to catch and two or three catfish. I even put in at the same ramp! I was located west of your location though.

Did you get checked by the TWRA creel guy? He checked me but I only had 5 keepers at the time. I added a bunch more after he left. I fished from about 9:30-2:00.

Here was my color of the day

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...pswkacvnnh.jpg

Funny how did we not run into each other. Interesting you ask about the TWRA creel clerk because I always get checked when I have no fish. I thought for sure he'd be by but never seen him. Side note: My girls ate half of my catch the next day. Plus I added a few sauger I caught in January. They love fried Crappie and catfish. My wife loves it because I do the frying outside. Well she likes the fish too. Happy trolling!

Awesome screen shots there!

Seeing those ALMOST tempts me to do some crappie fishing.

Trolling??
 

Dakota what type motors are you guys trolling with. Those are some awesome screen shots. I just got a new to me boat with side image and can't wait to get out and play. Will this type pattern hold up most of the year

I have a Yamaha 115 4 stroke that I use its really quiet. Most probably use the trolling motor, as long as you keep speeds from 1.8 to 2.2 mph or so. This pattern in my opinion is a summer time pattern. I've had success with trolling this time of year on old hickory too. Brush, bait deeper water. Sonar is everything! If I pull into a creek or edge of a channel and don't see baitfish or anything on my HDS 7 I don't fish I keep moving. That's not really a secret...


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Get after them!!! They are waiting for you.


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Do you have a trolling plate on the motor or something? Ive got a 70 yamaha 4 stroke and my slowest according to my electronics is like 2.3-2.4.

Drop your trolling motor down to add drag. Also you can trim up/down to slow you down too. That should get you in the range, but if not, hang a 5 gallon bucket out (or a mushroom anchor on about 5 ft of line) or buy a trolling bag. Plates work, but too well most of the time.

No I don't. There are plenty of times when I will pop into neutral if I get too fast. Also if I'm going into a stiff wind I generally don't have any problems keeping the preferred speed.


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All good ideas


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I think ive still got a trolling bag around here somewhere. If not though i will give the TM or anchor a shot. I would much rather use the big motor for trolling anyways.
Thanks!

I never use my trolling motor. But then again I have a small 16 foot aluminum Seark with a 25hp Johnson.

While side imaging and all that is very nice, it isn't necessary. My hummingbird unit is black and white. Shows depth, speed, water temp, bait and fish.

Study maps online before you go to get a general idea of where you want to troll with the desired depths. This will save a lot of time and guessing. Hit those areas and if bait isn't seen fairly quickly then move on.

This has worked very well for me over the years.

Am out at least once a week trolling cranks on Priest. I generally use the Bandits or the knockoffs from Academy, but sometimes a Wally Diver will work too. Always in the shad colors. My 70lb electric will drag my big boat around for over 8 hours at 1.5mph even on a windy day on one charge. Will catch just about everything in the lake that way. I use 12lb test both to help get my lure back when snagged and also when the occasional big hybrid or catfish hit. No houses around the lake so there is a lot of wildlife - especially fun to watch the osprey fishing. Even during the summer you can go out during the week from daylight till about 10 and pretty much have the place to yourself. When the first jet ski shows up then its time to go home.

How many rods do you guys use when trolling cranks?

4-8 when solo in my 16 ft boat, add another person and I can go up to 12 but usually just 8.

In my old man's 21 ft boat (CC), with 3 anglers we can go as many as 16, but usually just 10.

After over 55 years of fishing, for me catching the most fish is secondary to the experience. The rule in my boat is we are there to fish and relax, and not to untangle messes.

So when I am by myself - 2 rods is all I care to put out. When I have one other person along, he can put out 2 rods too, but generally we stick to 1 rod each. Anymore than 2 people and its alway 1 rod each.

Somehow or other still manage to catch enough crappie to keep the freezer full. Anything else generally goes back in the lake anyway.

I'll second that one..:D

👍👍

Great report!


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