I saw this bass holding under a dock and caught it on a Trick

We have a Jekyl and Hyde bass here in Georgia and it is taking over more and more of our waters each year. The Hyde side of spotted bass is that they are aggressive, meaning you can catch them easier under tough conditions. They are prolific, meaning you can catch a bunch. And they fight hard.

The Jekyll side is that they are aggressive, taking over habitat and eating food largemouth need. They are prolific, meaning they can take over a lake and crowd out largemouth and smallmouth. And they don’t grow nearly as big as largemouth, meaning your may give up catching a five pound largemouth to catch five one-pound spots.

Spots are native to a few north Georgia lakes and streams but misguided anglers have illegally transplanted them to many other waters. They do provide a good fishery in some of them, but often at the expense of other bass. Spots have almost eliminated smallmouth from most Georgia lakes where they once existed and have hurt populations of largemouth on many lakes.

The impact of spotted bass is reflected in the Georgia Bass Chapter Federation Creek Census Report compiled by Dr. Carl Quertermus at the University of West Georgia. Many middle Georgia lakes showed a spotted bass catch of less than ten percent in the early 1990s when they were first introduced. That percentage has increased to higher than 50 percent in many club tournaments now.

I remember the first spotted bass I ever saw at Jackson Lake. It was weighed in during a Spalding County Sportsman Club tournament in the early 1990s. Although the club fished Jackson several times a year that was the first one ever caught in a club tournament there. In December 2006 in a Sportsman Club tournament on Jackson 69.7 percent of the bass weighed in were spots.

Unless you have seen a lot of spots it is not easy to tell them from a largemouth without careful examination. Spots are usually a brighter color than largemouth, with more defined differences between the green blotches and the other areas. They have small black spots on their lower body below the lateral line, made up of the dark ends of scales there. And they have a smaller mouth.

The way most club fishermen identify spots is by rubbing their “tongue” and feeling a small rough spot. These so-called teeth are present in almost all spots and are absent in almost all largemouth. The identification is important because of the different size limits for spots and largemouth on some lakes.

The specific way to identify spots is the jaw does not extend back past the eye. Spots have scales on the base portion of the second dorsal fin and largemouth do not. A spot’s first and second dorsal fins are clearly connected and a largemouth’s are almost completely separated by a deep dip.

Spots seem to fight harder than largemouth. For some reason they pull harder for similar size largemouth. For that reason they are popular with fishermen. But spots do not grow as fast or as big as largemouth. The record largemouth was caught in Georgia and weighed 22 pounds, 4 ounces. A 25 pound plus largemouth was caught last year in California but was not submitted for the record.

The world record spot weighed 10 pounds 4 ounces and was caught in California. The Georgia record spot weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces. Ten pound largemouth are caught every year in Georgia but there has never been a ten pound spotted bass caught here. In most lakes spots average about a pound and you will seldom see a four pounder, but four pound largemouth are more common in those lakes.

Many of our middle Georgia lakes have cleared up significantly over the past 20 years and they helps spotted bass. Spots tend to bed deeper than largemouth and clearer water makes their spawn more successful. That habit also helps their spawn survive when lakes are pulled down during the spawn since their deeper beds are less likely to be left high and dry.

No matter how spots got in so many of our waters, and no matter their effect on other fish, they are fun to catch so we might as well take advantage of them. If you target spots you might need to change your tactics a little if you are used to fishing strictly for largemouth.

Rocks are a key to spots, as is deep water. Although you can catch them around other cover and structure, deep rocks are a favorite for them. Since they like open water the main lake is usually better for spots. So a deep rocky main lake point is ideal habitat for spotted bass.

Spots will hit a variety of baits but smaller baits seem to be better. They will take a 5 inch worm over a 10 inch worm most days, and they prefer a 1/4 ounce spinnerbait to a half ounce. Since they tend to be more aggressive a fast moving bait is usually better. So fishing a 1/4 ounce crankbait fast will produce more spots than a big crankbait reeled slowly under most conditions.

For some reason spots seem to have an affinity to chartreuse. Chartreuse crankbaits, spinnerbaits and worms all work well for spotted bass. Even the tip of a worm’s tail dipped in chartreuse dye increases your chance of catching a spot.

Since you are more likely to find spots in clear water and down deeper, lighter line is better. It also helps in throwing the smaller baits. And since spots tend to be smaller than largemouth and hold in more open water the lighter line on lighter outfits will allow you to take advantage of their stronger fight without as much risk losing them.

The preference of spots for smaller baits and lighter lines has lead to the popularity of small jig heads with small worms on them. Several brands like Spotsticker, Spot Remover and others attest to the popularity of fishing this kind of rig for spotted bass.

Some of our lakes are very good for spotted bass. If you want to target spots, give one of the following a try.

Lake Lanier

Lanier is Georgia’s premier spotted bass lake. Spots have been in it at least since the 1960s and may have been present when the lake was dammed in 1956. The introduction of blueback herring and the increase to 14 inches for the minimum size for bass at Lanier has made it a trophy spotted bass fishery.

Lanier has the qualities spots love. Deep rocky points cover the lake and the water is clear. There is also a lot of deep standing timber, another type cover spots like. Those characteristics combine with the herring and the size limit to make Lanier a special case in Georgia.

Spotted bass fishing is good all over the main lake. From the rocks at the dam to the riprap at Clark’s Bridge you will catch spots. In the 2005 Creel Census Report 87 percent of the bass weighed in at Lanier are spots, the second highest in the state. That is up from 78 percent in 1996.

By early summer there are two good ways to catch spots. Boat traffic makes fishing during the day tough, but if you can ride out the waves a topwater lure or soft jerkbait worked over humps and standing timber will bring spots up to eat them. Sunny days are best since blueback herring come toward the surface when it is sunny and spots wait to ambush the schools of herring as they pass over. Make your bait act like a herring being chased by a bass.

Fishing at night is a way to catch spots and avoid some of the boat traffic. Target humps and rocky points with spinnerbaits, crankbaits and Texas rigged worms. Try the Spotsticker jig on the bottom, fished with a shaking action. Fish as many different places as you can and you are likely to catch some good spots, often with a four pounder in your sack.

Lake Allatoona

Spots are native to Allatoona and they are plentiful there but not as big as at Lanier. That may be changing with the illegal introduction of bluebacks, but the long term impact is yet to be seen. Boat traffic is a problem at Allatoona like it is at Lanier.

Although once called “The Dead Sea” by bass fishermen, the Creel Census Report actually shows Allatoona with the highest number of bass weighed in per angler hour of any Georgia lake. Almost 88 percent of the bass weighed in during 2005 tournaments are spots, and this may be skewed some since largemouth tend to weigh more than spots so spots are often culled in favor of largemouth. In 1996 it was 78 percent spots.

Night fishing is the way to go at Allatoona in warm weather. Target rocky points and sheer bluff walls with small jigs and worms, or try a crankbait and spinnerbait run parallel to them. Say on the main lake since spots like deeper water. You can catch some up the creeks but bigger spots tend to hold on bigger water.

The points and bluffs on the Etowah River from Little River down to the dam and back up the Allatoona Creek side to Clark Creek are best. Fishermen have put out a lot of brush piles on Allatoona and you can find them with a good depthfinder. Fish a Texas rigged five inch worm or small jig and pig in them for big spots, too.

Lake Burton

Burton is a small lake with lots of big spots. They have been present there for a long time but the introduction of blueback herring made the population grow fast and now Burton is a trophy spot lake. The state record 8 pound, 2 ounce spot was caught there in 2005.

Burton gets crowded in warm weather and night fishing is best on the weekends. If you can fish during the week when the lake is not too crowded, try topwater baits over the points near on all main lake and bigger feeder creek points. After dark look for brush or fish the same points with a jig and pig or small worm.

Burton has limited access and is lined with docks. The fishing can be good around the deeper docks, too. Many have brush piles around them and the best ones are on rocky banks near points. Find that combination and there should be some quality spots nearby.

Lake Russell

Russell is a good spot lake and its undeveloped shoreline make it a joy to fish if you like nature, not cabins and skidoos. The clear water and standing timber make it a perfect spot lake and they have really increased in number since being illegally introduced by bass fishermen.

In 1996 the Creel Census Report shows 98 percent largemouth weighed in during club tournaments with an average weight of 1.59 pounds and an average big fish of 4.04. By 2005 that changed to 48 percent spots with an average weight of 1.47 pounds and a big fish of 3.27 pounds. That gradual decrease in size is typical of lakes changing from mostly largemouth to mostly spots.

Russell has telephone poles as channel markers. They sit on the ends of points marking the edge of deep water. They also mark good spot holes. Many are rocky and a lot have brush piles around them. There is standing timber off most of them.

Spots at Russell like to hold in the timber and run in on the points to feed. You can sometimes catch them by fishing topwater baits over the timber or bouncing a Texas rigged worm through the limbs. Use a 1/4 ounce sinker and a green pumpkin five inch worm. That also works in the bigger feeder creeks with visible standing timber. Follow the channel and fish the timber near it.

Throw big crankbaits and Carolina or Texas rigged five inch worms on the points. When you hit rocks or brush shake the worm in it. Make repeated casts to any brush you find since it will often be the place feeding bass move to and look for food.

Lake Jackson

In the 1970s and 80s Jackson waters were often pea soup green from the discharge of sewage from Atlanta. The water is now much clearer and more suitable to the spots stocked there illegally. In the 1996 Creel Census Report over 95 percent of the bass were largemouth and by 2005 43 percent of the catch was spots. During the 1980s six pound and bigger largemouth were common in tournaments but now a six pounder is rare.

Spot fishing is good at Jackson and on this old lake you can catch more bass now than you could back when it was mostly largemouth. From the points at the dam up the Tussahaw Creek and up the river to Berry’s Boat Dock, spots abound in rocky areas and around brush. The lake is small enough to fish a lot of it in one day.

Hit rocky points with topwater early then switch to small worms during the day. Night fishing is also good with a jig and pig or a Texas rigged worm. If you catch a spot on a point make repeated casts to it since spots tend to school up with lots of fish in the same area.

West Point

Spots probably got into West Point naturally since Lanier upstream was full of them when West Point was built, but they have increased in number as the water cleared up. From almost 95 percent largemouth in the 1995 Creel Census Report with an average weight of 2.69 and a average big fish of 4.81 to a 62 percent catch of spots with an average weight of 1.75 and an average weight of 4.62, the lake has changed like many others. Some of that change is the reduction of size limit on largemouth from 16 inches to 14 inches in that time.

The main lake from Highland Marina to the dam and in Wehadkee, Stroud and Veasey Creeks spotted bass fishing is good. Fish rocky points and banks with a small crankbait, jig and pig or worm. Early in the morning throw a topwater bait like a Pop-R or Tiny Torpedo. A jig like the Spotsticker with a five inch green pumpkin worm is also good around the rocks.

There is no size limit on spots anywhere except at Lake Lanier because they don’t grow as fast or as big as largemouth. If you want some bass to eat target spots. Their average size of about a pound is a good size for filets and smaller ones can be cooked whole. Removing spots, especially the smaller ones, will not hurt the lake.

Target spots for some hard fighting fish that are good to eat. You will have fun, catch a bunch of bass and can take home some to eat without feeling guilty about practicing catch and hot grease.

Catch big fall muskie

by Daniel Quade
from The Fishing Wire

Muskies are fabled as fish of 1,000 casts, but fall is a great time to cut that imposing figure down to size. In fact, anglers keying on high-percentage hotspots with the right tactics can enjoy the best muskie fishing of the year.

Whopper muskies like this one don’t necessarily take 1,000 casts to catch, but they do take the sort of expertise offered by top guides like Bill Rosner.

Veteran muskie guide Bill Rosner might not be a math whiz, but he’s an expert at subtracting sizeable sums from the mythical 1,000-cast mark. He follows environmental clues to craft a milk run of prime locations where he can consistently put clients on toothsome trophies, then deploys proven presentations to tempt these freshwater monsters into striking.

“In late summer, muskies are scattered all over the place,” begins the jovial yet hard-fishing guide, who cut his teeth in northern Wisconsin but now calls Minnesota’s legendary Lake Vermillion his home waters. “You find them on rock reefs, rocky points, deep weed edges-here, there and everywhere-wherever forage is available. Find food, and you find muskies.”

As the water temperature begins to drop in September, however, some of the more fragile varieties of aquatic vegetation start to wither away, pushing muskies to the last remaining stands of greens. On Vermillion, that’s cabbage beds.

Also known as broad-leafed pondweed, cabbage is hearty, often remaining healthy long after other plants have expired. Its leafy stalks offer shelter for a number of forage species, which also flock to the season’s last stands. The abundance of forage does not go unnoticed by a lake’s predatory population-including behemoth muskies.

On Vermillion, Rosner typically targets beds in 6 to 12 feet of water, though he notes that the depth of vegetation varies from lake to lake depending on water quality. In clear lakes it’s not uncommon for cabbage to take root in depths of 20 feet. Other top late-season greenery includes northern milfoil, but the important thing is finding the best remaining weedbeds after other stands have fallen.

Lindy tandem spinnerbait

Rosner raids these fish-holding sunken gardens by slinging blades-specifically, a Lindy M/G Muskie Tandem. The 1-ounce, 9½-inch double-bladed spinnerbait sports size 5 and size 8 Colorado blades that churn and flash, attracting hungry muskies and triggering strikes the likes of which are hard to match in freshwater. Color selection is simple.

“Bright day, bright lure; dark day, dark lure,” Rosner said. “There’s nothing wrong with downsizing, either.”

He sometimes throws a ½-ounce spinnerbait like Booyah’s Pikee with a soft-plastic trailer, either the YUM Boogee Tail or Houdini Shad. His standard tackle for taking on giant muskies consists of an 8-foot, medium-heavy casting rod loaded with 80-pound-test superbraid and a 130-pound test, 12-inch fluorocarbon leader.

Casts are long, and retrieves varied.

“Cast and burn it along weedlines, then slow down and let the bait helicopter, then pull it back to break the surface-in other words, experiment with speed and cadence,” he says.

As good as green weeds can be, Rosner notes that a percentage of muskies also patrol rocky structure during early to mid-fall. Some top spots include bottlenecks between islands and channels connecting lakes or basins. The latter areas are often brushed with current and serve as underwater highways that muskies and baitfish follow as they jockey positions before winter’s arrival.

Trolling gets the nod in such areas, which may lie in 20 to 25 feet of water. Rosner relies on large, deep-diving crankbaits such as a CD25 from Bomber Saltwater Grade’s Certified Depth lineup. Tackle choices remain similar, though he may bump up leader length to 36 inches.

Booyah Pikee spinnerbait

Trolling speeds run from 3 to 4 mph, which is fast enough to cover water and trigger strikes without zipping past predators too quickly. To speed the search for fish, Rosner often cruises likely areas before deploying his lines, watching his sonar for signs of baitfish and muskies.

“Sometimes you see schools of tullibees or other bait breaking the surface,” he says. “When you do, you can be sure there’s a muskie or two hanging around.”

Toward the end of October-around Oct. 20 on Lake Vermillion-another deadly pattern takes shape that is tied to baitfish spawning migrations.

“Tullibees and whitefish are fall spawners,” Rosner explains. “Muskies follow the spawning run, and when it all comes together over rocky points and along rocky islands, it’s absolute mayhem.”

To join the fray, Rosner trolls big crankbaits such as an 11-inch Creek Chub Jointed Wooden Pikie. His top color choices in tannin-stained Lake Vermillion include Pikie and Perch, but he notes that in clear lakes, a black-backed, purple pattern that mimics the iridescent flashes of rolling baitfish is also hot.

“I longline baits behind the boat, banging the rocks at speeds of about 3½ mph,” he says.

Since these shallow-running lures typically only reach 4 feet on the troll, he adds 1- to 4-ounces of ballast in the form of a bead-chain keel sinker to pull the plugs down to the strike zone. The key is to tailor the amount of weight to keep the bait close to bottom without constantly dragging.

Properly weighted, the same spinnerbaits that slayed ‘skis in salad back in September also work for tapping the late-October bite. In fact, blades have accounted some of Rosner’s best fall catches in a variety of situations, and are always worth a shot whenever you hope to trim the time between strikes from these incredible freshwater monsters.

Big fall walleye caught pitching

All summer walleyes have been in deep water following baitfish around, but come September and the start of cooler weather many those baitfish head back to shallower water to spawn. Walleyes follow, and flipping and pitching a jig in shallow water becomes the No. 1 tactic for boating a big limit.

Walleyes readily attack a swimming jig over their heads when ciscoes are spawning in the shallows.

“Baitfish like ciscoes come back out of open water to spawn in fall,” said tournament pro Jon Thelen. “That’s why walleyes make that shallow movement when water temperatures start cooling off. I begin looking at the same spots I fished in spring, when other species were spawning. Prime locations are rockpiles and anywhere the bottom gets harder beyond a weed edge.”

Ciscoes (also called tulibees) spawn above gravel or rock, generally in depths of 10 to 15 feet. Actual spawning occurs as water temperatures dip to about 50°F, but ciscoes come in prior to that to stage. And, ciscoes aren’t the only baitfish busting shallow moves in fall.

“Other baitfish that come in during fall are spottail and emerald shiners,” Thelen said. “And you’re trying to match all the other shiner species that stay shallow all year, too.”

The arrival of ciscoes, spottails, and emeralds to shoreline areas can draw the majority of the walleye population out of deep water. Silvers are black-silver, goldens are black-gold, emeralds are green-pearl and ciscoes have blue or gray backs with pearl to gray bellies. Thelen matches those basic color patterns most of the time, but notes that at times the fish want bright colors or glow patterns, especially in dark water or during low-light periods.

For fall shallow jigging, Thelen goes to a Lindy Watsit or Fuzz-E Grub, but there’s no long-line trolling or long-distance casting in his bag of tricks for fall walleyes.

“When walleyes are on the chew this time of year, they don’t mind a jig passing by several feet over their head, so I often pitch and swim the jig back to the boat,” he said “You can get away with vertical jigging and moving the boat around when fish are staging out on deeper transitions between the basin and the structures these baitfish spawn on, but when you’re seeing ciscoes dimpling the surface over depths of 10 to 17 feet, I like to make little flips of about 30 feet. With a short cast, the retrieve stays close to vertical, but you add a little horizontal to the package as you bring it back.”

Tipping jigs with a 3-inch rainbow shiner or a 4-inch redtail chub is the way to go in fall.

“The boat is moving slowly and I’m flicking the jig out with soft casts to keep the bait secured on the hook,” Thelen said. “Sometimes I hop it aggressively, but I generally start slow.”

He may simply swim the jig slowly just off the bottom, making short flips and allowing the jig to sink. The short flips allow him to cover every depth more precisely than with a long cast. A short flip gives him better accuracy in knowing the depth a fish came from, allowing him to refine his pattern for the day, as well as more precisely re-target that depth.

During daytime hours, Thelen looks for spots on the deep side of rockpiles, reefs and gravel bars.

Big walleyes are easier to catch if you sweeten the jig with a live minnow.

“Ciscoes spawn around the end of September in most areas,” he said. “They begin to come in during the first full moon in September. By the full moon in October, action is phenomenal. Good fishing continues in shallow water right through November and you can begin sight fishing those same fish at first ice.”

Thelen prefers color combos of blue-white, black with gold flake, metallic gold, and green pumpkin, natural colors that represent the shiners and ciscoes walleyes expect to see in shallow water.

“Crayfish are always a backup option, so brown-orange works, too,” he said. “Fish can decipher colors really well in water less than 15-feet deep, however, a bright gold, bright orange or flashy metal-flake pattern can be natural, especially in the evening, under heavy cloud cover and on windy days.”

Thelen determines jig weight and size depending on the body of water he’s fishing, but most of the time he sticks to 1/8- to ¼-ounce jigs. A 3/16-ounce Watsit can be an important size this time of year, too.

“Drop speed is critical,” he said. “Aggressive walleyes will accept faster drop speeds, but wary, finicky fish won’t. Try to match the depth to jig weight so the jig swims just above a walleye’s head, right in his wheelhouse, You don’t want the jig to fall out of that zone very quickly.”

Thelen uses a medium-action, 6-foot, 6-inch spinning rod with 10-pound braid and a short, 2- to 3-foot leader of Silver Thread Fluorocarbon. He prefers a braid that’s easy to see and sensitive. Walleyes bite on the drop a lot during fall and it’s generally an aggressive ‘thunk,” and he sets the hook the moment he feels the second bite.

“Minnows are bigger in fall, and bulked-up jigs with plastic bodies like the Fuzz-E Grub and Watsit match those sizes better and slow the drop of the jig, but can interfere with hooksets unless you make sure the fish have a firm grip on the whole package.”

Its hot, yes I am wet with sweat, but this bluegill put a smile on my face

Muddy water makes it harder for them to see the hook as does other low light conditions. Late in the afternoon and early in the morning the bream bite better. Some wind rippling the surface of the water also breaks up the light and makes it harder for them to see the hook.

Bass fishermen should take note. If bream can learn to avoid hooks, I am sure bass can, too. And bass get fished hard on our big lakes. One nice weekends you often have to take a number and get in line to fish a good point on many of our lakes.

There is an old joke that the bass at Jackson Lake know the Bass Pro Shops catalog number of each plug they see. That is one reason a new bait can be hot for a time when it first comes out then the fish seem to stop hitting it. They learn what it looks like and how it moves in the water.

Fishing for bass under low light conditions works. Early morning and late afternoon, as well as after dark, is more comfortable and the bass bite better. Wind blowing onto a point is a classic type situation to catch bass and the disturbed surface and water makes it harder for the bass to see the bait and more likely they are going to hit.

There is no bad time to go fishing but some times are better than others for catching. Go any time you can but take advantage of anything that makes it harder for fish to see your bait. Under those conditions fishing is more likely to also be catching.

Best Areas For Bank Crappie Fishing

by Ray Rudolph
from The Fishing Wire

You don’t need a boat to catch early fall crappies, just a good plan of action. It can be as relaxing or adventurous as you want it to be. Here are the three best areas to focus on to catch a stringer of crappies from the bank.

Way Up The Creek

This jig will catch crappie

“I grew up walking creeks,” says crappie guide Barry Morrow. “I’m talking about the uppermost areas of creeks. Most have access within a short walking distance. Access will often be from a backroad or where a bridge crosses the creek. Some have parks or picnic areas that provide easy access. Public lands are best because you must have permission if you walk private land.”

He moves along in search of laydowns, old stumps or other cover where fish might hide. His weapon of choice is an 11-foot pole, 12-pound test Silver Thread line and a 1/4-ounce jighead with a Lindy Fat Watsit body. He agrees that most fishermen are more comfortable with a lighter-weight jighead, but that extra weight allows better sensitivity to feel the bottom, brush and bites.

“Start at the outside edges of brush or laydowns and work toward the inside,” says Morrow. “The best bite is usually in the heart of the cover, but you can pick off aggressive fish from the edges without disturbing those deep in the thick stuff. Every piece of cover has a sweet spot and you’ll soon learn a pattern where most of these are located.”

Barry Morrow will guide you to crappie like these

His technique requires both hands. Hold the pole in one hand and the line in the other. Pull the jig up to the tip, push the bait where you want it and then drop the jig by slowly moving your free hand toward the pole. Keep dropping it until you feel bottom or reach the strike zone. Controlling the line with your free hand is very important to this style of fishing. Because the rod is often confined within the branches of a laydown tree or bush, use that free hand to set the hook, pull the crappie almost to the tip then back it out.

Spillways for Crappie and More

Spillways damming man-made reservoirs are crappie guide Todd Huckabee’s favorite spots for summertime shore fishing.

“Late summer is the perfect time,” he said. “The lake becomes a little stagnate in late summer with the thermocline, low oxygen levels and water temperature all being stressful on the fish. But in the spillway the water will be cooler and dissolved oxygen levels are great. The fish feel better and are more active.”

He says with fairly uniform oxygen levels throughout the water column of a spillway, crappie can be at any depth. Every spillway is different so there are no ‘cookie cutter’ spots that work everywhere. However, he says two important features, current and eddies, are present at all spillways.

Todd Huckabee likes this jig

“Many fishermen use a cast and retrieve tactic, but their baits don’t stay in the strike zone long enough. I use a float like the Wobble Bobber to stay above the rocks and to find the eddies. Once a float gets in an eddy it will circle around, which is perfect because the eddy is where baitfish and predator fish are holding. The bite usually happens quickly.”

Equipment includes his signature series 10-foot spinning rod, a float and a YUM F2 Wooly Beavertail jig. He prefers using one jig but says a tandem jig rig is fine if you prefer.

“My best tip: Don’t overlook shallow water,” he said. “Since oxygen levels are the same everywhere, spillway crappie may be very shallow where it is easier for them to ambush food.

“Another great thing about a spillway is you might catch a pound crappie, and on the next cast a white bass, then a 3-pound walleye, a northern or one of the many other species there. Spillway fishing is a lot of fun.”

Surprising Docks

The float and jig is a good choice for crapipe

Boat docks are well known crappie magnets, but most boating crappie anglers hit the fronts and maybe halfway down the sides. During summer, especially early and late in the day, the bank-side of docks can be more productive.

“Fish can be at many different locations on a dock but the backside can have the right depths and cover for this time of year,” said Morrow. “Fishing from the bank will put you in the action.”

Morrow casts and pitches using 7- or 10-foot poles spooled with 6- or 8-pound test Silver Thread line. The shorter pole is good for casting and flipping while the 10-foot Huckabee spinning rod is good for vertical dipping, pitching and casting.

Rigs can vary based upon your favorite baits. Morrow says his choice easy.

“I use a Lindy Crappie Cork because I can fish any depth by adjusting it up or down and I can cast it for distance and accuracy. Under the float I like a 1/16-ounce Fuzzy Grub or 1/8-ounce Watsit jig in a natural color. Green pumpkin has always worked well for me in late summer. If the water is super-clear or the fish run on the small side, use a smaller jig.

“I target brushpiles and cover near the backsides of the docks. Sometimes you can see them but most of the time you’ll have to find them by retrieving your bait between the dock and bank. Keep raising the slip float to put the bait deeper until you find cover.”