Night Crappie Fishing

[The Rodfather]

We were night fishing for crappie in early October off the back of our houseboat in Scorup Canyon. We used a green light to attract the crappies and had many come to the light. We could catch one or two (12" -14" so no complaints) and then they would totally shut down, still plenty of crappie but no takers. We used an assortment of jigs and different varieties of gulp minnows. We tried different depths, jigging, no jigging, slow retrieve, fast retrieve, we couldn't establish a pattern. After many post trip discussions, one of my buddies suggested I post this to the Wordlings for possible answers to this dilemma. Any help you all could give would be greatly appreciated, we are fairly new to crappie fishing and would like to try to get a little better.

 

[wayne gustaveson]

The crappie problem could be dramatically fixed in a short time. All we need is for the lake level to rise for at least 3 consecutive years. Rising water in the spring time allows crappie to spawn in brushy cover and then the brush protects the young fish that are spawned from being eaten by larger predators. When that happens the crappie population increases dramatically. The crappie you are holding are old adults that are fussy about what they eat and hard to catch. That's why you struggle to catch more fish even when they are seen near the boat.

My favorite fish to catch in Lake Powell are crappie. I would love to have enough crappie to catch so I would not feel bad about keeping a few to eat. They are the absolute best fish to invite to dinner bar none (IMHO). I have not kept a crappie for a long time.

Lets hope for 3 consecutive years of rising lake water so we can see the crappie population respond in abundant fashion.

 

[Squirrel]

Here is a nice one I caught on a topwater popper at the mouth of Ticaboo, at dusk, this past April. Sq

P.S. He is still swimmin' at Powell.

 

[Dungee]

No fish in Scorup, that’s probably the problem...

 

[The Rodfather]

Hi All,
Wayne, thank you for your insight, that makes sense, old fish, smart fish. Squirrel- nice crappie any idea on length or weight. Preston, I hope you were joking about no fish in Scorup because we had great success the whole week we were there in October...all species. We parked the houseboat just inside the canyon, off the main channel but fished all the way back. Caught many crappie during the day but just couldn't figure out the night bite. Stripers and small mouths were abundant. Best luck was on finesse presentation but also good luck on lipless crankbaits and medium diving crankbaits.

 

[wayne gustaveson]

Hi All,
Wayne, thank you for your insight, that makes sense, old fish, smart fish. Squirrel- nice crappie any idea on length or weight. Preston, I hope you were joking about no fish in Scorup because we had great success the whole week we were there in October...all species. We parked the houseboat just inside the canyon, off the main channel but fished all the way back. Caught many crappie during the day but just couldn't figure out the night bite. Stripers and small mouths were abundant. Best luck was on finesse presentation but also good luck on lipless crankbaits and medium diving crankbaits.

You get that a lot when asking about specific canyons. Those that really like Scorup will say "No fish here!" etc. When you get that (Tongue in cheek) answer you know they are actually saying...Its a great fishing spot!

Personally I would never fish there! (Just kidding)!

 

[Squirrel]

Rodfather, it was all of 12” and didn’t keep it long enough to weigh it. I only keep walleye and NEVER get enough for more than 1 meal. Sq

 

[Pike hunter]

Anyone have a good recommendation for a good map of lake Powell?

 

[Squirrel]

Stan Jones or Fish-N-Map. Sq

 

[Pike hunter]

Thanks squirrel