Labman, Chickamauga, Crappie, 4/9/2010, Solo

[FishNews]

Got underway about 11:15 from CFP. I thought that the cold front may have moved the crappie from the shallows, and for me that was true. Checked a couple of spawning sites, and nothing going on. Moved to some nearby deeper structure and picked up a couple of very nice black males. Fished several blowdowns, and a couple of docks. Caught a couple of good fish at each stop, but never really got them going. The water temp was in the mid 60's which is a drop of 8-10 degrees from Wednesday. <br /><br />Cutting through Harrison Bay on way to river, was flagged down by a stranded boat. 3 guys and a dog. There motor quit, trolling motor dead, bilge pump won't work and taking on water, lol. They are in deep do-do. Towed them back to WT ramp and headed out again. It was getting on toward 5 and I decided to try a couple more places. Hit a deep water dock and it was loaded with good fish. Caught 6 very nice keepers there. They quit and I moved on to try one more stop. Another dock at mouth of spawning bay. Loaded with really good fish. I ended the day with 30 keepers and 20 of those were from 12-13 1/2 inches. About as good a day for quality fish as I have had lately. All fish caught on BG Shad in various hues, 1/32 and 1/16 oz jigs. Also caught a few on Crappie Stingers too. The bigger fish seemed to be down in the water column a bit, a 6-8 count. My biggest fish came on a "do nothing" retrieve, just stop reeling and let it sit. I guess those last two stops were my reward for the good deed tow, lol. Saw Polo and Biofisher in CFP fishing for Bass. I guess they have gone to the dark side as they are fishing a Bass tourney tomorrow. Oh the shame!<br /><br />I was really surprised to find so many good big fish. At totally different locations from the spawners of earlier in the week. All fish returned to the lake for your fishing pleasure.<br /><br />Regards, Labman