Went back for more crappie vittels Monday evening and the pattern of the past month finally changed a little. Went back to the same spot that has been producing, but instead of instant action at 6:15, there was almost nothing until 7:30. After that, fish started to come thru, but not in the larger schools I had been marking on previous visits. The bite was also even lighter...if that is actually possible. Often times, they would peck at it once, maybe twice, and that was it. My supposition is that the front that passed through earlier in the day may have turned the crappie off somewhat. Perhaps the constant pressure has something to do with it too. Maybe peak "crappie time under the ice" is waning? I don't know, but I suspect it's a little of all three and hopefully more of the first than the other two.
Between four of us 37 crappie and 3 gills were brought to the surface. Haven't seen gills before under the ice in the Narrows. Catch rates were 19, 11, 6, and 4. Those with lower catch rates had a much more difficult time "hooking up" when bit, although it was much slower for "4" than the rest of us. Not sure why - we were all within 10 feet of each other using similar setups. Same jig setups as I've mentioned before, although wax worms caught a few of the fish this time. Nibbles were still king though. We fished from 6:15 - 9pm.
Good luck to everyone on the tail end of the season. Clear ice is still 12-14"" minimum, but cloudy ice is starting to form on the upper layers of the ice sheet. I bet there is still at least 1.5-2 weeks of safe fishing up there, but if it gets really warm, that could change quickly. Be careful!
Between four of us 37 crappie and 3 gills were brought to the surface. Haven't seen gills before under the ice in the Narrows. Catch rates were 19, 11, 6, and 4. Those with lower catch rates had a much more difficult time "hooking up" when bit, although it was much slower for "4" than the rest of us. Not sure why - we were all within 10 feet of each other using similar setups. Same jig setups as I've mentioned before, although wax worms caught a few of the fish this time. Nibbles were still king though. We fished from 6:15 - 9pm.
Good luck to everyone on the tail end of the season. Clear ice is still 12-14"" minimum, but cloudy ice is starting to form on the upper layers of the ice sheet. I bet there is still at least 1.5-2 weeks of safe fishing up there, but if it gets really warm, that could change quickly. Be careful!