Florida freshwater fishing – Page 3

Crappie Fishing in Florida In this article I will thoroughly cover crappie fishing in Florida. Crappie are a very popular freshwater species throughout the country, and Florida is no exception. There generally regarded as the largest member of the panfish family. They thrive in the shallow and for tile waters throughout the state. Crappie are a beautiful fish that has a fairly large mouth in proportion to its body. Crappie feed primarily on minnows, and this largemouth allows them to inhale decent sized to pray. They are also known throughout Florida as speckled perch, or specs for short. Most of the crappie caught in the state of Florida are black crappie, though there are a few white crappie as well. While crappie are fun to catch and put up a decent little fight, they are mostly prized for their delicate snow white fillets. Crappie are among the finest eating fish found anywhere. The fact that they average quite a bit larger than bluegill and other panfish makes them a favorite of angler's as they are much easier to clean. Crappie fishing in Florida As mentioned earlier, crappie feed primarily on minnows. While they will take other forage, small bait fish make up the bulk of what crappie feed on. The vast majority of crappie that are caught in Florida are done so by anglers using either live minnows or small jigs. Other live baits and artificial lures will certainly catch them, as will flies, but jigs and live minnows produce more crappie that all other lures and baits combined. Live minnows are tough to beat when it comes to crappie fishing in Florida. It's many of the Florida lakes and rivers are shallow and weedy, the best approach is to generally fish them under a float. Anglers can use a bottom rig or a sliding float rig in deeper water. Crappie fishing in Florida with minnows While anglers can certainly catch their own minnows, depending on local regulations, most just choose to buy them at local bait shops. The most popular minnow in Florida is the Missouri minnow which is a hearty commercially raised bait fish. They stay a live a long time, both on the hook in in a bait bucket. On cooler days, a few dozen minnows will stay alive in a bucket of water. On warmer days, some type of aeration should be used. Florida lakes, ponds, and rivers are fairly shallow for the most part. This results in the simple float rig being the most practical and effective when crappie fishing in Florida. A #2 or #4 long shank fine wire hook is tied onto the end of the line. The float is then attached so that the minnow goes down to the desired depth. 2 feet to 3 feet is usually a good starting point. If needed, a small split shot can be used a foot from the hook. When fishing deeper water, over 6 feet or so, anglers have a couple different choices when fishing with live minnows. One is a slip bobber. With this rig, the float sits near the hook when cast but then slides to a desired depth, using something to stop the float from sliding. The second option is a simple to hook bottom rig, similar to what is used when drop shot fishing. Crappie fishing in Florida with jigs Many anglers choose to go crappie fishing in Florida using jigs. I would be in that group. Jigs have a few advantages over live minnows. The primary advantage is the fact that anglers do not have to purchase them the day of the trip and then keep them alive. Jigs are also less messy than live bait. There are many different styles of jigs that anglers can use that are effective on crappie. My personal favorite is a 2 inch curly tail grub on a 1/16 ounce jig head. If I had to pick one color, it would be chartreuse. Most of the waters in Florida are dark in tannin stained. For the most part, bright colors such as chartreuse, pink, and white stand out well in the dark water. The jig and grub combination is probably the most effective fishing lure throughout the world. They are effective and saltwater as well is freshwater fishing situations. When crappie fishing in Florida, anglers can choose from several sizes, for 1/64 ounce up to 1/8 ounce being the most popular sizes. Grub bodies come in a wide variety of sizes, colors, and actions as well. Tube, shad tail and curly tail styles have a lot of built in action and work quite well. Jigs are very versatile crappie fishing lures. They can be cast out and retrieved, fished under a float just like a live minnow, and even trolled. Some old-school anglers prefer marabou jigs, and for good reason. Marabou emits a very lifelike action in the water, especially when moved very slightly. They are an excellent choice when crappie are a bit finicky in a more subtle presentation is required. Some jigs even have a little spinner attached to the head. Please add even more flash and vibration I and are an excellent choice early and late in the day as well as in stained water. The two most prominent examples of this are the Blakemore Road Runner and the Johnson Crappie Spin. These can be purchased dressed with marabou or playing which allows the angler to easily change grub bodies. Jig fishing techniques for crappie I prefer to cast jigs whenever possible. This is not always practical, but when I have the ability to cast out and retrieved the jig towards shoreline cover, over submerged vegetation, or along weed edges, I enjoy eliciting the strike. The best approach is to cast the jig towards the structure or cover and allow it to sink, crappie will often take the lore on the fall. If no strike occurs, a slow steady retrieve generally works best. Jigs can also be fished under a float, just like a live minnow. This can be extremely effective as the jig is suspended at a desired depth, hopefully right in front of some crappie. The float also gives an indication of a strike, just as it would when fishing with live bait. In this situation, a tube style jig or a marabou jig works best as they undulate and put out a lot of action with minimal movement. Anglers crappie fishing in Florida can also troll with jigs. This is a very popular an extremely effective technique. Perhaps main reason for the effectiveness is the fact that anglers can cover a lot of water at various depths in search of fish. This can be done as simply as putting a couple lines out behind the boat and slowly idling along or as complicated as some serious anglers do when using the spider rigging technique. This involves multiple rods usually of varying lengths result in the angler covering a wide path of water. While this type of fishing is effective, I don't enjoy it is much as a lot of the fight is taken out of the equation. Other Florida crappie baits and lures While a live minnows and jigs produce the vast majority of crappie caught by Florida anglers, there are other live baits and lures which will catch fish as well. When it comes to live baits, worms and nightcrawlers are the most popular baits used by anglers chasing panfish. While not first on the list for crappie, they will certainly take them on occasion. Another very effective crappie fishing bait is grass shrimp. This is a bit more complicated as in most cases anglers must catch them. The process is fairly simple, though a bit messy. A fine mesh net is used in and around lily pads and other vegetation. Mixed in with the abundant vegetation will be grass shrimp. They are extremely effective on crappie and all panfish. Anglers can also catch crappie on a variety of artificial lures other than jigs. Small plugs, especially long slender jerk baits are effective both cast and trolled. My personal favorite is the Rapala X-rap size 4. Small spinner baits are also very effective, as a kind of combined a spinner with the jig and grub combo. I have had very good luck with a 1/8 ounce black Johnson Beetle spin lure. In-line spinners such as Mepps are still effective, though not nearly as popular as in years past. Anglers can also do well fly fishing for crappie in Florida as well. This is my favorite way to catch crappie and other panfish, as well as small bass. It is not very difficult and is best used when the fish are in fairly shallow water. Long casts are not required. A 4wt rod with a floating line in a 9 foot 3x or 4x tapered leader works fine when fly fishing for crappie. It will also give anglers a fighting chance if a larger basses hook. Tiny bait fish pattern work well, with my favorites being the Mykka Minnow, Clouser, and Wooly Bugger patterns. Bright colors usually work best, with the combination of gold body and chartreuse tail being my favorite. However, sometimes black will produce as well. Bluegill and other panfish will almost certainly be caught and are a welcome interruption in the crappie fishing. Top Florida crappie fishing lakes and rivers The state of Florida is blessed with some terrific crappie fishing! It would be impossible to list all of the productive lakes and rivers. However, here is a list of some of the top spots to help anglers get started. Lake Panasoffkee Lake Panasoffkee is well known as a terrific Florida panfish Lake. It has excellent populations of bluegill and read a are sunfish, as well as crappie and bass. It is an easy lake to fish as it is just a few miles long and a mile or two wide fairly uniform depth of 4 to 5 feet. Most of the crappie are caught along the weed edges and over top of submerged high drill and other vegetation. There are several launching spots on the southwest part of the lake. It is also just a few miles off of I 75. Withlacoochee River The Withlacoochee River is a very productive crappie fishing spot and is one of my favorite places to fish. It is a long river and crappie can be found all the way from the headwaters to its end at Lake Rousseau. there are many boat ramps and access points along the way. Most of the fishing is done along the shoreline on the weed edges and near any type of submerged or fallen timber. The scenery alone makes it worth the trip. Lake Okeechobee Lake Okeechobee is world-renowned for its bass fishing, but offers anglers excellent crappie fishing as well. Winter and early spring are the prime times to target crappie in Lake Okeechobee. While any part of the lake can be productive, many anglers focus on the north end where the Kissimmee River comes in. Vegetation is the primary cover and anglers will do well to move around until fish are located. Lake Arbuckle Lake Arbuckle is a 3800 acre lake in Polk County. It is a very productive lake for crappie year-round. There are three deeper basins in the lake which tend to concentrate crappie. As in most Florida lakes, trolling is productive in the cooler months while anglers target fish in the shallower grass in the spring. There is a park, but ramp and campground there. The area is gated, so anglers fishing early and late would do best to call ahead. The phone number is 863-534-4340. Lake Istapoga Lake Istapoga is another lake known more for bass fishing, but offers excellent crappie fishing as well. This is a 28,000 acre lake in the south-central part of Florida. Traditionally, the best crappie fishing spots are in the deeper areas east and north of Big Island along with the west side of Long Island. Vegetation is fairly thick and Lake Istapoga. Anglers tend to concentrate on the deeper areas in the winter as opposed to fighting the heavy vegetation they encounter by mid spring. There are several boat ramps offering crappie anglers access to this lake. Lake Talquin Lake Talquin holds the Florida state record crappie at nearly 4 pounds. It is an 8800 acre lake near Tallahassee, Florida. Anglers troll the channel area in fall and winter, then concentrate on the shallow water vegetation and spring. The lake is full of submerged stumps, trees and other structure and obstructions. Lake Talquin is also a very good lake for bluegill. Walk-in-Water Lake walk-in water is an 8000 acre lake in Polk County. This lake has less vegetation than many of the other Florida lakes do. This lake has plenty of deep water for anglers who prefer to troll. Also, seven fish attractors were placed in the lake to help concentrate the crappie in the deeper water. These are well marked with orange and white buoys. There is one boat ramp on the western side of the lake off of Walk-in-Water Road. Lake Monroe Lake Monroe is part of the St. Johns River chain of lakes. It is close to 10,000 acres and lies between Orlando and Daytona Beach. Lake Monroe is known to give up good-sized fish in the cooler months. Anglers will do well to troll as it allows them to cover a lot of water. Lake Monroe is large and the crappie can be difficult to locate. However, once they are located, anglers can expect larger than average catches. Lochloosa Lake Lockloosa Lake in Alachua County is best known for numbers of crappie. Many anglers limit out on fish in the 10 inch range. Again, as with most Florida lakes, anglers fish the deeper open water in the cooler months than concentrate on shoreline vegetation as it warms up. This lake is also known for some very large bluegill. There is a county ramp located near the post office as well is a couple of fish camps. There are tagged crappy in this lake, anglers to catch one can call the number on the tag to claim their prize. Lake Monroe Lake Monroe is part of the St. Johns River chain of lakes. It is close to 10,000 acres and lies between Orlando and Daytona Beach. Lake Monroe is known to give up good-sized fish in the cooler months. Anglers will do well to troll as it allows them to cover a lot of water. Lake Monroe is large and the crappie can be difficult to locate. However, once they are located, anglers can expect larger than average catches. Lochloosa Lake Lockloosa Lake in Alachua County is best known for numbers of crappie. Many anglers limit out on fish in the 10 inch range. Again, as with most Florida lakes, anglers fish the deeper open water in the cooler months than concentrate on shoreline vegetation as it warms up. This lake is also known for some very large bluegill. There is a county ramp located near the post office as well is a couple of fish camps. There are tagged crappy in this lake, anglers to catch one can call the number on the tag to claim their prize. Lake Griffin Lake Griffin is a 10,000 acre lake in Lake County near Leesburg, Florida. It is part of the Harris Chain of Lakes. There are several marked fish attractors in the center and southern parts of the lake. There is a 10 inch minimum size for crappie on Lake Griffin. This has resulted and good numbers of ten inch plus fish. There are ramps at Herlong Park and out Lake Griffin State Park. Mosaic fish management area There are 12 lakes in the Mosaic Fish management area, ranging from 10 to 200 acres. The Mosaic Fish management area is 1000 acres and is located in Polk County near Fort Meade, Florida. These are reclaimed strip pits and are deep for Florida lakes. These lakes very and offer crappie anglers a wide variety of structure. They have a mix of brushy weedy shorelines and deeper water. SP 12 N SP 12 S and Hall Road are perhaps the best crappie lakes. These mosaic lakes have special regulations. There is a 10 inch minimum and a 10 fish per person fish limit. These lakes are only open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday from 6 AM until 2 PM. These restrictions result in some excellent fishing for crappie. Newnans Lake Newnans Lake in Alachua County was very low in 2017. However, heavy summer rains and Hurricane Irma brought the water level up quite high. There is an excellent population of crappie with a high percentage of quality fish as well. 16 inch fish are not uncommon. The same pattern of fishing deeper open water in cooler months and shoreline vegetation and cover and spring and summer holds true to this lake as well. There are tagged crappy in this lake. There are a couple boat ramps allowing anglers to access Newnans Lake. in conclusion, this article on crappie fishing in Florida will help anglers be more successful when pursuing these extremely popular freshwater panfish species!

Inverness Fishing

Category: Florida freshwater fishing