Colder Weather Means More Crappie in One Stop

On his latest fishing trip, Schwierjohn was on the Tickfaw River. He was on the main channel using his side-scan in 20 feet of water when he saw a bunch of marks on his screen.

“It was a brush-pile with what appeared to be a large group of fish suspended over it,” he said. “Every time I find sac-a-lait suspended over structure, it gets me worked up because I know those fish will probably be feeding pretty heavy.”

The anxious angler lowered his Bobby Garland jig down and stopped when it was about five feet above the school. All at once, four sac-a-lait swam up and tried to swallow the jig.

“Then I knew it was on,” he said.

Schwierjohn pulled nine crappie out of the school with all of them being over 10 inches.

November Setup

This month, Schwierjohn stays in the main rivers and targets tree tops and brush piles that are in 15-25 feet of water.

His rod of choice is an 8-foot ACC Crappie Stix rod. For a reel, he uses   Lew’s American Hero and spools it with Seaguar Fluorocarbon. His favorite lure is a Bobby Garland Baby Shad in “Bone White” color. Since he is fishing in deeper water he uses a heavier jig than normal.  “I like to use a 1/16-ounce jig head but I also add more weight with a 1/8-ounce  spilt-shot on the line about one foot and a half above the jig.

The weight serves as a marker when dropping his line down into a school of crappie.

“It’s much easier to find my jig on the screen when I use the split-shot because it’s easier to spot two falling dots on the screen rather than just the one,” he said.

As the weather gets colder, Schwierjohn said anglers have the chance to fill the box with fish without covering too much water.

The colder water temperatures will group baitfish tighter which also helps in keeping the crappie segregated to isolated areas in the rivers.

Schwierjohn recommends targeting the deeper rivers like the East Pearl, Tchefuncte, and Tickfaw Rivers in Southeast, LA.