Summer like weather across the nation has some folks thinking about summer fishing. If they are, their thoughts may go to crankbaits for crappie. More and more anglers are turning to the crankin’ critters to catch crappie. It may be winter, but John Harrison will talk about crankbaits any time you ask. Harrison is a 45-year veteran of Grenada Lake crappie fishing. He operates JH Guide Service on Grenada, Sardis and Enid Lakes.
The B’n’M Poles pro staffer has been guiding crappie anglers on Grenada for the past 15 years. When asked his favorite months to fish he named January through December, but when pressed for favorites he named July and August, pulling Bandit 300 crankbaits.
Grenada Lake used to be a summer fishery according to John Harrison. “When I started fishing with my grandmother in the early 70s it was summer and spring fishing. Nobody fished in the winter, they was all huntin’. My grandma and me would just walk out on the riverbank and fish with cane poles. We had it all to ourselves.”
Harrison describes the Grenada watershed as unstable with fishing depending on water level. The impoundment is a flood control lake constructed and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “In the spring of the year the rains come and the lake comes up,” states Harrison.
“They try to keep the water pulled down to what they call summer pool, which is 215 feet above sea level. They will let it get a little above it, maybe 216 or 218 feet. If it gets any higher they start pulling it down to keep it in line with that 215 until August 1. The first day of August they start what they call the winter draw down. They will open the gates and pull the water down to the winter pool at 193 feet above sea level. That is pretty dry, you will see mud flats all over.”
Water level, water temperature and food source are three variables in Harrison’s crappie catching formula. Water level determines what cover is available, water temperature determines how deep the fish will be and food source determines where they will congregate.
When the water level is low you can identify the timber that will be under water when the water is higher. “We have a lot of stake beds, all man made,” says Harrison. “Most of the natural wood is up the Yalobusha River and the Skuna River. There used to be a lot of snags and sticks, but there is not very much of that left anymore. Man-made stuff is basically what you have for the crappie.” Read on – http://www.examiner.com/article/crankbaits-for-crappie-on-the-home-of-the-three-pound-crappie?CID=examiner_alerts_article