I was fishing for bass with a root bear colored Senko on a Ossipee Lake the other night. The water temperature of the Maine lake was hovering between 69* and 70*. As I approached a small deep cove I noticed a fishing bobber close to shore and made a mental note not to become tangled in it. I was fishing a steep rock covered bank and was expecting a Maine Smallmouth Bass to hit my Senko. I fished the Senko using a stop, pause and shake presentation. Suddenly, I felt a tap, but I did not hook up.

As I made my way through the shallows I saw used Bass spawning beds, and I concluded the Bass were recuperating. But suddenly, I felt another strong and quick hit, yet again no hook up! As I made my way along the bank, I continued to fish. I changed my presentation adding shorter pauses in the retrieve; before I knew it, I had hooked up. While I was playing the fish, I noticed a scuttle in the corner of my eye as a fisherman scurried down the steep bank. He promptly picked up his rod and began pitching his worm and bobber my way. But in his haste he got tangled in the trees. And I? I boated my first Crappie of the season.

Crappie run in schools, and if there is one, there are surely more. The secrete is staying with the school. Once you move off the school, the action can stop abruptly. I assume that's what happened to the scurrying fisherman. And when he saw me hook up with his crappie, he attempted to cast to the school. Since he was bank fishing from a stationary short dock, he was unable to stay on top of the school as it moved. Crappies will stray as you land fish and disturb the school and move their targeted food. Some fishermen also believe they get use to the color of the artificial bait offerings and stay away from them after several catches. This isn’t as true as some believe, but for what ever reason the action can start and stop abruptly.

When you do find crappie, try to determine the depth at which they are feeding. You will have better success if you target this depth than if you vary your presentation depth. My preferred presentation is a jig and worm or small grub under a bobber. Crappie can be light biters. And, though they hit harder than smelt, using techniques similar to smelt fishing can be productive.

If you are fishing from a boat, cast your presentation away from the boat and slowly retrieve it at the preferred presentation depth. You can also catch them by jigging, I prefer a long crappie pole for this.

If you are interested in which Southern Maine water these Crappie were caught on, drop me a note in the contact screen below and I will send you the details of good crappie waters in Maine.