Missy report

[bigr]

Taxid I have caught 10s of thousands of crappie and I can honestly say I don't think I could tell if I caught one or not. I have caught many of the so called black nose crappie in both black and white species. I don't think this is what your calling a hybrid. If you can help with identification I know we would appreciate it.

[bigr]

Water should be fine but check corp of Eng site to see if level rises over the next day or two. If it only comes up a foot or so you'll have no problem. If it rises a few feet you'll find much dirtier water in head water areas(red bridge). In that case move toward dam.

[bherr24]

Was over last evening and i thought the water was in excellent shape. Almost clear for missy, a nice green tint to it.  Better then over the weekend. Didn't get to fish long as a storm popped up near Peru and was thundering overheard.  Didn't take any chances packed it up and left.  Caught a few fish but most were dinks. Looked like the pack of people yesterday had moved up the resi  from red bridge near the cliffs.  May try that area this weekend if it doesn't muddy up.  So far the river up stream has not risen all that much so if it stays that way i think water should remain good by the weekend.  We got some rain up this way but i don't think it was anywhere near as bad as they were forecasting.

[chicagill34]

Thanks all!!

[chicagill34]

Good Luck on your Lake of Egypt trip as well Crusher!!  Checked out and liked the facebook page today!!

[crappiecrusher34]

Hey thanks chicagill34, were excited next week can't get here soon enough!!!

[bigr]

Quick check of the Corp site shows water level up only 6/10th of a ft. Approx 7 inches. Without seeing water I would say color in head water area is alittle dingy but still fishable. Also judging by the outflow of the dam I would say the water nearest the dam will still be very clean as well as the tailwater discharge at this point. Tomorrows reading will give a better guess of conditions as a result of the recent rains. There is a science to increase your chances when reservoir fishing. I've been very lucky to study the changes and patterns that occur on our local resi's. I love the challenges then the rewards that sometimes happen when conclusions work. This short cold snap might keep most of us in the house with more time to look at the board so let me take a few more minutes of your day for reading. Here's my best guess on what will happen in the next 24hrs on the Missy. I'll check the Corp site tomorrow for accuracy. Level will come up a few more inches to a foot. Discharge from dam will be increased to approx. 1000cfu's which will tell me 1st. There will be current in the headwater areas. Water clarity will be getting worse and moving toward dam but will not reach that area yet. With it being March it may be the Corp will begin holding a small amount back with the purpose of bringing level up. I know May first is when they would like to have met summer pool. Again I'll see numbers change if that happens. Now for fishing expectations. Dirty water to a point won't hurt a thing and in my experience may help. Dirty water warms faster and makes fish less spooky when they are shallow. As the water warms the fish shallow, even suspended fish. As the water level comes up the fish will gradually migrate upstream or into the coves. A slow steady rise in level usually results in a better bite for all species because they become very active requiring them to feed. trick is to make the right move to stay with the movement. For me that's science and experience. I could go on and on but the sun is just starting to peak out so I might grab my pole and go chase some fish. So where will I go? What will I fish for and with what method or lure/bait? Well, today with this cold front I think I'll fish for channel cats on bottom using shrimp letting the fish use it's sense of smell to find my bait in the murky water. I'll fish in 8 to 14ft of water in an area that's won't have a lot of current, some won't hurt. That's enough for today. Good fishing and God Bless.       

[rivereddy]

That's quite an analysis!  thanks for the input

fish on,

rivereddy

[bherr24]

Always good input Big r.  I just checked and the outflow from the dam was increased as you predicted. Nice cloudy day here i'm having thoughts of running over and seeing if there are any walleye around the spillway later today. River at Marion did go up a bit overnight, likely from all the rain to the south. One question big r, most of my fish lately have been in the area of red bridge.  Have only got a couple up closer to the dam.  If these fish are thinking about heading up stream is it worth fishing up closer to the dam if the water were to muddy to an unfishable level near red bridge? Will those fish move that way with the clearer water or continue upstream? Wanting to put together a game plan for the coming weekend.  Good luck on the cats today.

[bigr]

bherr I wouldn't expect any better fishing toward dam than you experience last week. that's not to say you would not find fish but you would most likely have to put just as much effort in as any where else. If your like me I prefer to fish clearer water but will go where the bite takes me. I feel the fish are definitely staging in the head water area for the spawning season. Under normal weather condition years the crappie will become more active in the red bridge and above area right now. This year being so much warmer has already driven some as far upstream as the area we call the flats. I did real well up that way most of last week. These cold fronts move them back down some but with just alittle warmer temps and the aid of more water in the river they will be back in even bigger numbers and will be showing up in almost the entire river system very soon. I think the red bridge and above to be just as good if not better than before the rain. And by the weekend could be the best of the season. When the white bass start to show up in the river section the crappie will be at their peak. It's coming soon. 

[taxid]

Taxid I have caught 10s of thousands of crappie and I can honestly say I don't think I could tell if I caught one or not. I have caught many of the so called black nose crappie in both black and white species. I don't think this is what your calling a hybrid. If you can help with identification I know we would appreciate it.

Yeah the blacknose crappie are just a genetic variation of the black crappie. Not a hybrid. Wasn't aware there is a blacknose white crappie?

Well obviously you are aware of the below.



Additionally the white crappie has a shorter dorsal fin (spiny & soft together) than the white crappie. White crappie tend to be lighter in color, and some as you know are really silvery. Where some people go wrong is they catch a spawning male crappie that is dark and assume it's a black crappie. Even saw this on a fishing show! I once mounted a male white crappie that was so dark he was all black! Easiest paint job I ever did!  

The hybrids I have seen and mounted to 21 inches look more like a black crappie but have the spine count of a white crappie.

Here is a 21 inch hybrid crappie (3.25 lbs.) I mounted that came out of a private lake. Note it is has only 6 dorsal spines, but has an intermediate spot pattern between a white and black crappie. It does't have the distinct bar pattern of a white, but not as mottled as a black. Also a smaller dorsal fin than a black, and has the longer distance in front of the dorsal fin which is characteristic of a white crappie.

[rivereddy]

Wowsers , that's some papermouth

rivereddy

[crappiecrusher34]

Catching the grand slam with Kyle Schonerr. On kinkaid lake in Illinois. It's on you tube. He explains the fish very well. They catch all four... white,black,blacknose,hybrid Great video He's the best in the world. Also am sure I miss spelled his last name.

[crappiecrusher34]

Do You Know Your Crappie? - Wired2fish - Scout
http://www.scout.com/outdoors/wired2fish/story/1495658-do-you-know-your-crappie. 

[Piggyn]

Catching the Kinkaid Crappie Slam