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Night time crappie fishing (proof it works)

2K views 23 replies 14 participants last post by  Fishslayer5789 
#1 ·
I have heard talk of this every once in a while about night fishing for panfish and never even bothered trying. I decided 2 nights ago that I was just going to go out and risk not catching anything, just to see if it actually would work. I didn't even catch the first fish until 30 minutes after dark, but all of a sudden it was one after another. Glow tear drops and wax worms were the ticket, and I was fishing in 18 fow. My graph was lit up like no other, and the crappies were all between 9 and 11 inches for the most part. Needless to say, it was a cool experience, and something I plan on trying many more times. The underwater light and lantern was the key to drawing in the bluegill and crappie. I could sight fish them right down the hole. For the fish that were down deeper, I just used my graph to put the bait in front of their noses. Here's the proof that panfishing can be great after dark!

 
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#3 ·
I have done pretty good this year at night. I have found that right before dark the fish feed well, then after dark it takes the fish time to adjust to the darkness and its on! Got my limit on specks last week after 6:30 pm. They simply turned on. GL and happy fishing!! Oh yea, glow really helped me out too!
 
#10 ·
Were you dead-sticking the waxies or jigging them? Waxies are a lot easier to deal with then minnows (and cheaper too...) your answer will either save me a lot of time and money or confuse the heck out of me. My experience has revealed minnows being the best bet for the night-time bite...
 
#11 ·
It was the coolest thing ever. The crappie were crowded around my underwater light sucking the plankton off of it. They would take in mouthfuls at a time!
 
#12 ·
Did you say you had a light underwater? How deep?

It didn't matter a whole lot how deep it was. I put it 10 feet down and also tried it a foot under the ice. Having the light deeper in the water column did catch a few more fish I suppose.
 
#13 ·
Were you dead-sticking the waxies or jigging them? Waxies are a lot easier to deal with then minnows (and cheaper too...) your answer will either save me a lot of time and money or confuse the heck out of me. My experience has revealed minnows being the best bet for the night-time bite...
I haven't even tried minnows for the night time thing yet, but I know that they will work for a fact because I normally use minnows for crappie too. I just like to save a few bucks when I can, and since crappie normally bite fine on wax worms through the ice, I figured that there was no need to go through the trouble of getting minnows. It's just another pail I don't need to carry.:lol: I went out again tonight and caught a bunch more. We probably kept 15 or 20, and I gave the ones I caught to my buddy because I figured I had plenty to eat already. I really like the taste of crappie, especially when they are caught through the ice. The meat seems a little firmer in the winter than in the summer. And, holding the rod still triggered all of the strikes. The fish wouldn't go near the bait when it was jigged like they did during first ice.
 
#14 ·
What type of an underwater light were you using?

We used to do good after dark on a small lake near Chelsea/Manchester all the time when I was younger. Wish I could still get on there.
 
#15 ·
A BRINKMAN 250,000 cp. It sure gets the job done. It doubles up as a great smelt and splake light. I used it tonight and caught 10 walleye with it with a buddy. Underwater lights bring every kind of fish in imaginable. I brought perch 10 feet under my boat at night in 75 ft of water and limited out on 9 to 12 inchers. Who ever thought perch would suspend, or bite at night for that matter? It was unbelievable. The sky is the limit when it comes to using an underwater light. The only thing I haven't caught with it is pike.
 
#16 ·
Is it a spotlight or a submersible? Confused now...
 
#17 ·
The pike on gull like to cruse around the lights at night. We have caught a number of them. Never had it work anywhere else though. I think they have just adapted to feedding on the smelt there at night because there are people fishing them every night. Prob easier to ambush too.
 
#20 ·
#21 ·
That's my favorite fishin there!
Love to sit out on ice on a calm night, no shanty, with lantern on. jiggin for crappies.
Even better if a soft gentle snow was falling, couldn't see very far past lantern light, something about it just put you in your own little world!! Awesome peacefullness!!

Minnows always seemed to bring slightly larger crappies for me over waxies!
 
#22 ·
That's my favorite fishin there!
Love to sit out on ice on a calm night, no shanty, with lantern on. jiggin for crappies.
Even better if a soft gentle snow was falling, couldn't see very far past lantern light, something about it just put you in your own little world!! Awesome peacefullness!!

Minnows always seemed to bring slightly larger crappies for me over waxies!

lol, I brought the shanty that time. It was CCOOOOOOLLLLLLD but my heater makes it a whopping 75 degrees in there!!!;)
 
#24 ·
:lol: I didn't say I did it when it was really cold! Around 30 degrees no wind was perfect! I like 75 degrees in portable also!!!

Try with minnies, see if you get some better size than over waxies?

Will do. Hopefully the ice will hang on into the end of March after pike/walleye season closes, because panfish and smelt will be the only things left to fish for. Ice out panfish has been great for me some years. It's always about the time when you have to put boards down to get onto the ice lol.
 
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