Occoquan Crappie on Sunday 1/13

[chex]

I was dressed, rigged and ready to go this morning, when I realized that my car keys were lost. Retracing my steps, I'm pretty sure I left them on the roof of my girlfriend's car and then drove off. Doh!

Hope you guys catch lots of fish!

[moc]

I saw 7 kayakers out there this morning. I could not catch a crappie if I tried this morning. All I was catching was Bass. BiigFluke had a stringer of 4 nice crappie to take home. We even ran into ComeOneFish there,

[M_Duong60]

When you guys left I was able to get a stringer of nine nice sized crappie form 9-13 inches.

[AbuMasgouf]

WTG Minh! Did you get back out there after you came back to shore?

I see that you have a red and chartreuse tube on a jig in one of the pics, was that what you caught all of them on?

Like Martin, I could not get a crappie to even look at my lure (red and chartreuse tube on a jig just like the one Minh has in his picture) even with all the smelly jelly I smothered all over it! It was tough but nice to be out... on a good note, my new FF works great!

[moc]

When you guys left I was able to get a stringer of nine nice sized crappie form 9-13 inches.[ATTACH=CONFIG]5416[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5417[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5419[/ATTACH]

What technique and bait did you use....

[M_Duong60]

Yeah I went to shore to stretch out my legs a bit then went back out.

Once it was low tide I was able to cast underneath the docks with the red and chartreuse tube jig which I caught all the crappie on. At one point I caught a fish as my jig was hanging off of the boat (was putting a fish on the stinger). Although It came off before I could bring it in.

That's great! What kind of FF did you get? When I went back out I forgot to use my garlic scent but i'm not sure if it would have made a difference. Maybe I will test out whether it makes a difference or not next time i'm free...

*Of course I have to give credit to Joe (ComeOnFish) for giving me some tips.

[M_Duong60]

I did a slow retrieve with a red chartreuse tube as seen in one of the pictures.

[AbuMasgouf]

That's great! What kind of FF did you get?

*Of course I have to give credit to Joe (ComeOnFish) for giving me some tips.

I got a Humminbird 587ci DI HD. I really recommend it!

Yeah I wish I could have gone back out but I had to get ready and go to a family event. Joe is always in the know and I would have loved to be out there learning from him!

Soon Joe, soon!

[ComeOnFish]

Here is the afternoon story

I met Dinh fishing the gas dock. He caught several crappies before I got there. He used a bobber and a red/white tube. He was catching the crappie 5’ down
I noticed that He was catching crappie between 5' down (under the bobber). With his slow retrieve, the crappies hit lures between 3-5' down

I fished for YP without any bites. I got dark grey grub from Beef and fished for crappie. I caught 3 crappies (4-5'down - from Dinh's set up) immediately.

I met John. I was worry about him because I noticed that he had problem when he made knots with reading glasses on. The fog was getting thicker. I wasn’t sure if he could find the ramp. So I stayed with him because he was having fun catching bluegill. At 4:55pm I forced him to leave. He was right behind me when we came back to the ramp. I helped him loading the canoe on the roof of his car. I was glad I stayed with him. He had knee pain too.
Through John, I saw me in few years. Like John, I will be very happy if I can go fishing on a warm day in winter

[M_Duong60]

This was my first time ever fishing for crappie and I was surprised at how long crappie can survive out of water. I filleted them about 5 hours later after I came back from my grandfathers birthday and had two that were still hanging in there. Is this normal or was it because I put them in the fridge before I left.

And Joe I would love to fish with you and the others for crappie another time. When we met I had little time to talk because I had to get the my grandfathers house at 5 and still had to get home and get ready. So excuse me if I was rushing a bit to get a couple more fish on the stringer.

(we ate the crappie today and it was very delicious).

[moc]

Great video! Very informative. I would love to fish and learn from you Joe. Your video made me want to go back. Good job to you too Minh!

[AbuMasgouf]

Joe when are you going to be Occoquan again? Martin and I are ready and eager to learn!

[M_Duong60]

Oh from talking with other boaters out there and my luck after you guys left I have come to the conclusion that the best time to fish for crappie is at low tide. So just wanted to put that out there.

[ComeOnFish]

All,
I will try to be there.

Minh,
It looks you will fish for crappie until June. In that case buy the following rod:
Shakespeare Travel Mate Telescopic Rods (TM46SPT 4'6") telescopic travel rod. $14.99 at Overton and GanderMountain
This 4’ 6” rod is the one I used in Occoquan just for crappie not for YP. (I didn’t bring it last Sun)
It is about 13" long (collapsed) so I can carry two in tackle bags or under the hatch. The rod is very flexible for crappie. It is stronger than it looks. You can do dock shooting easily and cast very light jig+lure. It is excellent for tight area – Many times I expand it to 24”


Joe

[M_Duong60]

All,
I will try to be there.

Minh,
It looks you will fish for crappie until June. In that case buy the following rod:
Shakespeare Travel Mate Telescopic Rods (TM46SPT 4'6") telescopic travel rod. $14.99 at Overton and GanderMountain
This 4’ 6” rod is the one I used in Occoquan just for crappie not for YP. (I didn’t bring it last Sun)
It is about 13" long (collapsed) so I can carry two in tackle bags or under the hatch. The rod is very flexible for crappie. It is stronger than it looks. You can do dock shooting easily and cast very light jig+lure. It is excellent for tight area – Many times I expand it to 24”


Joe

I wish I could but I want to save up for a FF for the and buy some rubber boots because I was wearing winter boots when I was out there and while they are warm they are much harder to dry/clean. Although I am looking into getting a job pretty soon so maybe another season. For now I will just have to deal with the rods I have. When we talked you didn't see the 3 ft rod that I had stowed in my kayak. I wasn't using it because I broke the tip off and an eye while I was out there (cheap rod).

Also on the 21st I will officially be 16 meaning that I will need to start purchasing licenses. So for Maryland, Va (freshwater only), Delaware should add up to $60 which is crazy for someone who gets paid for chores.

So basically I won't be able to fish much as Occoquan in the spring anyway because of lacrosse so might just skip the Va license. But who knows I might land a descent paying job over the summer.