Fishing Report!

[grhodes50]

To check and see how the crappie are doing on Lake Eufaula, OK, my wife and I fished yesterday morning and evening and I fished again this morning. The only time we were able to get any bites was between 9:30am and 11:30am, a short 2 hour period. Most of what we caught were in the 1¾ lb range, however I did catch a couple that would go over 2 lbs this morning.

My wife and I had a nice fish dinner last night and including the ones I caught last weekend I now have 3 quart size freezer bags full of fillets.

Water temp is about 65° at the surface. Crappie like to spawn between 65° and 68°, so I'm thinking next weekend they should be coming into the shallows. Of course we'll be camping and fishing!

Temps today and tomorrow will reach in the 80's and next weekend should be about the same with some rain and cooler weather at the first of the week.

For those of you who have never caught crappie (pronounced crop-py) during a spawn you are missing out on a lot of fun.

Good luck and happy camping!

[kz08h5]

Good luck and tight lines. I won't get to wet a line for another two weeks or so. Our local weather has not been real conducive to fishing. I can't wait to get out. I have about 100 trips planned but will only make about 15 of them.

[Triguy]

I'm actually really jealous of you right now. Its been a loooong time since I fished for crappie. Good luck next weekend.

Waiting for the opener May 7th up here in Wisconsin for the annual walleye trip with my dad and my brother.

[grhodes50]

Thanks kz08h5, I will take all the good luck I can get.
Tight lines, that reminds me. Only three trips fishing and I'm needing to re-rig. Fishing around the boat slips can be tough on your line.
I've planned about as many trips as you. I hope to be able to make 15 this year. More than likely our trips will be close to home. Mainly due to the gas prices! OUCH!!!

Thanks Triguy, maybe you'll get a chance at the crappie before too long. Good luck with the walleye. I still fish with my brother from time to time, but Dad passed a couple of years ago. Sure miss fishing with him. We always had a lot of fun. Enjoy that trip!

Weather can play havoc on the fishing. Around here the crappie can spawn anytime fom the third week in March to as late as the first part of May, depending on the weather.
We have had some cold weather this winter, but things are beginning to come together. My only concern is the lake level. It's pretty low, so I'm not sure how that may effect the fish.

Hopefully the fish will be biting when you guys are finally able to go. It's hard to beat a fresh caught fish dinner while camping.

Good luck and happy camping!

[grhodes50]

I just found this info, that I didn't know, on another forum, so I thought I would share.
The common name crappie (also spelled croppie or crappé) should be pronounced (kræpi/Cra-pi), derives from the Canadian French crapet, which refers to many different fishes of the family Centrarchidae.
Here is a list of all the alias a crappie is know by:
1. papermouths
2. sac-au-lait
3. slabs
4. white perch (sometimes this name is used so people know what fish they're talking about)
5. specks
6. calico bass
8. rock bass
9. Oswego bass
10. strawberry bass
11. saddle blankets
12. flyers
13. bachelor perch
14. banklick
15. lamplight
16. speckled perch
17. tinmouth
18. Bucketmouths
19.Crop's
20.Berries
21.Callies
22.Crap's

Here on Lake Eufaula we have two species, black crappie and white crappie.
They are good to eat, especially when cooked fresh at the campground.

BLACK CRAPPIE


WHITE CRAPPIE


I found these pics on the internet. I wish I had taken pics yesterday. I had a few nice ones of each kind even though the fishing was slow and didn't last long. I ended up cleaning a total of 18 for the two days fishing. Not too bad for a only a total of 5 hours fishing.
Hopefully we'll catch some next weekend and I'll make sure to take some pics.

[Triguy]

Hey Gary,
That's interesting. Up here, we also just call them crappie, but I've heard people use papermouth and slabs.

Since we actually have rock bass and white perch in the waters I fish you wouldn't hear those names being thrown around to describe a crappie.

Here's a rock bass. People say they taste pretty good, but I don't target them. Notice the red eye? That the most telling feature.



Here's a white perch. This one is an exotic and can be found in the Bay of Green Bay and the Fox River. Some people like the fight in them, but they are worse than a nuisance because they eat walleye eggs.

[grhodes50]

We also have the Rock Bass but not the White Perch. At least I don't recall ever ever seeing one.

I find all this kind of interesting. I've fished all my life and I've never knew these fish are known under different names elsewhere.

I can just imagine a conversation between a couple of fishermen as ignorant as I was.
One saying, "We catch crappie and they're the best tasting fish there is!"
The second arguing, "I believe the sac-au-laits we catch are the best tasting!"