Fishing the full moon.

One of the most peaceful times fishing for me, is during the full moon. Last night was amazing with the meteor shower to top it off. It was a bit windy and chilly, with the temperature dropping about 1 degree every hour. The the fishing was really good with a few walleye and tons of crappie . Checked the shallows to see if the crayfish were out and active. Checked for minnows by the creek and culverts Set the boat up on the north end of my spot. Shut the motor down and drifted down the shoreline. When the point was reached, back up to the top and start over. About every thirty, or forty minutes the boat had to be positioned at the top of the route. Tried to keep the boat in six to ten feet of water, thirty to forty yards off shore. Two rods rigged with a slip bobber and plastic baits, and one rod for crank baits. Not a soul out on the lake but myself, and a few giant swans making a bit of racket. Only one bluegill on the first, second, and third pass. As the sun was setting, still not much action until later after sun set. It was hard to see the shooting stars with the moon out in full display. But all that moonlight turned the water from black to a shimmering graphite silver colour. What could be better than this? I know, catching fish would make it perfect. Finally a hard hit and a fish that had some weight. Nope, just a good size bluegill that's all. Another hour passed, and still not much of anything going on. Just before eleven the bobber went down and a good size crappie on the jig. Then another and another with a couple of walleye mixed in as the night went on. It got cold, but not damp like last time fishing after dark. The fishing was really good for the rest of the night. Had to quit between 4am and 5am because my line started to freeze up. Here are the baits that worked the best. The fish were hitting anywhere between 3 and 3.5 feet below the surface of the water. The fish did not like a slow retrieve, so I had to speed it up a bit.

There was a few smaller fish, but most of the crappie were between 10 and 14 inches. Close to 70 crappie caught, and I kept these six. The bottom one is about 12.5 inches and the top 3 were just barely over 14 inches. The walleye were around 15 to 16 inches. So this may be it for a few weeks until the crappie have spawned. Maybe get out one more time in deeper water like last night. But the crappie may have moved by then. So hard to say with this very rare early spring. I do not want to disturb the fish while they are trying to spawn. If there is not a good spawn this year with crappie and walleye, we are going to notice that in 5 years. I did say on an earlier post that this year would be great fishing for walleye, crappie, bass, and musky. From reports passed on to me, and what I have caught looks like, so far so good. Good luck out there and stay safe. Don't forget to stay away from spawning crappie. Give them a chance to make us all more baby crappie, that will grow into monster crappie.

Thanks for the excellent report, sounds like you had a great night of peace and fishing!

Great post, as usual.
I'm glad you mentioned we should leave the Crappie alone to spawn in peace. It benefits us all.

Cheers,

Excellent report as usual Jaime. And thanks for mentioning the crappie spawn. I've been itching to get the boat into the water to search for some of those slabs, but have held off for a while longer.

It was beautiful out there, thank you. But got cold later with the temperature drop and the breeze. The crappie were in the first drop off, similar to that when you were ice fishing near that island on your lake.

Had a lucky night. Have not seen that many out there since that really warm weather in early march fishing in the canoe. Another week or so when the water warms up it will be an early spawn this year. There will still be lots in the shallows during the day this week. Not sure but looks like a wet weekend on the way.Thank you for the reply.

Thank you Lionel. Always nice to hear from you. There is still time before they hit the beds. You could try those spots you were telling me about on Sturgeon. Just find the shallow water near where you fish. Hardly any wind on Thursday so far, but chilly. Windy on Friday though. I will give you a call tomorrow in the afternoon.

I’m starting to get that crappie itch. Sounds like a great night.

Thank you Lionel. Always nice to hear from you. There is still time before they hit the beds. You could try those spots you were telling me about on Sturgeon. Just find the shallow water near where you fish. Hardly any wind on Thursday so far, but chilly. Windy on Friday though. I will give you a call tomorrow in the afternoon.

Sounds like a winner!!

Yes it was a lucky night. Fishing a full moon is something I really look forward to. If you get lucky and there is no clouds, you don't even need your headlamp until you get the fish on the deck, dock or grass. Good luck if you get out to find some crappie. They are still shallow during the day and retreat back to the first drop off at night, following the shoreline.

Good luck with your fishing, and golfing this season.

Wasn’t fishing that night, but did also enjoy the beautiful moonlight

Nice report Jaime....one of these days I must target Crappy. Through all the posts over the past couple of years you sure have taken the mystery out of catching this finicky elusive fish. Thank you for that.

Arnie

That's a beautiful picture.