Spring comes early for crappie anglers
Most crappie fishermen think springtime for slabs and long stringers of crappie, but Capt. Jake Futia, a multi-species fishing guide from Waxhaw, NC, has found Lake Wylie highly productive in the dead of winter. He’s enjoying some of the hottest crappie action of the year.
And if that’s not enough, his tactics also typically produce excellent bonus action on jumbo white perch, a hard-fighting battler that makes great table fare, while targeting these crappies.
A recent trip with Futia started with fast action and, a few hours later, ended on the same note: fast-paced crappie catching. During that time, we employed three distinct patterns. All produced crappie.
Futia’s first effort was to vertically fish downed logs and brush in deep water along the edge of the Catawba River channel. Next, we drifted and fished the area along the bottom of the river channel edge by dragging live minnows on double hook rigs in the 30- to 40-foot depth range.
Predictable crappie
The third tactic was to target larger crappie by searching for roaming schools of suspended fish using Forward Facing Sonar. Locating these roaming fish didn’t take long. Once Futia found the crappie, he’d cast jigs with a live minnow trailer, working it across the top of those suspended schools of crappie, while watching in real time on the Garmin Livescope. Targeting fish in this manner was also productive.
Futia said this is a typical pattern for Lake Wylie during the coldest months of the year.
“I actually look forward to the cold weather of winter because it forces crappies into predictable deep-water patterns that I can target using any, or all three, of these tactics,” he said. “Some days one will outproduce the others, but like today, all three were working, and that’s not unusual.”
He said that most of his clients also enjoy catching the feisty white perch.
Perfect combo
“White perch bite aggressively and are hard-fighting fish, and keeping rods bent as we search for crappie is a good thing,” he said. “Perch keep our eyes glued to rod tips, and that helps us see the often more subtle crappie bites. For my clients and me, it’s a perfect combination. And occasionally we’ll hook into a chunky catfish, too.”
During our trip, we had at least three doubles on crappie, and consistent action throughout the day.
Lake Wylie straddles North and South Carolina, providing anglers from both states with productive options for winter fishing. But the two Carolinas do not have a reciprocal fishing license agreement, so ensure you have both licenses, or stick to the waters of the state where your license was purchased.
Futia (704-989-1871; or check his website, captainjakesguideservice.com) is a full-time guide and primarily works Lake Wylie for crappie or catfish, but he seasonally guides for stripers or catfish at Lake Wateree also.
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