Page 7 - Crappie NOW - February 2019

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pits that people can fish. In the fall, most do. When I pop the cork, the jig comes up
people fish the gravel pit areas on the and falls back down.”
River Section. In the spring, people catch In the summer, crappie often go deep.
a lot more fish in the water willow areas In deeper water, many anglers troll double
and fallen trees off the old oxbows and jig rigs or Road Runners, often tipped with
river bends.” minnows. Push the boat forward at about
South of Columbus Lake, Aliceville Lake 0.5 to 1.5 miles per hour. Around shallow
straddles the Mississippi-Alabama line. structure, many anglers fish spider rigs.
Also called Pickensville Lake, the largest In entangling cover, some anglers prefer
lake on the Tenn-Tom system spreads to fish with single poles.
across 8,300 acres near Pickensville, Ala. “I like to fish with a single pole rather
Major tributaries include James Creek, than a spider rig,” Honnoll commented.
the Hairston Bend Cut-Off area, Pumpkin “I live for the thump of a fish taking the
Creek and Coal Fire Creek. Several oxbow bait. I don’t want to just pick up the rod
lakes and cut-off channels also provide and pull it in. When crappie go deep, I
additional places to fish. usually vertically jig or I’ll use a drop shot
baited with minnows. Drop that down to
any wood along the ledges or drop-offs.

“I live for the thump of a fish That’s also a good technique to use in the
fall and winter.”
taking the bait.” Farther downstream, people also fish
the 6,400-acre Gainesville Lake near
where the Black Warrior River flows into
the Tombigbee at Demopolis, Ala. The
“Aliceville Lake has a lot of timber and Tombigbee continues southward until it
ledges that attract crappie,” reported merges with the Alabama River at Mount
Jeff Honnoll of Columbus who fished the Vernon, Ala. to create the Mobile River. The
system for more than four decades. “I Mobile River flows into Mobile Bay near the
prefer fishing for crappie in the fall and city that bears its name. Throughout this
winter. At that time of year, I fish woody network of rivers lakes and backwaters,
cover, drop-offs and ledges with minnows anglers can enjoy outstanding fishing for
and jigs.” crappie and many other species.
In the fall, most people fish with live
minnows. Young threadfin shad two to
three inches long create massive baitfish
schools. With so much natural prey - John N. Felsher
available, crappie don’t need to work hard
to find breakfast and probably won’t hit a
jig not tipped with live bait. As water cools
and natural prey becomes more scarce,
crappie start hitting jigs and other artificial
temptations again.
“In January and February, I fish
sloughs with a cork and a jig,” Honnoll
recommended. “At that time of year,
crappie are not on the banks, but out
around the stumps and structure in the
middle of the sloughs. I watch for all the
baitfish flicking in those sloughs and make
the cork imitate that flicking the baitfish

7 Crappie NOW February 2019