Doug Wynn

Hey Y'all from the Excel 230 Elite. Fall has fallen for sure. The water temps in the 50s we have been hoping for are a reality. The crappie bite has been slow to take advantage of the seasonal conditions.

I had the pleasure of guiding Laura and Jim from Mississippi on Tuesday. As much as I love crappie fishing MS lakes and as many times I've been down there, I think this may be the first time I've hosted a MS couple.

They were on a vacation trip to see several attractions in KY.

The day started with me sitting in pea-soup fog at the marina. My buddy John David Morgan and I were in the same boat so to speak, we couldn’t start our crappie guide trips in those conditions. We talked several minutes while hoping the fog would lift. It took quite a while before we could safely run the boats at slow speeds.

The surface temperature was 55.5 degrees as we pulled away into the thinning fog. We ran at minimum plane speed to our start area. Two hours of pulling Crappie Magnets and Fin Spins in 6-10 feet of water produced some very nice crappie but no numbers. The Hummingbirds showed baitballs and fish all over but few were willing to bite. A move to another area produced big numbers of very nice yellow bass, white bass, and some crappie. My clients weren’t familiar with the yellow bass but quickly found out they were very eager to attack our lures. Four times we caught two yellows at once on our double lure rigs. The water depth ranged from 8 feet to 20 feet with most of the catches in 12 feet or less.

The day started hoping for a sink full of crappie but ended up with a mixed bag. The catch made for a gallon bag of fillets that will be enjoyed in Mississippi.

There was a number of other fishermen enjoying a beautiful fall day who all moved often like we did. When most crappie fishermen are moving from one area to another, you can bet they are finding a slow bite also.

I think the quick change from summer water temps to full-blow fall has really got the crappie and other game fish in a funk. Several days of cool weather should stabilize the lake and produce better fishing. The only way to know for sure is to get out there and go fishing.

Be careful out there. Water temperatures in the 50s will make for a quick wake-up and are survivable if you get out of the water quickly. Having dry clothes, even a rain suit, onboard will allow you time to survive. Mobility issues or an injury sustained when you go overboard complicate things. Many of us spend lots of our boat time alone. I always have an emergency boarding ladder on my transom so I can use it to get back aboard by myself. I figure a few dollars spent on adding a ladder is cheap insurance if I ever need it.

Keep an eye out for those lurking gremlins. Some are visible but many are hiding just below the surface with lake levels at 355 and below.

Welcome to our slice of Heaven.