The lake rose to almost 8ft. over summer pool and now is dropping back. Fish went shallow and now are returning to deep water and bunching up. My favorite time of the year. This is why I was so determined on setting up my boat for three anglers to set on the nose. We hover over deep brush and tight line a jig right down in them. Depths of 18-26ft.deep or even deeper buried on the bottom in thick brush just like Kentucky Lake. I have plenty of practice fishing this way. You can’t hover with precise control it’s a long day. This is why I run a heavy fiberglass boat, doesn’t blow around. Been at this game a long time and I can hover with the best of them.

I have two Lowrance units up on the trolling motor. One for splitting the screen with 2-D sonar and downscan and the other unit for our GPS waypoints. Last count I had almost 8000 between Shelbyville and Kentucky Lake. Then above them I have a 12in. Garmin that I use for Livescope. I have that transducer on a Cornfield Crappie mount that allows me to rotate back and forth to see my jig and my two clients without having to use the trolling motor making it even easier to hover and not move an inch. I can watch the fish move towards your jig and adjust your depth accordingly. Pretty dam cool and you just have to see this for yourself. Don’t know how I fished deep without it before. No stopping on a brush pile that is void of fish either.

All three of us use very sensitive custom made Norms rods that are ten feet in length. I tie on a quarter ounce trolling sinker on 8lb. Suffix Braided line back to the reel. Then I run a fluorocarbon leader down to a small 1/32oz. jig. I use Brushpile Jigs Hammers in white and chartreuse, glow chartreuse or a small hair jig. Color depends on water color and light penetration. The clearer the water the more we try and imitate shad colors. Stained we want a brighter color. That tiny 1/32oz jig just hangs under that weight almost weightless and when the fishing gets tough this system is my go to. The problem is feeling the bite, they just suck it in and you barely feel it. So you slightly lift your rod and you will feel weight and with the braided line you get a good hook set in them. With the larger jigs and big profile plastics they will only nip at the tail. Remember water temps are now approaching 40.

Weather will get cold over these next four weeks. Which will be the end of my season for this year. I like to go down to Kentucky Lake mid December on through mid January wind and weather permitting with a couple buddies so no pressure. Wind can really hurt you down there so we have to just be ready to go on a moments notice.

I carry a propane heater for the rest of the season but I strongly suggest if you don’t have good warm clothes this isn’t for you. But if you do you will get to see some of the best crappie fishing of the season. They school up and you will get twenty or so fish from a single stop, action like few of you have ever seen. I have very few open dates left so you better grab one. December 5,11,12 then after that we will see how the weather is.

Steve Welch
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