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C.J. Strike 3-19-2011
I took a licken about 2 weeks ago but learned that you can't always count on the hump and that sometimes you need all your wits and toys just to catch a few. So this time I went alone and was better equipped for technical fishing.
I caught a total of 17 perch and nine crappie over about 8 hours of fishing from my boat. The fish were deep and use of a fish finder and special technique was needed to catch them. Surprisingly, the schools contained a mixture of perch and crappie. This fact was demonstrated several times so was no fluke. The water temperature was 47 F and folks at the dock were catching smallies as big as about three pounds.
The crappie were 9 to 11 inch and the perch 8 and 9 inch.
FR
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Thanks. I think I may have gone too far with my downsizing of the photo so I will try again.
FR
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fishingrocket, nice job! we were over there on the 19th as well. started the morning trolling for trout with only a couple bumps. saw some nice ones caught from the dam. switched over to crappie, and man they were tough! we didnt catch quite as many as you, but agree on the perch/crappie mix. we were picking up both. most fish were laying right near the bottom. slow jigging worked best for us. my buddy did lose the BIGGEST crappie ive ever seen. an absolute bruiser of a plate!! we bailed around 3pm when the wind started getting nasty. i heard rumor that a jetboat that was tied up near the air force ramp got swamped and went down sunday. i dont doubt it.
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Went to CJ today, got into some perch and crappie in the narrows. Someone said that they were getting crappie in the morning off the hump but nothing when we checked it out.
Weather was perfect no more than a 10mph breeze at times and less than that most of the day. Going back tomorrow for round two. It was 74 degrees when we left there and the water temp is now around 55 degrees by mid-day
Hogger
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I was at CJ today also, fishing for crappie. Being land bound, I tried Cottonwood first, and that was a total bust. Spent about two hours there without a bite. A couple I met there said crappies were being caught below the dam, so I moved there. Fished for about five hours and got approximately 30 fish. Most were average size, between 10 and 11 inches. Got most of them on a white feather and tinsel jig. They were surprisingly close to the surface, about 3 - 4 feet down.
If you're going there this weekend, avoid Cottonwood. They aren't in yet. The slack water below the dam is a better bet, even if the space is more limited.
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Hey hogger. Didn't see you there. Where abouts were you? We we on the west end of the narrows, just a bit east of the power lines. We did a lot better for perch than we did for Crappie. Also got several SM bass.
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I was thinking about going there. I went to Dog creek instead and got skunked. I didn't have much time so I was kind of stuck. Ron
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Spent Thursday at CJ from 12:00 to 4:30. Picked up 2 crappie and 1 perch trolling really slow through the narrows. We went over to the hump for while but it was really slow in the afternoon. Really nice day to be on the water, but slow fishing.
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i heard the same thing from 2 buddies who went on friday. there were 50+ boats on a friday mostly crappie fishing the hump and narrows. one buddy who crappie fished said they did ok but there were too many people fishing the same spots. the other guy who went only bass fished and said he caught 30. they were both surprised to see so much friday traffic.
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We fished Friday, and I have never seen so many inconsiderate people in my life. The ramp was a lesson in how NOT to launch and recover a boat. People pulling down in the launch area then BEGINNING to get their boat ready. Launching and tying their boat to the launch dock (or having their kid hold it) while they park their truck, blocking the ramp for 15 minutes. There are slips on the back side of the launch dock for a reason... It was insane. We had people trolling around my friends and my boat and when they saw my wife catching fish, anchoring up close enough that I had to pull rods in so they didn't get broken. I guess it was the first great weather day combined with spring break that brought out the crazies. We did find fish that were cooperative, away from the crowds and that made the day. Ended up keeping enough to feed the family and my friend (about 35). I did see a lot of my friends out enjoying the sun as well, and witnessed some folks doing the right thing as well. I thanked 3 guys that I saw pull their boat out and drove 1/4 mile up the hill to stow gear and make things road ready. Nice example guys!
Yesterday was a different story. My other buddy wanted to chase sturgeon. We launched 3 boats (mine, his and his buddies big jet boat) We went to the bait hole and caught a couple perch for bait. RThen the wind hit. We raced back to the ramp but lost the race, and ended up running the last 4 mile in 4 to 5 foot whitecaps. My 22' sled was taking on water even though I was running downwind. I saw several bass tourney guys trying to beat against the wind, but they ended up turning around and hiding in the islands upriver from Loveridge Bridge. I saw one bass boat nose up on a wave then crash down and take a wave over the front deck. I thought they sunk for a minute. I would have gone to aid them but I was in no kidding eminent danger, and there was a big river jet boat following me that had a hard top and was built for those kind of conditions. It turns out they didn't sink anyway. With as many boats that were out Saturday, I hope everyone made it back safe to the dock. That storm hit fast and hard. No fish is worth losing your boat/life...
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whoa that sounds scarry glad i stayed home
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my dad and his friend fished cj yesterday 4/1. they tried to go to the narrows but said it was jam packed with boats. they fished there nonetheless and caught a few perch but nothing worthy of keeping. they fished all around the res. but eventualy found crappie in between the pump station and black sands resort. they had 52 fish most looked to me to be 11" or so. they used 2- 1/32 oz jigs on a line chartruce and red and white. with crappie nbbles. my dad said they wouldn't get a bite unless they had crappie nibbles on the jig. i forgot to ask the color of the nibbles. ahhhh it's the weekend and it's raining and the wind is blowing 30 mph. i wonder if it will ever be nice on a weekend !