Brownlee Tactics

[SafetyChain]

Ok all you Powder/Snake river smallie stalkers, what are the techniques you use?

I have fished there for years, ALWAYS come back to my Kalin's 5" Clear S&P grub on a 1/8oz round ball Jig (is that specific enough? :bigshock:) I have tried just about everything else with very little to NO success :shrug:. Poppers, buzz baits, spinners, blah blah blah!

I would really like to try something new this year and learn it till I am successful. Be it drop shotting, carolina rigs, texas rigs, crank baits, whatever.

I'll be there for 5-6 days just after Mother's Day and would like to try something different everyday. What do you suggest? :idea:

TIA :bowdown:

[riverfisher]

I have used 1" - 1.5" small twister tail grubs. White and chartruse have worked pretty well for me. Fun thing about those small jigs, you never know what you are going to catch. Using ultralight gear makes it very entertaining. I have also had good success with 3" pumpkinseed color worms, forked and twist tail.

[Mtn. Basser]

For crankbaits, I have always done well on Bomber 7A's in Green Craw, Brown Craw, and Red Craw. I dont usually drop shot in May- the fish are pretty shallow then- drop shotting really starts in June when they move back deep and continues through the summer. Carolina rigs would be a great choice that time of year- tubes or lizards are my pick.

Have fun,
Josh.

[shalom]

I like to use ROADRUNNERS IN a I/8 OZ SIZE. You will find a lot of crappies while using it for BASS. I love to use a REBEL crawfish in a brown and orange color . It is a killer over there . It is different than most crankbaits, the pincers are closer together and when you are retrieving it there are small bubbles that come up that are made by the shape of the pincers . The BASS can’t resists and they will hammer it . I have about 20 different sizes and colors. They all seem to work. :angel1: :dance: :dance: :jester:

[Mtn. Basser]

Hey Shalom,
Sorry for the ignorance, but whats a Roadrunner??

[shalom]

A ROADRUNNER is a secret lure I would have to shoot you if I told you ha . They are like a very small spinnerbait . They go down to as small as 1/32 oz. .BASS Pro Shop and most sporting goods stores carry them . I think Wall Mart has them also . I do not have much luck with spinnerbaits but I do like ROADRUNNERS . Jimmy Houston uses them for crappies a lot as they are one of his sponsors . They are a good search bait that you can cover a lot of water with in a hurry and catch many different kinds of fish with them. If you have a BASS PRO Shop Master Catalog 2004 they are on page 268 . They are made by the BLAKEMORE LURE CO. They say that you can’t fish them wrong as long as you fish them slow, and slower still. :angel1: :dance: :dance: :jester:

[Mojo]

Kalins are a good bet, but try 3" smoke salt and pepper, with a chartreuse jighead. I've spanked them on that. Also try baby brush hogs, texas rigged, in dark greenish and brownish colors. Only fish topwater at first and last light (but it can be awesome then). I've done well fishing cranks and jerkbaits, because in May the fish are really hot, and you can cover a lot of water with them.

I usually fish 2 rods, one with a crappie jig hung over the side, in a rod holder, with the drag loose, and the other that I actively fish. Be suprised what a guy can catch on a crappie jig in that lake... :grin:

[bucketmouth]

try a pop-r at first light. When that gives out, go to a lipless crank bait in silver with blue back. If that is not working try Crawdad imitating crankbaits that run at a medium depth. If you find that they are suspended in open water try jigging for them.

Mojo hit it on the head when he said you would be suprised what you can catch on a crappie jig on that body of water. I think the only thing I have not caught on a crappie jig there is a trout. :cool:

[SafetyChain]

Thanks for the info and keep them coming.

I know what you mean about what you might catch with a crappie rig. One of the guys way dragging one in the wind a few years ago and caught nice catfish, TWICE! :bigshock:

I usually toss the jig to the bank and let them fall on the reel. I have never caught anything in open water. Do you guys work the banks as well? Since the shores are so rocky, that has always worked. Do you toss your crankbaits away from the shore and reel back? Where do you work the topwater baits? What is meant by "medium depth"?

[Mojo]

Usually I cast to shore. Well unless I cast parallel to shore, or away from it. For bass usually toward shore. I fish the bottom. That's the basic structure in Brownlee. Cast a crank bait to shore, and it'll dive as it is pulled away from shore, basically following the bottom contour of the lake.

Try topwater baits off points, in the coves, and anyplace you see fish working the surface. The work really well thrown next to the baks, and worked out to the boat.

Meduim depth, to me, is deeper than 5 feet, and shallower than 15. That's a rough estimate.

[bucketmouth]

Mojo, you beat me to the reply to Saftychain's questions. But you're gonna get my two cents worth anyway eventhough people are only willing to offer a penny for my thoughts!

I too throw towards the bank from my boat. I work the boat parallel to the shore line alnong the areas I want to fish and stay a good casing distance away from the shoreline with the boat as I move along. However, I will also take the boat in close to shore and cast parallel to the shoreline. Sometimes this will generate a strike when the other method would not.

Medium depth crankbaits will do just about what Mojo said they would do. They generally run from 6 to 10 feet. But like Mojo suggest, once I'm working water deeper than 15 feet, I'm usually thinking deep instead of medium water.

When I was talking about suspended fish I ment that many times when I'm getting short bites on my cranks while throwing at shore I will move off the shoreline even further and fish the area where my boat used to be. In these situations I like to use a suspending crank and or jigs. Not jig & pig to be worked off the bottom but something more like a johnson silver minnow jigged at the depth I think the fish are holding. Or even a road runner or even a bettle spin.

One method I found to be deadly at brownlee is when the bite seems slow and the fish have probably gone deeper, I will tie on a Lure Jensen Hot Lips. One that is designed to dive up to 20 feet. Then troll it with my electric motor in 25 to 30 feet of water. One time while doing this, I caught the largest crappie I have ever gotten. It was 14 inches plus. Now that was a slab!

Safetychain, I hope you have a good time when you go up there. Catch lots of fish and let us know how it went.

[SafetyChain]

BM, will do. I actually always limit every day, just looking for new methods to make things more interesting and maybe put the :smash: on some of my buddies :grin:

[SafetyChain]

ttt= one more time through for others to participate or learn

[Mojo]

I forgot one thing. Take your steelie rod, hook on a 3/4 oz sliding egg sinker, a barrel swivewl, and a 12" snell to a 1/0 hook. Put a chunk of crappie carcass (left over after filleting your fish) and fling it out there. CATFISH ON!!!