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John N. Felsher's Crappie Fishing Adventures
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Although dwarfed by nearby Lake George, Crescent Lake looms large in
the minds of Florida crappie enthusiasts.
The 16,000-acre lake near Crescent City on the Flagler-Putnam County
line runs about 13 miles long by two miles wide. It averages about 10 feet
deep, but some holes drop to 14 feet deep. A deep channel connects
Crescent Lake to Dead Lake at the southeast end. The lake also connects to
the St. Johns River on the north through Dunn’s Creek. Two smaller creeks
enter at the southern end. Except for a few small communities along the
western shoreline, much of the area remains largely pristine wilderness.
The lake contains a huge population of bass, bluegill and catfish, but the
crappie, or specks, grab the attention. One of the best places in Florida to
catch crappie, Crescent Lake can produce fish topping the 3-pound mark. It
also produces good numbers of 1- to 2-pound fish.
“Crescent Lake has an awesome fishery,” said Mike Baker, a professional
crappie angler and owner of Crappie Fisherman Guide Service. “It’s a well-
balanced lake with awesome forage. It’s very common to catch specks in the
2.5- to 3-pound range. We catch fish all year long in Crescent Lake, but some
of the best fishing occurs around the first two full moons of the year. That’s
when crappie school up and stage a little deeper in the lake before they go to
spawn.”
Although not directly attached to the tidal St. Johns, the water in Crescent
Lake does contain a hint of salinity, largely due to seepage of springs through
minerals over the eons. Consequently, the lake hosts a thriving blue crab
population. Anglers can see lines of cork floats marking the traps.
After the spawn, crappie scatter, but may gather near crab traps. Bait in
the traps not only attracts crabs, but small fish. Crappie hover near these
traps to snatch minnows and other forage species tempted to feed upon the
crab bait. Baker likes to troll jigs parallel to the line of crab traps.
“I like to pull double rigs with two Culprit Champion’s Choice jigheads
tipped with paddletail, tassel-tail or curly-tailed jigs per pole,” Baker said. “One
weighs 1/48-ounce and the other weighs 1/32-ounce. The heavier jig runs a
little deeper than the lighter one. A crappie always looks up to feed. It might
not see a bait moving 6 inches below it, but it might rise several feet to hit a
bait moving above it.”
When trolling, Baker sets out eight rods in different lengths ranging from
eight feet long for the inside rods to 16 feet long for the outside rods. He tips
each rod with two different colored jigs until he narrows down the color
combination based upon the action that day. He also uses bright yellow or
chartreuse Vicious Panfish line in 6-pound test.
“When pulling several lines with different rods, it’s sometimes hard to
keep track of which ones are getting hit,” Baker advised. “The fluorescent
color helps my fishing tremendously because I can watch the line movement
very easily. Sometimes, when a crappie bites, it swims forward or to one side.
The lines should run parallel to each other, but if they are not, one has
something on it, either a fish, weeds or some trash. In a tournament once, a
good friend of mine was using yellow line while I used clear line. He won the
tournament, so I figured the bright color didn’t scare the fish.”
Speed also matters when trolling. Sometimes, more aggressive fish want
faster baits. Sometimes, they prefer slower baits. Generally, Baker uses his
trolling motor to push his boat along at about 0.5 to 1.5 miles per hour. In a
heavy wind, he might drop a chain over the side to slow the progress.
On this particular day, crappie wanted John Deere green Culprit curled-
tail jigs trolled about 1.1 to 1.2 miles per hour. We also caught fish on
paddletail jigs in white with a chartreuse tail, blue and black with a chartreuse
tail. We fished in about nine feet of water with our baits running about three to
four feet deep and ended with about 100 crappie. Some broke the 2-pound
mark.
“These fish are all full of shad, well-fed and very healthy,” Baker said. “I
try to match the hatch and pick jig colors that mimic the natural baitfish they
are feeding upon. I may go through 50 different color combinations before I
catch a fish, but once I find out which ones they want, I can usually catch a
bunch of fish. Once I see that one color starts producing a few more fish, I
slowly start changing the colors on the lines.”
For booking trips with Baker, call 352-625-1180 in the evenings or send
an e-mail to crappiefisherman@peoplepc.com. On line, see www.
thecrappiefisherman.com.
the minds of Florida crappie enthusiasts.
The 16,000-acre lake near Crescent City on the Flagler-Putnam County
line runs about 13 miles long by two miles wide. It averages about 10 feet
deep, but some holes drop to 14 feet deep. A deep channel connects
Crescent Lake to Dead Lake at the southeast end. The lake also connects to
the St. Johns River on the north through Dunn’s Creek. Two smaller creeks
enter at the southern end. Except for a few small communities along the
western shoreline, much of the area remains largely pristine wilderness.
The lake contains a huge population of bass, bluegill and catfish, but the
crappie, or specks, grab the attention. One of the best places in Florida to
catch crappie, Crescent Lake can produce fish topping the 3-pound mark. It
also produces good numbers of 1- to 2-pound fish.
“Crescent Lake has an awesome fishery,” said Mike Baker, a professional
crappie angler and owner of Crappie Fisherman Guide Service. “It’s a well-
balanced lake with awesome forage. It’s very common to catch specks in the
2.5- to 3-pound range. We catch fish all year long in Crescent Lake, but some
of the best fishing occurs around the first two full moons of the year. That’s
when crappie school up and stage a little deeper in the lake before they go to
spawn.”
Although not directly attached to the tidal St. Johns, the water in Crescent
Lake does contain a hint of salinity, largely due to seepage of springs through
minerals over the eons. Consequently, the lake hosts a thriving blue crab
population. Anglers can see lines of cork floats marking the traps.
After the spawn, crappie scatter, but may gather near crab traps. Bait in
the traps not only attracts crabs, but small fish. Crappie hover near these
traps to snatch minnows and other forage species tempted to feed upon the
crab bait. Baker likes to troll jigs parallel to the line of crab traps.
“I like to pull double rigs with two Culprit Champion’s Choice jigheads
tipped with paddletail, tassel-tail or curly-tailed jigs per pole,” Baker said. “One
weighs 1/48-ounce and the other weighs 1/32-ounce. The heavier jig runs a
little deeper than the lighter one. A crappie always looks up to feed. It might
not see a bait moving 6 inches below it, but it might rise several feet to hit a
bait moving above it.”
When trolling, Baker sets out eight rods in different lengths ranging from
eight feet long for the inside rods to 16 feet long for the outside rods. He tips
each rod with two different colored jigs until he narrows down the color
combination based upon the action that day. He also uses bright yellow or
chartreuse Vicious Panfish line in 6-pound test.
“When pulling several lines with different rods, it’s sometimes hard to
keep track of which ones are getting hit,” Baker advised. “The fluorescent
color helps my fishing tremendously because I can watch the line movement
very easily. Sometimes, when a crappie bites, it swims forward or to one side.
The lines should run parallel to each other, but if they are not, one has
something on it, either a fish, weeds or some trash. In a tournament once, a
good friend of mine was using yellow line while I used clear line. He won the
tournament, so I figured the bright color didn’t scare the fish.”
Speed also matters when trolling. Sometimes, more aggressive fish want
faster baits. Sometimes, they prefer slower baits. Generally, Baker uses his
trolling motor to push his boat along at about 0.5 to 1.5 miles per hour. In a
heavy wind, he might drop a chain over the side to slow the progress.
On this particular day, crappie wanted John Deere green Culprit curled-
tail jigs trolled about 1.1 to 1.2 miles per hour. We also caught fish on
paddletail jigs in white with a chartreuse tail, blue and black with a chartreuse
tail. We fished in about nine feet of water with our baits running about three to
four feet deep and ended with about 100 crappie. Some broke the 2-pound
mark.
“These fish are all full of shad, well-fed and very healthy,” Baker said. “I
try to match the hatch and pick jig colors that mimic the natural baitfish they
are feeding upon. I may go through 50 different color combinations before I
catch a fish, but once I find out which ones they want, I can usually catch a
bunch of fish. Once I see that one color starts producing a few more fish, I
slowly start changing the colors on the lines.”
For booking trips with Baker, call 352-625-1180 in the evenings or send
an e-mail to crappiefisherman@peoplepc.com. On line, see www.
thecrappiefisherman.com.
Crescent Lake offers Florida crappie
anglers a taste of wilderness fishing
anglers a taste of wilderness fishing
ABOVE: Mike Baker, a
professional crappie angler,
shows off a big one he caught
while fishing on Crescent
Lake near Crescent City, Fla.
RIGHT: Steven Felsher
shows off a big crappie he
caught while fishing with
Mike Baker, a professional
crappie angler, on Crescent
Lake near Crescent City, Fla.
professional crappie angler,
shows off a big one he caught
while fishing on Crescent
Lake near Crescent City, Fla.
RIGHT: Steven Felsher
shows off a big crappie he
caught while fishing with
Mike Baker, a professional
crappie angler, on Crescent
Lake near Crescent City, Fla.
