Page 8 - Crappie NOW - October 2018

by Vic Attardo

Everyone knows that time and tides stand erect, then they sway in one direction,
wait for no man. Well, apparently crappie, the stand nearly at attention for a bit, then turn and
wonderful fish we love to catch and fillet, are sway in the other direction. All sorts of things
as scientifically informed as the human race, move with them. Things so small you and I
maybe even bet-ter. can’t see them, unless we wore a microscope
When it comes to estuary crappie -- those grade face mask.
fish living in brackish backwaters affected by It’s amazing how many of those bits of
the daily dualistic pull of gravity -- are well life remained clinging to the weed stalks when
attuned to the pleasant, and unpleasant, the stalks were down and almost dry. Now the
affects of time and tides. stalks swell and the little things go crazy.
Crappie, of course, don’t wear Fitbits, Soon small fishes follow along, clouds
but they are keenly aware of the nourishment of fishes in parade silver and white.
they need to survive and the time and place That’s all it takes to make the crappie
the kitchen is open, especially those kitchens come back.
situated in tidal flows. Most were in a deep channel next to
the brackish flats. Don’t even try to get them
to strike when the tide is low and not moving.
“add a fresh cut square of crappie Great crappie anglers have been trying to do
meat to the hook point above the that for years, with very little success. Yes,
soft plastic” there is sometimes a suicidal fish but the
suicide rates are low.
Then as the water floods into the flats,
You see, when the kitchen is closed in an swirls around docks, fills the holes left by big
estuary, it is really closed. No waiter brings food en-gine rumblings, works along shoreline
and the table the crappie previously occupied reeds and the other greeneries of the brackish
is not even suitable for sitting. Indeed when flow, it’s the right time and the right tide, both
the tide goes low, the table is totally empty -- for crappie and you.
the plates, napkins, silverware, wine glasses John King and I planned to fish the tidal
all tak-en away. I’ve seen tidal locales that rivers of the upper Chesapeake Bay. The rivers
during one stretch of the flow were filled with are a labyrinth, a network, a warren -- any way
chowing crappie and then, a while later, as the you can think of it -- of tidal flows that reach
tide made its diurnal low, were nothing but a back into the land away from the main bay.
slick of sand and mud. Some areas of these rivers never experience
That’s the unpleasant affect of time and the right mixture of salt and fresh water that
tides. would make them “brackish” enough to suit
But oh, the good times. crappie. Basical-ly the closer you are to the
When the tide is about half way to high, bay, the least likely this is. But there are areas
into the high, and then the first hour or two as where the fresh water emitting from tributary
it again rushes out, depending on the site, the creeks, even just run-off, is enough to turn
crappie have a ball. And so can you. the water chemistry into fa-vorable crappie
First the brackish water weeds start to locations.

8 Crappie NOW October 2018