Quabbin Crappie... AGAIN!!

[T-Man]

Couldn't resist the beautiful weather and had to go chase the calico bass at Quabbin Res again today.

The bite was ON!!

We boated over 60 crappie using pinhead minnows and small curly tail crubs on 1/16 oz jigheads. The fish were right on the wood piles and you had to get within inches to make them hit. Pretty fun and a couple dozen split 3 ways for dinner won't hurt either!!

[Luna Sea 5]

 very nice picture, except for that Boston shirt.

[IrishAyes]

Another nice catch. 

[Luna Sea 5]

how do you guys make them.. Pan fry...? 

[T-Man]

how do you guys make them.. Pan fry...? 

You bet... fillet out the slabs, rinse the fillet dunk in breadcrubs with a little cornmeal and pan fry in butter & oil.

DELISH!!!!!

Check out my other post on Quabbin Crappie if you want to see how I fillet them.

T-Man

[b0atb0y]

Hey there.  My name is Derek and I just moved into Western Massachusetts from Texas.  My son and I love to fish for crappie and would love to get into a big mess of them.  We actually live about 10 minutes away from gate 31 on the Quabbin.  Is there anyway that you can let me know where to go on the quabbin to find a mess of calicos like in the pictures you have shown?  I do have a boat so thats not a problem.  If in any way you can give me detailed directions to where they are I would really appreciate it.  Like I said we just moved here in February and have only been out on Quabbin once on opening weekend.  We were over on the other side at gate 8 going for Lakers where we didnt have much luck.  With the beautiful weather lately we want to get over and do some LMB and calico fishing maybe even some SMB's as well.  I just have no clue where to go on the lake being so new to the area.  I would appreciate any info you can give me.  My son and I would sincerely appreciate it.

[T-Man]

Hi... welcome to New England!!

Quabbin is a BIG place isn't it??

I've been fishing out of Gate 43 for 30+ years and it's a beautiful place. They call Quabbin the "Big Lady" and it does take some experience to find the fish.

Gate 31 will be prime for awesome smallmouth fishing over the next 3 weeks. They are currently pre-spawn and should be on the beds very soon. You can actually look for the beds around the flats out of gate 31.

The crappie are almost always near the shoreline on blowdowns and beaver structure. Look for them inside "Graves Landing" an area that is reachable from either gates 31 or 43.

The other area we do well for them is at the "PAUG" which is the small upper pond above the spillway at gate 43. Again look for the structure and fish very close to the wood. Once you find one there is always more this time of year.

Hope this helps.... Good Luck!

Captain Pat "T-Man" Renna

[mgm]

how do you guys make them.. Pan fry...? 

You bet... fillet out the slabs, rinse the fillet dunk in breadcrubs with a little cornmeal and pan fry in butter & oil.

DELISH!!!!!

Check out my other post on Quabbin Crappie if you want to see how I fillet them.

T-Man

Don't forget the hush puppies and 

[rugman]

nice , We went out trout fishing and that is all we got . the next time I will keep them and cook them up , they tell me they are great to eat

[b0atb0y]

I really appreciate the info.  Couple of more questions.  I cant seem to find where "graves landing" is.  Also...when you say the Paug is an upper lake above the spillway at gate 43 is it accessible from the main lake or if not how do I get there?  From gate 31...which way are the "flats"?  And...what exactly is a "flat"?  I am obviously not nearly as experienced fisherman as you are.  I hope to be someday though. 

[T-Man]

boatboy,

I'm not sure if the maps available for the quabbin use the same type of names I have learned about over the years.

You need to google "Quabbin Res Fishing Maps" and I'm positive you'll find a bunch of them.

If I were you I'd start right out of gate 31 since you so close and just look for shoreline wooden structure ie blowdowns and inactive beaver lodges.

The "flats" are expansive shallower and sandier flat areas where the smallies like to bed. There are several of these places and they are usually near islands and shorelines. Most of the place is very rocky and deep so you'll know the flats when you see them.

Just where good glasses and look for the beds. The water so clear there you can't miss them.