Enid Lake is chock full of crappie

Feel the thrill again and again with post-spawn fishing at Enid Lake.

Tim Howell trolled over one of his hot spots on Enid Lake and one of his rods jerked and then went straight down. 

In seconds a second one bowed down and both of Howell’s fish-catching clients caught a crappie at the same time. There’s nothing like catching a dandy double and that’s just what Howell had hoped to accomplish many times that day on one of the state’s often overlooked crappie lakes. 

Though it’s not looked at with the same fondness by anglers from around the country who are more familiar with Grenada and Sardis, Enid is chock full of crappie and they’re easy to catch if you know what you are doing. Tim Howell is one of the guides who knows how to locate and catch crappie. 

“Typically in May we are looking at the post spawn and the fish are pulling out from their spawning grounds and heading to deep water,” Howell said. “That’s the time I like to fish Enid because the fish are hungry and will bite if you put it in front of them.

“I like to Power Troll after the fish have moved back offshore. I’ll power troll with a 2-ounce weight with a 2 ¼-ounce jig and set my trolling motor from .9 to 1.2 mph and I’ll cover a lot of water. You get a lot of reaction strikes and catch a lot of fish.” 

On the Corps lakes you can have eight spider rigs out if you have two people and Howell typically has two clients on the front of the boat and they both have four poles apiece. He controls the trolling motor by remote control, and he can watch the clients in front of him and not worry about what’s happening behind him if he was on the front of the boat. He can concentrate on making it happen for the anglers and give them instructions if needed. 

“The more baits you have out the more fish you can catch,” he said. “May is one of my favorite times of year and by the end of May you can pull crankbaits and cover more water with a bigger profile and that’s my favorite way to guide.

“By pulling crankbaits you don’t have to worry about clients missing fish and it’s more laid-back fishing. Even kids get to reel them in and have a lot of fun because the fish hook themselves when you’re pulling crankbaits. It’s the perfect time to bring children from late spring to early summer because we catch a lot of fish.” 

Howell uses crankbaits like the Bandit 300 series in pinks, or pink combos, chartreuse combos, and bright blues and greens. 

If you want to catch a lot of fish just for the fun of it, you can catch a ton of 11 ½ to 11 ¾ inch perch. On Enid Lake the limit is 15 fish per person with a limit of 40 per boat and they must be over 12-inches to keep them. Under normal circumstances you are going to catch enough to take some home to eat, but if you just want to have a ball catching and releasing them there’s just no telling how many you might catch in a day’s time. 

“We are throwing fish back,” Howell said. “Even on a bad day you may limit out, but you can catch a bunch and enjoy catch and release too. You may catch 150 and only have five keepers but it will be fun. During May a good fish will measure from 12 ½ to 14 inches and a really good fish will be 15 to 16 inches and you’ll occasionally catch a 17-inch crappie. These fish won’t weigh as much after the spawn, but they will be fun to catch.”

It’s not unusual for Howell’s clients to catch 3-pound-plus crappie on a trip and maybe even a few 2 ½- pounders before the spawn. 

When Howell scouts for fish he doesn’t keep any fish at all. Although he encourages his clients to throw back the trophy fish it’s up to them whether they want to keep one to mount or not. Otherwise he recommends that they keep the eating size and throw back the trophy perch so that they can grow some more and be caught again. 

It’s good to feel the thrill again and again. 

“The fish is just a byproduct of the whole experience to me,” Howell said. “We just enjoy being on the water when it is a beautiful day, and the weather is good and enjoy the fellowship and camaraderie. Ninety-five percent of my customers come every year, and some come four to five times a year.” 

Trophy crappie

Howell said if you want to catch trophy crappie then you need to be prepared to only get seven to eight bites a day.

“A lot of folks are catching 2 ½ to 3 pounders but if you are looking for those 4-pounders then you have to specifically target big fish and stay with them,” he said. “During the recent Crappie Master’s tournament on Grenada Lake there were four crappie weighed in over 4 pounds and the largest set their record for the biggest fish weighed in a tournament! It’s not easy but you must be proficient with the Livescope and know how to find those big ones and make them bite.” 

Enid, Grenada, Sardis and Arkabutla all have 3 to 4 pound plus crappie, but the 4-pounders are hard to come by. However, the opportunity is there as evidenced by the Grenada Lake tournament.

Finding the fish post spawn

“During May I start fishing in about 10 to 12-feet of water and work that range until we find them,” Howell said. “When the water is at normal summer pool and the depths are 20 to 30-feet the fish will suspend in 10 to 14 to 15-feet deep.” 

Howell prefers a double minnow rig after the spawn and he makes his own, though you can purchase pre-made rigs if you prefer. He uses a 1-ounce weight with two 2/0 gold Aberdeen hooks rigged Kentucky style rig with the weight on the bottom. Even though this could be a problem on some lakes, Howell rarely gets hung up on Enid or any of the other Big 4 lakes as there is just not much structure in the main lakes where the crappie like to roam and live. 

The crappie are open water fish in the Big 4 crappie lakes and relate more to shad and baitfish than structure. 

“We have a camaraderie among the guides on the Big 4 lakes up here and we all work together,” Howell said. “If the fish are biting better on one of the other lakes like Sardis, Grenada or Arkabutla, some of the guides will let the others know and we may switch lakes and go where the bite is best. Similarly, if the fish are biting in different areas or they’re catching them on different techniques we’ll relay that information so that our clients will always have the benefit of going with a guide who knows when and where they’re biting on a daily basis.”

Before the introduction of the Livescope, Howell would vary the rods he had on his spider rig or cranking rigs but that has changed with the advent of the Livescope as you can “see” where they are located that particular day and you don’t have to guess. 

“The first thing I do in the morning is to turn on my Livescope and look around a little bit and we can see the depth that they are at, and I can adjust the line depth accordingly,” Howell said. “You can even see your bait or jigs on it. It’s a very valuable tool and I use it all the time to keep up on the current conditions and where they are holding at that time.”

Howell sets his Livescope at 60 feet forward and he can actually take the trolling poles right to the fish. 

“Another good thing about the Livescope is that l can catch them on the Livescope when nothing else works,” he said. “I don’t prefer to use it to catch fish but it’s used as a tool to locate the fish during real time situations on the water. You don’t have to guess where they are, you can spend time fishing for them right where they are.”

Guide Service

If you want to check out the lake and learn how to catch fish at Enid Lake, or any of the Big 4 lakes, then Tim Howell is just the man to contact. 

“We furnish everything but the license and what they want to eat and drink,” Howell said. “We want them to have a great time, catch fish and enjoy the whole experience. We’ll have the rods rigged up and ready to go and we have plenty of jigs, minnows and tackle. We even clean and prepare the fish for taking home after the day is done.”

Contact Tim Howell at 662-251-5625 or via email at Tim@longbranchguide.com for more information or check him out on Facebook at Long Branch Guide Service.