Earlier this year, Nick Young and father Jock beat 100 of the best crappie fishing teams in the South to claim the Crappie Masters Louisiana State Championship on Lake D’Arbonne with two seven-fish limits weighing 24.4 pounds.
“When it’s your day, it’s your day,” Nick said at the final weigh-in. And it was their day, because they adjusted to rising water, changing weather and 15 to 20 mph winds better than anyone else.
“We didn’t catch the biggest weight either day of the tournament, but we caught the biggest weight for both days combined,” he said. “The reason is that we adjusted to the conditions and weren’t afraid to try something different. The same thing applies to everyday crappie fishing. Have confidence in what you are doing, but be willing to adjust when you need to.”
Crappie had been suspending 8 to 10 feet deep in 18 to 20 feet of water. But the already swollen lake took on 6 inches of rain two days before the tournament, and the lake rose with 3 feet of muddy water. That warm rainwater brought the surface temps up well above that of deeper water, and the light could only penetrate a few feet — so the fish moved up accordingly. The Young’s first noticed fish up very shallow on their electronics, chasing shad under floating mats of debris just out of the current. They adjusted and fished 2 feet deep — and caught the winning stringers.
