December trip home - Lake Livingston Crappie

I headed home to Lake Livingston for three weeks after the fall semester wrapped up. I had two main plans while I was there: chase alligator gar with my 9wt Redington Crosswater and search for white bass with a 6wt 9’ Orvis Encounter in the early stages of their migration from the lake into the creeks flowing out of Lake Livingston and around Lake Houston. Neither plan worked out quite as I expected. I was about four weeks too early for the white bass, and while gar populations are strong in this section of the Trinity, the recent “cold” snap seemed just enough to keep them from showing up in the shallows of the tributaries.

With those plans falling through, I spent my time throwing Pine Squirrel Leeches and other small streamers and midges into the coves of Lake Livingston. We weren’t sure what to expect this time of year, other than hoping white crappie would be stacked on the brush piles we’d hit in years past. Livingston can be hit or miss for this. Many crappie anglers fish the surrounding creeks or head to more popular spots like Lake Conroe. While the general consensus is that Livingston doesn’t hold as many, that just makes finding them all the more rewarding.

A surprise halfway through the trip! The 6wt doubled over and this Common Carp was about a 5 minute fight.

With no wind and warm enough temperatures to make it comfortable, my dad and I put our 10’ flat bottom to work in the coves. He was throwing Rooster Tails and different-colored crappie jigs—some of the go-to lures for them—but I wanted to switch things up. You don’t hear about many people in East Texas chasing crappie on the fly. It wasn’t 30 minutes before the #10 Pine Squirrel Leech got hit. Over the next two hours, I landed around 13. My dad? Yep, zero. I knew streamers could be productive, but I didn’t expect the crappie to key in so specifically on the leech while ignoring some of the most common lures used to target them.

This trip was an eye-opener, and it convinced me to always tie a few leeches every time I pull out the vise. My dad didn’t get completely skunked—he managed to land a few largemouth bass and the occasional bluegill—but that day, the fly rod stole the show.

Something I’ve been thinking about since this trip is how conventional anglers who don’t fly fish could still throw flies if their gear allows for it. I think it would work fine if the streamers have just enough weight to make it practical. We’ll find out.

The next day from the bulkhead was just as productive,