Hooked on yo-yos

Device an easy way to catch crappie at night

Bill Eldridge of Benton has been catching crappie like this and bigger this week with yo-yos at Lake Ouachita.
Bill Eldridge of Benton has been catching crappie like this and bigger this week with yo-yos at Lake Ouachita.

MOUNT IDA - Fishing for crappie with yo-yos is such an up-and-down affair.

When it’s up, though, it can be stratospheric.

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A yo-yo is a passive fishing device that catches fish with a spring-loaded reel.

It’s been very good lately at Lake Ouachita, where Bill Eldridge of Benton spends spring break every year fishing for crappie in the middle section of the lake with his son Matthew, wife Kelly and his friend Chuck Brantley. He and Brantley have made this pilgrimage for about 30 years, Eldridge said.

Pole fishing for crappie has been uneventful during the day, but Eldridge and his son Matthew are catching slab crappie at night on yo-yos, with some approaching 3 pounds. They also have caught some eating-size catfish, a white bass and a largemouth bass at night.

“We had a full moon phase this week,” Eldridge said. “I think that’s got the fish biting at night. During a full moon in spring, crappie bite heavily at night. When I first got here a few days ago, it was like daylight at night, but that’s really good for yo-yoing.”

A yo-yo is a passive fishing device that is like a fish trap. It is a spring loaded reel that holds a short length of small diameter rope. It hangs from a tree limb over the water.

At the terminal end of the rope is a leader with a weight, a snap swivel and a hook. Eldridge uses a 2/0 Eagle Claw Aberdeen hook and a 1/8-ounce, cylindrical weight. This week he’s using 2-inch bass minnows as bait. He suspends the yo-yo at such a height that when a fish takes the bait, it remains underwater.

That keeps fish alive until Eldridge runs his sets.

“I like to put them on overhanging willows up creek channels, but this year it’s been challenging,” Eldridge said.

That’s because the lake is several feet lower than usual, and winter has lingered longer than usual. Bradford pears are in bloom everywhere from Hot Springs to Mount Ida, but otherwise the trees are bare.

“We’ve really had to look hard to find trees hanging out over the water because the lake is about three feet lower than usual,” Eldridge said.

He pointed to a big rock high on the bank and said that usually marks the water line.

“This year, I’ve been baiting with a sinker at water level and the minnow about 2 inches under the surface. Most of the water I’m putting them in is only about two feet deep.”

Eldridge baits his lines after dark for two reasons.

One, Arkansas Gameand Fish Commission regulations require anglers to attend yo-yos during daylight hours. Also, water turtles often eat bait minnows in the daytime.

Eldridge baits his yo-yos at dusk and runs his sets at 9 p.m. He caught nine big crappie and two catfish on the first run Thursday night. He rebaited the sets, and Matthew checked them again at 3 a.m. That run produced six crappie, two catfish, a largemouth bass and a white bass.

During the day, Bill Eldridge removes the bait and drapes the line and hook over a limb out of the water. That keeps the devices from interfering with pole anglers who want to fish the same trees and bushes.

Yo-yos are not for heavy-duty fishing. Big crappie, small bass and small catfish are about all they can handle.

“Occasionally we get a big gar, and we’ve caught some big stripers on them,” Eldridge said. “We’ve had some that were completely pulled out and the springs were shot. Something pulled on them until it just destroyed them.

“One time Matthew and I checked one in the morning. A crow saw the minnow and decided that would make a good breakfast. So we caught a crow. We had some excitement getting that thing off.”

As the moon wanes, Eldridge said he expects the yo-yo fishing to diminish, but pole fishing should improve.

“We’ve been trying to fish jigs at different depths, but we caught only one Thursday,” Eldridge said.

“Local people haven’t had a lot of success during the day, either. The water is still ice-cold, but the surface temperature back in the creeks is about 54-55 degrees, so we’re starting to see some surface activity.”

Until then, he’ll keep running yo-yos.

“It’s pretty simple fishing,” Eldridge said. “I’d rather catch them on a rod and reel, but when the fishing is slow it works, and it’s fun.”

Yo-yo regulations

Up to 30 yo-yos or similar mechanical fishing devices may be used per person.

Yo-yos may be left unattended at night.

Yo-yos must be within sight or hearing during daylight hours.

No more than one yo-yo may be hung from a single line, wire, limb or support.

Yo-yos must be labeled with the user’s name and address, driver’s license number or current vehicle license number.

Stakes used to mount yoyos on Arkansas Game and Fish Commission-owned lakes must be made of wood or cane and must be removed when not in use.

Sports, Pages 33 on 03/23/2014

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