Thread: How Guides Do It

[QUOTE=Slow Retrieve;2894863]
I hope you post the rest of your thoughts because as someone that is fairly new to crappie fishing I can certainly benefit all the information I can get ahold of or that someone is nice enough to share.


For those trying to learn....Crappie have a high mortality during catch and release....some things to remember!
1. Make sure your hands ARE WET, when you handle them...their Slime Coat IS THEIR ONLY PROTECTION from disease, bacteris, pollution,etc.

2. DO NOT lift them by the lip into a horizontal position, if you hold them by the lip let them dangle, or support them under the belly and release pressure from the jaw if you want a horizontal picture...make sure your hands are wet. A fish with a broken, dislocated, or hyperextended jaw is dead.

3. Up to 60% of fish put into the livewell do not survive if you release them later...livewells, should have plenty of oxygen, fresh water, stress reducers, etc. Putting a fish on a stringer or in a basket is ALMOST certain death.

4. Crappie have one of the highest Mortality rates if they are gut or gill hooked...use common sense...a micro Bream hook is not appropriate for a Crappie. Crappie NORMALLY only feed Small in Winter....That's when you use ice gear, micro hooks, etc....a Crappie in Winter is surviving on ZooPlankton since they are one of the few fish that can see these Micro Critters.
When the water gets into the 40's the Crappie start eating again....I use #1 sickle (Jig) hooks even during the Winter until about 50 degree SURFACE TEMPS in the Spring( In Ohio)...then the rest of the year I use a 1/0 Sickle (Jig) hook.
You don't have to use 1/2 inch or Smaller baits....before Spawns, during Spawns, just after Spawns, in Summer at Night, CRAPPIE WILL EAT BIG....I use 4.8 inch FAT swimbaits to Catch SLABS...even 9 and 10 inch Crappie hit them (More times than I like )
My Normal Crappie swimbait is 3 inches!

And People will tell you that IT IS LEGAL to catch a limit every day out (PLUS EXTRAS THAT YOU THROW BACK, ETC) and take them home or give them away...Just because some things are legal, does not mean they ARE RIGHT...some things you need to use COMMON SENSE with....Sometimes you just need to be a good friend to Mother Nature!

We're done here. I'm tempted to delete more posts, and I'm tempted to delete the entire thread. This thread has me embarrassed for claiming ""America's Friendliest Crappie Fishing Community" and that does not make me happy. Your points can still be made, and will be much better received, if it's done in a friendly way. Once threads go sour, everyone gets defensive, AND THEN THIS HAPPENS. I'm closing it cause it does not reflect the true friendliness of the site, but I'm leaving it here as an example of how not to welcome newbies.