Thread: Caught Over 5000 Crappie In 2021: My Personal Best

Another 12 vs 16 side by side comparison.

When you and I catch a 16 you think you hooked a catfish...lol

D

Someone asked me how do you (a - 6' 4" / 296 pound man fish in a 10 foot plastic boat.

I said. First I start from shore in 8 inches of water than sit in the middle of the lake like I just won the lottery...lol

We crappie fisherman know how to enjoy the outdoors. Here is a pic from shore to the center of the lake when the temps started cold to warm in a single day.

D

Lake temps are going down and the catch rate is insane. Mosquito lake shows me 6 hours of fun on this motherload of crappie. I could have thrown a cigarette butt on a jig head and smashed them lol

You old timers know what I am talking about. Its the days we dream of and its happening in our NE lakes.

When temps get to 40's I might sleep in my 10 foot boat..lol

My wife smacked me when I woke her up the day before our anniversary and said..."SUPRISE"

Just kidding. She did not hit me but she did take a pic for the kids to show them how nuts I am...lol

And yes she complained about the one that was 14".

I told her I was sorry and took the trash out to make up.

Ok, so no more pics on this thread from me. I getting ready to go fishing and its 4 am in the morning and the weatherperson says its going to be gorgeous out.

To Sum Up 2021:

1) For me slowing down to smell the coffee and truly appreciate life, fishing and the outdoors, is a blessing.

2) Slow trolling in the early morning hours of dark and letting my fishing lines and bobbers tell me where the fish are instead of electronics increased my catch of monster crappie. I know its backwards with everyone's move towards greater tec, but that's just been my experience in 2021.

3) Its amazing what a group of crappie can relate to. One time I had a spot the size of a car hood that for hours produced slabs. BIG SLABS! If you were 3 feet to the left or right you would not get a bite. But you knew they were there by the bus load, because when you reeled through the hood..."THUMP" and it was another fish. Fish after fish until your curiosity gets the best of you. What is it they love so much about hitting only on THAT spot and not to the left or right of it. Then you finally snag the object of their affection. A lost minnow bucket and a metal fish stringer. In 2021, because of my limited movement, I would find gems like this that my depth finder would have not seen.

3) The biggest crappies always comes when I am the most uncomfortable. Freezing hands and trying to find a jig that slipped out onto the dark floor, in the dark sky. Barking at myself for forgetting the thermos of coffee. Breaking through shore ice to launch the boat into a back bay and having to use a broken rod (to have larger guides), so that ice wont build on the tip.......... will get me the biggest fish of the year.

4) Being friendly to people who come up to you when your pounding the fish. I have to remember that some people simply never experience catching crappie like that. People just cannot imagine catching crappie for hours when they only have shore experience with a minnow under a bobber.
Some want to be educated and some might want to join in the fun. It is about the fun! And if you see a kid in his dads boat go by....... tell that boat to come on over and make a kids life change forever.
There HERE their HERE!

5) Covid changed our world. Mostly for the worst. But it was so cool to see laid off dads taking time to take their kids fishing. Some say there is way more pressure on lakes because of covid, and that may be true, but as our society slips back into the old norm, those kids will be back to playing video games in the basement. Get dem' kids on the water!

I know I am forgetting a few things but that will close my thoughts on 2021.

D

congrats on a fine year of ketchn em , KABOOM is the word

Thank you BigD for sharing your year of fishing.
Take care and be safe.


Sent from my iPad using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

Great pics BigD and thanks for posting. I saw a lot of me in your posts. I fish West Branch almost exclusively and hit over 2000 crappie this year. I get out once a week however. I used to fish Mosquito and Pymatuning in spring and late fall for the walleyes and sometimes would smack the crappie when the walleye bite was slow during the day. Haven't been to either for a couple of years since my fishing buddy passed away in early 2019.

This year we were out on WB the first week of March after ice out and this past weekend I just changed the oil and lower unit lube and put the boat away for the winter. But I still have shore and kayak fishing till the ice hits this year.

The best months for me are June, July and August when they all congregate on their mid-lake hump. 200 crappie days were not uncommon. I love the hot, sticky 90 degree days pulling in one after another. I'm not a livescope guy, Just an old school minnow and slip bobber and double drop shot w/minnow directly below the boat. I throw back almost everything but did keep a couple 3 times this year. I keep 10-12" and everything bigger or smaller goes back.

I see everyone complaining about the small size of Mosquito crappie this year but that doesn't seem to be the case for you.