Scott Williams made a very tough decision during the Alabama River Crappie Masters Tournament just this last April (April 29th and 30th to be exact). It was a key decision that got him the win. Scott and Billy Williams took first place on the Alabama River Crappie Masters at Prattville Alabama, and I know the secret about that fateful decision.
They had fished this area many times before, and they had caught some big crappie here. They even caught them during previous Crappie Masters tournaments here and should have won. They did not because of one reason, and one reason alone. They were White Crappie.
In the Alabama heat, there was nothing they could do to keep the White Crappie alive for the weigh-in. If you are not aware of this Crappie Masters Tournament rule here it is, all the Crappie weighed in must be alive. And a White Crappie pulled from the cool depths of the Alabama River is near impossible to keep alive for the duration of the tournament. Especially a large one. Scott and Billy have tried everything to keep them alive, including oxygen and cold water but the end result still was lost fish. Fish that would have won them the tournament.
It wasn’t going to happen this time. They were not going to lose another shot at the Alabama River Crappie Masters. They have come to close. And I know exactly what they did to change it up and win!
Wait for it…..They decided to catch Black Crappie instead of Whites! That’s it. That’s all there was to it. Who would have guessed it was that easy, but that’s exactly what did it. They came in first place to take the win catching Black Crappie instead of White Crappie.
You see, Black Crappie are more used to warmer temps and stay alive easier in the livewell than White Crappie. White Crappie are more open water fish, whereas Black Crappie are more a shallow water fish. Hence the reason there are no White Crappie in Florida.
Hmm now, how do you target Black Crappie instead of White Crappie when fishing the Alabama River Crappie Masters you ask? Well, the rules state you can fish the Alabama River, or Lake Jordan. So, instead of fishing on the Alabama River in areas they knew held large Crappie, they chose to fish Lake Jordan. And that decision alone is what Scott claims got them the win! Congrats go out to Scott and Billy Williams for making the right decision for the win.
OK, now on to my fishing adventure with Scott. The funny thing is, we went to the Alabama River to catch fish instead of Lake Jordan. Scott says he knows the Alabama River better, and can catch fish easier. So off we went to the river to catch some"photo-opportunity" fish.
Great looking "Johnson" colors on the boat and shirt. Scott loves to use Johnson's tubes in Black/Chartreuse or Blue/Chartreuse with Johnson Crappie Buster Shad Scales squirted up in them. Visit: http://www.johnsonfishing.com
On the Alabama River we targeted deep structure and brush piles. Scott does not even start fishing until he knows 100% he's right on the structure. We Spider Rigged with only 4 lines cause we were after the active fish and were going to be moving often. We caught fish doing this, but nothing large enough to take a picture of! lol
This goes to a point I often make, the most successful fishermen I meet, are "impatient". They move often, they change techniques regularly. They listen to the fish to let them tell you how they are biting best. I don't mean they listen "literally", I mean they change it up until they figure out what works best.
We switched it up to shooting docks, and after hitting a couple docks, we finally found one that seemed to be producing. Cool beans.
Visit the Alabama River at Prattville for some of the countries best Crappie Fishing. Stay at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Prattville where I stayed. Absolutely wonderful place. I'd recommend it to anyone.
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