Thread: Technology and Crappie Fishing

I've been wondering.....at what point does technology overtake crappie fishing? 40 years ago, as a teenager, I fished with crappie on the Tennessee portion of KY Lake with a cane pole, big float, heavy line and a 2 or 3/0 gold Eagle Claw hook. I used a 14 ft john boat and a 10 hp motor. I sculled from spot to spot in the creeks off the Tn River with a sculling paddle. Didn't have a trolling motor. I CAUGHT A LOT OF CRAPPIE. A few years later, I added a trolling motor and a "flasher" depth finder, graduated to a 15 ft boat with a 25 hp electric start motor. By then I had started fishing "entirely" with plastic jigs and 8lb monofiliament line using an 8 or 9 ft fly rod as a pole. You wouldn't catch a minnow in my boat! I CAUGHT A LOT OF CRAPPIE. A few years later, I moved up to a 17 ft aluminum boat with a steering console with a 60 HP motor and a foot operated trolling motor. I bought one of the new paper graphs for my boat but still kept a flasher handy. I started spiderrigging, which I learned from fishing at Reelfoot Lake with a friend. I CAUGHT A LOT OF CRAPPIE. A few years later, after fishing for several seasons on the Crappie Tournament trail all over the country, I moved up to a fiberglass boat with a 115 HP motor, refined my fishing rods to actual trolling poles, put LCD depth finders on the boat (not one, but two), developed a small arsenal of jigs, hooks, tackle for fishing. I CAUGHT A LOT OF CRAPPIE. These days I fish in a $30,000 bass boat with a motor that can outrun some of the Indy cars. I've got another $10,000 dollars of trolling motors, SI and DI and GPS capable depth finders, not to mention graphite trolling rods equipped with specific reels. I have more kinds, colors of jigs than can be imagine, and all kinds of scents, smells, and fish attractants. Heck, I can even get an up-to-date weather report with radar both on my depth finders and the cellphone I carry in my pocket.
And I enjoy every bit of the technology.......and thank God that I am able to afford it for I surely don't deserve it.. and I CATCH A LOT OF CRAPPIE. But the truth is......I DON"T CATCH ANY MORE CRAPPIE THAN I EVER DID....and sometimes I still like to put all that techno stuff aside, get my little john boat and a pole, some minnows and a float...and simply go crappie fishing. It doesn't get any better than that!

People have always caught crappie even without all the new gadgets. The secret is just go fishing and have fun. You don't need big boats,big motors,fancy rods or electronics. You just need to have the desire to go fishing.Thumbs Up