Help from the pros

There are so many variables to catching fish on a consistant basis that it can be overwhelming to someone new to chasing our favorite prey is the lake clear,stained or muddy on the rise,steady or on the fall what type of cover does the lake have etc that list could go on forever......we all find one style that is our favorite but with time on the water and the school of hard knocks we learn other ways to catch fish consistantly.Personally i'm a shallow water guy that loves to tightline jigs in 10' or less and barring ice i can catch fish in that range yearound but i also like to spider rig,shoot/pitch docks,pull cranks and even cast in the spring.My advice to you would be put structure in the lake(if you're allowed)gps it and have fun....and always look for the old fellers in a jon boat fishin the same areas you are cause you can bet they know whats goin on.Good luck and beware this crappie fishin gets in your blood QUICK!!!

I am no pro , but I see your from Arkansas so I can make this real simple for ya. Order you a bunch of purple/chartreuse Southern Pro umbrella tubes, some 1/8th oz and 1/16th oz jigheads, and a side of beef butchered up real nice like. Drive over to Nimrods house and make best of friends with him and present him the side of beef for some lessons. Pay attention and you will be all set. Aside from that what DBD said was spot on.

I am old school. I fish minnows or plastic minnow imitators wherever I see structure or schooling fish on the fish finder. Generally I look for active feeders which usually are 6-8 feet down in 10-15 feet of water. I constantly look for bridge pilings, grass, piers, wood laydowns, brushpiles and use binoculars to scout areas and other fishermen when I am on the water. I make a lot of mental notes where fish are being caught and at what depth. Most of my lures and minnows are 1.5 to 2.0 inches long unless I am just using a wax worm under the teardrop lures I make. (They are NOT JUST for ice fishing folks.) Crappies will bust those little spoons especially if they are blaze orange or pink with the nickleplated back.
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Thanks guys I really appreciate all the help and tips I am getting. I will definitely be putting these to use.

Bugman. That is the technique that I am most interested in. What kind of equipment do you use for tight lining relatively shallow water??

You didn't say if you are fishing from the bank, or from a boat filled with electronics/GPS....two very different methods depending on time of year. Finding brush is usually one of the keys to catching fish. With water getting colder, crappie will follow shad to deeper water brushpiles. In the spring, a bank fisherman will be using the same water as the boat fisheman because the fish may be in 6" of water spawning. In the winter, the fish may be in 30-40' of water and hard for a bank fisherman to get to. In winter, a guy with no boat will do well to find a dock in deep water that has some brush beneath it. Fish slow at first, then speed up retrieves until the fish sort of tell you what they want that day.....maybe they will take it on the drop, or they want you to sort of pop it as you retrieve. Sometimes they want it dead still or rising slightly. It sure isn't an exact science

Yes I forgot to mention. I am fishing from a boat. I have an elite 5 hdi. Mounted by b the motor to find brush. I don't have any electronics by the trolling motor. So I won't be able to watch the graph as I fish

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Originally Posted by jwest84

Bugman. That is the technique that I am most interested in. What kind of equipment do you use for tight lining relatively shallow water??

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My preference is a 10' jigpole,a small spinning reel with 6lb hi vis mono line(old school) with a 1/16 oz jighead and for me always plastics,if the wind gets up I sometimes go to a 3/32 or 1/8 I always want to stay in contact with my jig.