Pistol, glad to hear that you're getting into crappie fishin, especially with the boys. That's why I started the thread....to see if any body like you had any specific questions that we could help you with the learning curve. Speck hit it though....grab minners and head for the water. Lessons learned are often better than lessons you were taught. With each trip you'll get a better feel for the process. You'll learn to look for shad balls, white birds diving (Mississippi fish finders) for shad, water temp, wind direction, fronts moving thru, rain, etc. When I started back on the crappie nine years ago, I kept a notebook journal with some pretty specific notes. Seemed to help till the process became more routine. Find a fishing shop that you like and ask questions bout tackle, jigs, etc. Most people on C.com are MORE than glad to help you when they know you're not just fishing for "honey holes"...lol. Bunch of quality guys here, and they WILL help.