Thanks for the report EB.![]()
HaHa: 0
Was able to get out and fish yesterday with my brother for 3-4 hrs. We caught around 30 crappie pushing crank baits(Spider-rigging cranks). If we would have had 8 lime green/yellow chart colored bandit crank baits instead of three we would have caught more. We pushed them about 1.2-1.8 mph 10ft deep in 18 ft of water. It was a new technique to me and was alot of fun catching them a different way! EB
Thanks for the report EB.![]()
AMERICANS: Willing to cross a frozen river to kill you, in your sleep, on Christmas, totally not kidding, we've done it.
Do you rig them on a dropper with the weight at bottom, or run them directly behind the weight?
"Never Fry Bacon Naked"
How do you keep from getting hung up so close to the bottom? Spider rigging crankbaits could be expensive if you get hung up. Proof you know SO much more than I do!
Peke
Peke, try to imagine that instead of fishing, we're talking about grocery shopping. There's this grocery store you've been fishing, oops, shopping at for 20 years. As the years went by you knew which aisle the chips were on, the toilet paper, the spaghetti sauce, and almost everything else. Not only that, you knew about how far down the aisle the item was and on which side.
Now go back to the lake and think about a guy that has been fishing certain areas of the lake for around 20 years. He also has fish finders that give him a pretty good image of what it looks like below the surface of the water and along the bottom.
He gets hung up sometimes, everyone does, but it's not magical, its experience sweetie. Anyone that is willing to devote this much time and exhibit his patience can do exactly what Eufaula Boy does. Probably not as well, but well enough to catch crappie.![]()
AMERICANS: Willing to cross a frozen river to kill you, in your sleep, on Christmas, totally not kidding, we've done it.
EB, did you use your trolling motor or the big motor?
Stink, that is a great analogy about fishing. A lot of the time the people who consistently catch fish have put in a lot of time on the water. They have good equipment that they have learned to use efficiently,are willing to experiment with new techniques and read about how other successful people are catching their fish. I am not the best fisherman but I have greatly improved over the last 5-7 years by doing the things I just wrote about. EB, Huckabee, and Morrow are three guys I have read up on. I wanted to know how they consistantly catch them. I also have kept a crappie journal everytime I fished the last 3 years and go back and look at it reguarly. IMHO there is no magic pill that makes you good at anything it takes work. Just like everything else the people who put in the most time getting good at something usually get the LUCKIEST. I hope EB, Todd, and Barry don't mind me just telling there secrets about how they catch all their fish.:D
Just don't ask my wife if she thinks I spend too much time getting good at fishing.LOL!!!:D:D
Odie
Common sense isn't always that common!
Peke, what Stink and Odie said.
In my opinion, if someone wants to get good at one type of fishing, like Crappie, you can either spend lots and lots of time on the water; lots and lots of money going to the lake...bait, fuel, groceries, time spent on the water, repairs, etc..... or hire a guide and shorten the learning curve a great deal. (and save money, time and frustration over the long haul!)
A lot of people think guides cost too much money. But compare the cost of a year or so going out to the lake and trying to figure it out on your own, a guided trip is pretty cheap.
I've been out with EB 3 times. I can't tell you how much I benefited from those trips, even though I had read post that went years in the past on this forum. I never thought I could find Crappie on rip raps in hot weather..or any weather to be honest...of all places! Now it's one of my favorite ways to catch them.
And Spider Rigging! He showed me the basics and some neat tricks. Now I can do it on my own. I thought I knew how to fish flooded timber, but on our recent outing, he showed me a new way of getting those Crappie to bite. (letting a 1/16 marabou jig free fall past them and then bringing it back up, letting it fall again)
I can't tell how long it would have taken me to learn those things or how much money I would have spent over the years trying to become proficient at catching Crappie year round. Hiring a guide, no...wait...hiring a good guide like EB, Huckabee or Morrow will put you on the fish more consistently than trying to learn it all on your own!
My long term plan is to go out with all of them, then try their techniques and see which work best for me.
Plus, you can take what you learn from a guide and use it nearly anywhere!
Maybe one day I will get to hire EB. I am planning on it, but I need to learn a whole lot more about fishing before I do. Otherwise most of what he would teach me would go in one ear and out the other. You guys have been fishing a long time and know a whole lot more than I do. I have to catch up to you first! I'm still working on holding the fish without dropping it.! Seriously!
Peke
I went to different area of the lake today. I was out trying to locate some fish for a future trip. I had a guy call me the other day and ask me if I could guide him on the east side of the lake? I told him to give me a little time and I would let him know. I went to Dutchess creek over at Porum landing today and fished from the creek to Brooken cove. I was hunting brushpiles over at Brooken and Evergreen wih not much luck (shouldn't have sold my side imaging, LOL) So I decided to push some cranks for awhile to cover water and I caught a little of everything, but not what I was fishing for, to answer the question about rigging the crank bait? I use a 2 ounce egg sinker and run the crank bait behind on a 3 ft liter line with a swivel below the weight and snap swivel on the crank so I can swithch them out quickly. I use 14ft tight line specials, they are really stiff. I haven't had a mess yet! But I am sure it will happen. I use the trolling motor and zig zag at 1.2-1.6 mph. The crappie love the zig zagging. As for finding fish I had to go to the timber in Dutchess creek. Man the water is clear over there,I was lost for a little while in that clear water I learned quick if you didn't have a minnow on you were not getting bit. I rigged a Kentucky rig with 1/2 ounce bell sinker on bottom and hook above. The specs were in the trees from 10-15 FOW. Ended up with 14 nice black Specs. I will be back over there after those specs. I love to catch Black Crappie. I basically fished that Oolagah pattern today! I believe if I would have found brush in 10-12 fow I would have loaded the boat. Because I caught 10 of my keepers off of one tree. Thank you for ll the kind words. Getting out and fishing is what it's all about. Good fishing! EB