Quote Originally Posted by redear View Post
they are not hard to catch, as long as they are feeding, and you are in the right place. I fish for them in about 12 feet of water on average, on the bottom with red wigglers, on a size 4 or 2 crappie hook, with a couple good size split shots about 3 feet above the hook. put about 2 or 3 wigglers on the hook with the ends free so they move alot. just like crappie, they don't always bite, so it's best to have 4 or 5 spots to check. one of those spots will likely produce. they don't have to be spawning, for you to fill the cooler, just feeding. fish with 2 or 3 rods, and sit back and watch the rod tips. anchor the front and the back of the boat so it doesn't move around alot. and they can jerk the rod out of the boat too. I use 9 or 10 foot rods, so it makes it harder for the fish to do that. lol dropoffs, submerged humps, sloping points, 10-12 foot deep flats. they best places have some wood debris, or stumps etc. they eat the little aquatic larvae etc. off the wood.
Bingo, that's a great post. We do all of the above, but I do put an emphasis on fishing the flats in 8-12 foot of water. That's our pattern, flat fishing, I don't seem to catch many in other areas. I'll have to try baiting with two or three wigglers, I normally use one good one. My poles might be to short too, they're only 5'6 poles and I do seem to miss lots of good bites.