Newbie for sure, Help!

I'm new to the forum and new to the fishing world. The only fishing I have done is bream fishing out of the small pond on my property, and I rarely do that. A couple months ago something came over me and now I have just GOT to learn how to fish. All my knowledge on fishing is from what I have read. I am just looking for some general tips to get me catching some crappie. I recently bought an Abu Garcia 6'6 spinning rod n' reel combo. Is this gonna be a decent rig to start off with or should I take it back and go another route? Should I start off with live bait or some sort of artificial set up? I have a 12' flat bottom I plan on fishing out of as well as bank fishing. Any advice of any kind would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

If you like the rod and reel then it should be fine. I use a 7' light action rod and a medium size Abu Garcia reel ( the bigger spool allows you to cast farther and gives less line memory) . Its hard to beat live bait, because that's what they are used to eating. That being said I fish with jigs most times, but you don't have to keep them alive and they are always on hand. I keep minnows in a tank at home in case I want to go fishing and the bait shops are closed or sold out. Lots of great people and information here. Stop by the Alabama message board on here. You are bound to find someone that fishes on your home lake. Welcome aboard

First of all, welcome to the world of crappie.com! There's a lot of knowledge here especially all the folks on the Alabama forum! You should also check out youtube and watch the crappie fishing videos. Good luck and again it's good to have you onboard.

Welcome Aboard from Southwest Ms

Crappie fishing is very addictive and there is no known cure. It can only be treated by regular trips to the lake.