New guy help

Hi all!! Brand new to crappie fishing and I've been doing a ton of reading and youtube watching, but still have a few questions. First of all, I'll be specifically targeting crappie for the first time this March on the warm side of a nuclear power plant lake. So I'm expecting the water temperatures to be more summer like (probably 70+) as opposed to spring like temps/conditions. For example, today the main lake is 46 degrees and it's discharging on the warm side at 71 degrees. The second pool is 64 and the third, and final pool before the water goes back to the main lake, is 63 degrees. So I'm expecting temperatures to be pushing 80 all the way down to high 60's lower 70's depending on what part of the lake we are on. Any tips on fishing these sorts of water temps? I'm sure I should approach it differently then if I was fishing the main lake at normal spring water temperatures. Where should I be looking for crappie? Deep? Shallow? In-between?

My second question involves rigs. I see there are TONS of different ways to rig jigs and minnows, so not sure which route I should take. I have various hair jigs in various colors in 1/8, 1/16 and 1/32oz. I also have numerous colors and sizes of the Bobby Garland slab slayr's and baby shad plastics with some painted jig heads to match. And a bottle or two of crappie nibbles. I also have some crappie size light wire hooks (can't remember what size) for minnow fishing as well as various sizes of ESB bobbers. I also picked up some #7 3 way swivels for tying up some double rigs. So for a jig rig should I just be doing a hair jig or jig w/plastic (serving as my weight), and slip bobber? Or would I be improving my odds by doing a spider or coleman type double rig with a jig? What about minnow fishing? Not sure what the best way is to tie up a minnow rig. Single? Double? I thought about buying some of the commercially available double minnow rigs, but figure I have the swivels, lines and hooks that I should just tie my own. Do you guys tip all your jigs and minnow hooks with crappie nibbles?

Thanks for any advice, tips and tricks you guys are willing to share to help me with my first crappie venture!! Hoping to not only catch my first, but 2nd and 3rd, and 4th, and.......

What other types of fishing have you done?

I do a lot of river smallmouth fishing and chase catfish from time to time as well.

You mention a lot of options in your post. I wouldn't try to do too many things if you're just starting out. I would pick one method and get out on the water. I like casting jigs. Been doing it for a long time and have a lot of confidence in it. Other people prefer trolling or other methods. Pick one and get good at it.

Good point. I don't want to get overly complicated with things. But I'll only have 4 days of fishing, and that will be the only 4 days of the year I can fish for crappies. My local river doesn't have them. So want to increase my odds the best I can. That's why I have so many options.

When you say casting jigs is that similar to say spinnerbait fishing for bass? Just casting out the jig and reeling it back to the boat?

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Originally Posted by bigterp

When you say casting jigs is that similar to say spinnerbait fishing for bass? Just casting out the jig and reeling it back to the boat?

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Yes, and that's why I asked what other types of fishing you did. If you're familiar with one type of fishing, you can often use similar techniques for other species.

Fishing a spinnerbait for bass is very similar to fishing a jig for crappie. The big difference relates to speed. You need to reel slowly for crappie. (When in doubt, reel slower.)

Gotcha. Thanks again for the advice. Greatly appreciated!!

At those temps (60's) I'd be looking shallow (<10ft deep) ... around wood cover along the banks, pockets of emerging weeds (if they're growing in your lake), & sandy or pea gravel banks.
I'd be casting a 1/16oz marabou Roadrunner "around" the wood, and "over" the weeds or sand/gravel. If no takers, then I'd be casting a jig/plastic offering "into" the wood cover. Of course, I'd be using a weedless jighead, so I could get the thing into and back out of brush or tree limbs without hanging up on every cast. I use the 1.5" Panfish Assassins, various brands of solid body tubes and 2" stinger shad style plastics.
I'm using 6# test Vicious Panfish copolymer hi-vis line on a 6'6" fast action rod and on a 6' med action rod ... and 10/2 braid on a m/h rod. These are my primary "casting" rods.

When using jig/plastics, I cast out, lift the rod to about the 10 o:clock position, and start slowly reeling back in. The line is slightly bowed from rod tip to water, and I try and reel just fast enough to keep that bow in the line. Reason being, I'm watching the line (rather than waiting to feel the fish hit) ... watching for a slight single jump in the line, or for the line to go slack suddenly (knowing the jig couldn't be on bottom). Either case, I set the hook immediately upon seeing either of those cases. The single line jump is the fish coming up to the bait & inhaling it and not moving, whereas the slack line indicates the fish inhaled the bait but forward momentum caused the fish to continue to go past the point of where it inhaled the bait.

When casting a Roadrunner ... it's a simple cast & continuous retrieve deal. I cast & drop the rod down to a 7-8 o:clock position, and use a retrieve speed fast enough to keep the line straight. Bites are usually easy to detect, as you will likely feel the fish hit and start pulling back. But, that's not always the case ... sometimes it will feel like you have a big leaf on the lure, or it may feel like you're dragging the lure down a concrete sidewalk or gravel driveway, or it may just feel like the lure has gained a bunch of weight. I don't set the hook like I do when fishing jig/plastics (hard/fast) ... but, instead I keep reeling while at the same time sweeping the rod away from where the fish is. The distance of that sweep depends on the rod/line I'm using. If it's a stiff rod & braid ... about a 1ft sweep is sufficient. If it's one of my regular casting rods ... about a 2ft sweep may be necessary (due to the lighter action of the rods & stretch of the line).

I don't use double rigs for any method ... whether using jigs or live bait. And when I am using live bait, it's usually on a hook/sinker rig (& occasionally under a float). I don't use nibbles or minnows on my jigs. I just haven't seen the need for them, yet. But, I'm no artificial bait purist, either. If minnows or other live bait is the best game in town, then I play by the fish's rules !!

You can also try this method : Crappie Pappy Article ... should you find yourself faced with the types of cover/structure mentioned in the article.

Luck2ya .... and let us know how you do !!

Awesome!! Thanks for the thorough explanation on various techniques. I'll be sure to give some of those a try.