Newby Questions

Hi y'all

I've been lurking here for some time and have learned much, but have not been able to put anything to practice. This is soon to change.

First some background. It's been about 16 years since I've had a boat or fished. Most of my time was spent chasing stripers on Hartwell. But alas, my son (fishing partner) became a teenager and my career made way too many demands, so the boat and I parted ways. Now I'm semi-retired and ready to try my hand again.

This Thursday I will take possession of a 16' Carolina Skiff JVX CC with a MK Powerdrive I-Pilot and Lowrance Elite9 ti. All of this new technology is Greek to me so, on the advise of others, I will leave my poles at home and devote my first several trips to educating myself and scouting structure. My plan is to fish Greenwood so I can safely eat my catch.

Now to my questions. After perusing the many crappie fishing styles I am at a loss as to what to try first. I think it's probably unwise to attempt learning them all at once. None of the tackle I kept is really Crappie appropriate so before I invest in 8 or more rods and reels along with holders, etc for longlining or spider rigging, I think I'll start with jigging. So, is it best to become competent with one style before tying another? Is jigging the best starting point? Is there anything specific to Greenwood or the current season that would suggest one first style over another? In other words, given my inexperience and equipment, how do I start?

This is a great forum with a wealth of information that is freely shared by conscientious sportsmen. I'm very excited about joining this community and look forward to participating. Thanks in advance for your help.

Welcome to the boards. If you are that new to crappie fishing I personally would not start with jigging. I would start with spider rigging or long line trolling. Either technique will catch fish all year long. What I would recommend is to hire a competent guide that specializes in the technique that you want to learn and pick his brain. Long line trolling works all year long and is not hard to learn. The biggest thing in long lining is speed and depth control. You can long line or spider rig with as many rods as you want to use. Greenwood is not doing good right now but will get better as the weather gets warmer. I would be be happy to meet you at greenwood and show you the technique of long lining. Don

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sinkermaker

Welcome to the boards. If you are that new to crappie fishing I personally would not start with jigging. I would start with spider rigging or long line trolling. Either technique will catch fish all year long. What I would recommend is to hire a competent guide that specializes in the technique that you want to learn and pick his brain. Long line trolling works all year long and is not hard to learn. The biggest thing in long lining is speed and depth control. You can long line or spider rig with as many rods as you want to use. Greenwood is not doing good right now but will get better as the weather gets warmer. I would be be happy to meet you at greenwood and show you the technique of long lining. Don

---

You won't get a better offer from a nicer guy. My advice? Take him up on it. Made me the same offer a few years back and I'm glad I did.

I second that advice ! Same experience. Don is a great guy to show you how it is done.

First off, Don is a great guy to share a boat with and he's got a lot of knowledge to share! That'd be a great trip to take to learn the ropes of long lining.

Sounds like you will have the boat and the equipment to fish just about anyway you would want. As a guy that fishes all the above methods I'd probably say that longlining might be the most difficult for a beginner. Mainly because theirs soooo many variables that go into it: speed of the boat, size line, weight and type of jig, etc. I would say the easiest way to catch fish year round would be tightlining. Tightlining or spiderrigging allows you to know exactly how deep you are fishing and you can opt to fish with nothing but minnows on hooks or throw some jigs in the mix as you wish. You can fish shallow water in the backs of the creeks or catch fish laying on the bottom in deep water without any guessing.

To start you can spend as much money or as little as you want on rods and holders. Personally, I'd start with a couple sets of holders (probably 4 holder t-bars) and buy a few extra bases for them. You could mount bases at the back or along the sides up front for long lining and mount them up front for tightlining. As you grow more comfortable you can add additional holders if you want.

For cheaper rods I'd recommend pinnacle limits and for some quality poles you can't go wrong with Southern Crappie rods. For tightlining I prefer 14 ft rods purely for fishing shallower water to get the bait away from the trolling motor, but 12s will work (limit rods aren't offered any longer than 12ft). Most longlining setups have varying poke lengths to spread your baits out and avoid tangles but you can add a few different length poles along the way. Both of the poles I mentioned will function as longlining poles as well. As far as reels, I wouldn't go crazy with buying something super expensive. A good reel to me is about 3 BB with a smooth drag. It's basically a line holder for tightlining. I would suggest a spinning reel over some of the small baitcaster options so you can use them for longlining and have the ability to reel fish you catch that are deep.

And on to jigging...it's not a difficult technique, but I would say it's more finesse. The problem with jigging a new lake is locating structure and brush. If you have time to look or place your own brush, it will be a huge benefit to you. Crappie love structure! Anything from brush, logs, docks, bridges, etc. will hold fish through most of the year. It's a trial and error process starting out. Cover as much water as you can and fish as much as you can to find what the fish are relating to. Once you narrow it down it's a very successful technique. It just takes some time to dissect the lake because you aren't covering the water you do when long lining or tightlining. As far as rods for jigging, I'd suggest a good 10 ft pole like a BnM Sam Heaton or bucks best ultralight. You want a quality pole and reel about like I mentioned above. I'd also include a UL rod and reel for casting.

Keep in mind that each of the methods you mentioned are better certain times of the year than others. And some lake's lend towards one technique over the other. Greenwood is a longlining lake, but the other methods produce fish for anglers as well.

Good luck in your endeavors and ask questions. There are some great fishermen around here that will share all kinds of valuable knowledge. But nothing will straighten your learning curve like time on the water!! Tight lines and be sure to let us know how you do! PS we love pictures!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Listen to what Crappie Buster said he is right on. I am retired and will be glad to meet you at Greenwood and show you my boat set-up and and how I got it laid out. I will also show the general area where there is brush piles, and bridges to fish. Don

I am born and raised in the south so I fully understand southern hospitality; but sinkermaker takes it to a new level. You guys are amazing. I've spent a lot of time searching and reading here so I knew this was a good place to be, but y'all exceed my expectations.

Sinkermaker - PM sent

I too am a crappie convert from striper fishing. Long lining is "pure pleasure." If you are struggling with today's technology on the boat, check out "Fishing For Reservoir Stripers, A How To Handbook." Chapters on using your fish finder, rigging your boat, reading topo maps, even a chapter on Longlining for Crappie. You may find it helps with basics for chasing many reservoir species of fish. Tight lines and welcome to the CDC community!

Rooster,

Welcome to the madness of Crappie fishing, I'm gonna go a different way than most have instructed already, if you're a X-bass fisherman go with that, Why not get you a good 5' to 6' med-light rod, good spinning reel, jig heads and body's and start by catching jigs to structure, it beginning to be the time when the fish will start the in the creek to the bank move and by catching and move Around you still cover water and you'll still be casting and then you can add to your technic. Just a thought if you going all out either way longlining or tightlining will get fish in your boat too.

If you decide to go all in and you're @ chapin area look up mark danque, Crappie hole, he will set your rig up for whatever type of fishing you want.