Fish with me?

Hi all, I bought a used boat a month ago and would really like to take someone out who could show me how / where to fish for crappies. I've gone out a couple times now for them but haven't been successful (caught a few bluegills, perch and smallmouth trying for crappie). Unfortunately ive been skunked a couple times with my 7 yo son too (reason we got a boat). The boat has 2 lowrance hds units: 10" and 5" - wouldn't mind someone setting those up too if they are familiar :)

If you can help, I am able to go anytime on Saturdays and most afternoons except Sunday's. I am just south of Grand Rapids and have fished reeds lake, gun lake, Payne lake and Selkirk lake but if there is another lake nearby that is better I'm up for that too. Our trips are generally pretty last minute which is why we've gone to nearby lakes.

If you're interested please let me know, my boy and I would really appreciate it!

Welcome to CDC. You may want to try Baker Lake ( northeast of Gun ), Crooked near Delton, Thornapple and Middle. All have good crappie populations. Read the posts from not only Michigan but other states as well. Techniques used in the southern states will work here, too, with a little refinement. Ask lots of questions, try different things and keep at it, eventually things will click and you'll be catching all kinds of crappie.

Thank you! How deep of water should I be targeting and are they typically on the bottom? Minnows, worms or jigs the best?

I will talk to Kevin "skillet007" in about an hour. He lives in GR and is always looking to fish with people. We are in Alpena for this last walleye tournament and him and Brian should be at camp in an hour or so. He will also be able to setup your Lowrance equipment

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That'd be great, thank you!

Crappie are usually suspended over the main lake basin or are relating to weed edges. Use your electronics to find schools of suspended fish and use plastics on small jigs either tight lined or under a slip bobber. You can also use minnows under a slip bobber. Try to keep your presentation slightly above the fish, crappie tend to come up to feed. If you are using a bobber the typical bite is a pop then the bobber slowly sinking. I let them take it down a couple of feet then lift the rod tip to set the hook. They will also come up with the bait, laying the bobber on it's side. Crappie have thin mouths so a hard hook set sometimes rips the hook loose. Roadrunners, beetle spins and small inline spinners, trolled or cast and retrieved, work well, too. One of my favorite ways to catch them is on my 12' b'n'm bucks graphite jig pole. I tie a loop knot a couple feet up with a small jig or a plain hook, slide on a 1/4 oz egg sinker , I run the line through it twice to keep it in place half way between the jigs, and a small tube jig on bottom. I'll bait the top hook with plastic, worm or a minnow. drop it to the depth you're marking fish and either hold the rod or put it in a rod holder. Then I use the trolling motor to SLOWLY move along drop offs or through schools of suspended fish. Watch the rod tip and the line. Usually a bite will be a thump thump of the rod tip but sometimes they take the line out and up. Again, don't set the hook too hard. There are some good fishermen on this site and I'm sure you'll get more info than you can digest. Also, go to youtube and watch bratsnmustard and copy what he's doing. Frank can flat out catch crappie. Hope my rambling post helps you some.

Thank you, it does help :)