Anyone Willing to Help Out a Newbie?

I posted this in the Georgia forum, but doesn’t appear there is much traffic there, so I decided to repost here. As the title says, I’m a total newbie to crappie fishing. I’m a bass fisherman and have always been interested in catching slabs, but have no idea where to start. I fish at Walter F. George, or lake Eufaula as most call it. I am not trying to internet scout or ask for any secret spots, just looking to be pointed in the right direction. I understand crappie are currently spawning. Where should I look for crappie to spawn? I know plenty are caught around docks, but what type of docks should I be looking for? Minnows or jigs? Lastly, not asking for specific directions to a spot, but any ideas on where to roughly start looking where I will at least be in the general area of some fish? Any help would be greatly appreciated, just want to see what crappie fishing is all about. Thanks and God bless.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JA1989

I’m a bass fisherman and have always been interested in catching slabs, but have no idea where to start.

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Your bass fishing is good training. Start by reading this "Bass Pros Crappie Fish" article:

Crappie NOW - November 2017

White Crappie - wood cover
Black Crappie - rock/sand/pea gravel or vegetation cover

But, either or both will utilize whatever cover is available in the event their preferred cover is not.

Swim a jig around these types of cover or cast a Road Runner (marabou 1/16oz) over submerged cover and/or down along likely looking banks ... Keep your eye on your electronics & you may pass over the staging spot for the bigger females. Vertical jig them if you find them.

If you don't already have lighter action/power rods ... use a med action spinning rod - 6lb test - and the above mentioned baits. Just think Bass fishing with smaller baits & lighter equipment.

patience is key , crappie are sometimes aggressive but its after they look at it forever in some cases.
short water spawning crappie can be very unpredictable . ask the local folks in your area and the baitshops likely locations .
if the waters are turbid or muddy a jig with a minnow hooked thru the lips might be a good idea.
a small pencil float about 2 foot above a jig is popular during the spawn and as mentioned cover is likely going to hold some.
work the bait rather slowly with light twitches and ANYTHING that looks or feels like a bite is possibly a crappie .
they can be very subtle on the take .

I would also encourage you to go to you tube and see some videos on crappie fishing. Here are a few to get you started.

Mike

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOyQffOiL4I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXqIPXWbk-4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvW5N9ZIF40

This is a video on shooting docks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feFfpyx80EU

https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...rappie+Fishing

Being pointed to Richard Gene videos is the single most informative posting you will get!
The guy is humble, and shows you how is is catching fish.
Good fishing!!!

I was in your shoes about 3 years ago, and I have learned a lot about crappie fishing from watching Richard Genes videos. The biggest biggest difference between bass and crappie is that crappie almost always suspended and feed above them. When you find what ever depth the fish are feeding in stay in that depth, but when they stop biting start changing until you get but again. Crappie move up and down all day, and people will think they have stopped feeding when really they just moved. If your jigging or casting a jig count it down so you have a idea on where the jig was when you got bit. Other then that its bass fishing, when you find a pattern and you can run it all over the lake. The most important thing to remember about crappie fishing is..... You want to granny craw the bait, the longer you can leave the bait in front of a crappie the more likely they will bite.

Right now I would have a jig to cast for covering water, some days its the ticket to catching them. But I normally use it more as a search bait, after finding areas that had fish I will go back with the float and normally catch a lot more.

Crappie don't all spawn at the same time. You'll find pre-spawners and post-spawners in open water and spawners in shallow. Pre-spawners and spawning crappie are the easiest to catch and much of the time on consecutive casts. It's a blast! Pre-spawners may be in open water adjacent to spawning areas and are susceptible to many soft plastic designs uses with light ball head jigs. Here are a few:
https://i.imgur.com/xZXbVDX.jpg

jig and soft plastic on a Beetle Spin:
https://i.imgur.com/gXoOvVg.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/UDtvR6X.jpg?1

jig under a float:
https://i.imgur.com/NA7vaYn.jpg?1

spike tail grub:
https://i.imgur.com/hfUrf50.jpg

Crappie Magnet grub (one of the best!):
https://i.imgur.com/bBCyWlg.jpg?1

Slider Worm rigged on 1/16 oz jig:
https://i.imgur.com/65i6pix.jpg

Two grub bodies fused using a candle:
https://i.imgur.com/1ulFiA7.jpg?2

Jig weights I use are on the light side depending on depth fished and speed of retrieve. 1/32 - 1/16 oz unpainted ball head jigs are the range of weights that cover all situations. (Some go as heavy as 1/8 oz.)

Small diameter line whether braid, mono or fluorocarbon is a must for best lure action and strike detection. 5-5.6' light action rods do a lot to accommodate both.

Retrieve type (presentation) is the most important consideration as it is with bass fishing. I never use a steady retrieve, but one with pauses and twitches when fishing parallel to bottom regardless of depth.

Options are many as you can see. In spring it's just a matter of finding fish shallow or suspended in deeper water waiting to spawn. Post-spawners are in deeper water generally and active (unlike bass).

Richard Gene vids on youtube would be a really good place to start.