Getting a little down

So I'm new to crappie fishing as many here have seen. From all that I've learned here I've been super eager to go catch as many as I could. I've been to lakes, rivers, and ponds that I know hold crappie. But without electronics to know where the brush is, or laydowns that I cant see, I haven't been able to locate any. I really wanted to get on them hard this year but either my knowledge still isnt good enough, or I need a fish finder to know where to fish.

So I'm a bit bummed I put in all this reading and learning and getting gear but haven't been able to get on the crappie except when I was at a fellow members private pond that was over ran with them!

Just ranting, but still, i feel a bit like a failure because i devoted alot of effort into learning the ways of crappie fishing, only to come up empty handed. Well, except for a ton of sunfish.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

Don't be down on yourself !! nonono

I've fished for Crappie since the 1950's and still manage to get skunked (or nearly skunked), even with 60 some years of experience AND depth finders :Doh:

In fact, fishing around here is so slow right now ... the last two fishing trips & the one I'm going on tomorrow will be for Bass :yikes (yeah, I know, that's a four letter word on a Crappie website :bash but it still beats sitting in the recliner and dreaming about Crappie fishing)

If you don't have good times while trying then it's a failure, but if you enjoy your efforts it's a success.
It sounds to me like you are putting in the effort. Keep reading this forum, one day an idea will make sense to you and you will be off and running.
My wife and I fish when we can (weather and age being factors), usually from shore, she loves to catch fish but enjoys being out and trying just as much (almost).
I don't know that we will ever haul them in as we like but I know we'll keep "plugging" away.

Good luck to you friend.

Alan

The acquisition of knowledge , takes a lot longer than one would think.
Ketchn seems pretty adept at catching Crappie’s from shore, with no electronics, so it is possible.
I haven’t been at it as long as CP, and I still get skunked too.
So keep your chin up and enjoy what you can.


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Other than electronics, are other factors being observed: light tackle (rod, line), light lures (light jig heads and smaller lures), very slow erratic retrieves, fishing different depths etc.? Location patterns are the biggest challenge and the combination of the above help discover them on a daily, weekly or seasonal basis.

Sonar nowadays is cheap (as long as you don't need the fancy stuff) and invaluable finding fish in areas - especially bait fish schools mixed with larger fish (pan fish). The range of depths they are swimming gives an idea on the sonar screen where your search lure should be - lures that scours areas all around you until you establish a concentrated-casting direction and depth. It's no different for bass. Just don't depend - except initially - on areas you previously caught fish. Fish relocation is law especially in summer.

Yesterday I finally found groups of crappie in an area of the lake that hadn't been productive weeks before. After hours of only catching sunfish and small bass in the morning and finding no concentrated schools of fish on sonar, finally finding them blew me away! The location pattern had changed though the depth not so from the day before. In summer, small groups of fish and sometimes schools, are the target on sonar for general fish location as is time of day which may be mid to late afternoon once a front has passed. Anglers were getting off the lake at 1pm but I started catching fish after 2 pm under a bright sky and very windy cold front conditions. They were kayakers using no sonar. tip: no fish or sparse fish on sonar, generally no fish in an area confirmed by no hits regardless good structure or sunken trees.

Adapt.

Everyone has had "not-so-good" days on the water. That's how you learn. You do not "need" a sonar to be successful. It certainly is a valuable aid, but if you just look at some lake maps and find logical areas in which to start, you are on your way to success. Keep a journal with details on water & air temps and wind speed & direction. Patterning is developed this way.

That being said, sonars are really inexpensive these days. Especially a simple 2D black & white units. Using this device, you can find schools of BAIT.....which is more of value than actually finding fish in my opinion. This is a screen shot example of a simple ($100.) unit you get used:

Attachment 350813

This shows a school of bait on a drop off. Very valuable information. How you present your offering after locating bait is a horse of another color. But from what you've said, you are pretty well schooled in the techniques used to catch crappie. So just continue reading these forums and you will become proficient in catching in no time.

One more thing. Make sure the water (lake, pond, res) that you are fishing has quantities of crappie. Some folks I've fished with have taken me to places where we caught little or nothing. Upon further investigation, I discovered that the "panfish" population did not contain a sufficient quantity of crappie. So do your homework. And above all, have FUN!

the ever mighty crappie in an extremely elusive critter sometimes .
I know the lakes I frequent very well or I wouldn't be on the fish like you see posted .
Staying on crappie in numbers off the bank will require you to have around 15 to 20 spots to cover on at least a half dozen water bodies .
Some will be just certain months or even weeks .
These fish can be real tough to locate and ketch for sure and don't ever think its easy .
Especially off the bank with just a rod and your feet my friend
don't get discouraged and keep your feet busy and ask the locals a million questions and then apply a strong filter .
what settles out after filtering is likely where you need to focus .
You wont find very many accidently I promise off the bank most of the time .
heads up and pitch that jig like you mean it bro :highfive

Thanks for the encouragement everyone. Yesterday I made one step towards doing what I can to help. I bought a spool of 4lb fluorocarbon and will spool up my crappie rod with it today. Before I was using 10lb mono and I'm hoping the fluoro helps.

Tomorrow I'm going to the river and going to concentrate on crappie. Going to leave my bass rods in the truck. I'm going to apply all I've learned and scour the fire out of the river bank looking for brush and laydowns.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

Fishing is like golf in that one good fish or golf shot will always keep you coming back. Sooner or later you will figure them out. Don't ever give up.

worry more about location and jigging in the fishs face than the line you use. run and gun a good water till you find some then remember where that was. another thing that will help you is fishing a local river. its way easier to find fish in a river than a lake most days. you said your catching sunnies. that tells me you mite also be fishing too deep. crappie love to suspend

like said we all get skunked a times