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I am new to crappie fishing and this forum. After investing $6000 converting my bay boat to crappie boat, the only thing changed is that now I can watch the fish swim away from my jig or minnow now. I have a few dumb questions. Is it worthwhile using a flurocarbon leader attached to braided line? What tricks do you use when you can see the fish swim up to the bait then swim away? I have a few spots I found in Buck Bay and can see the fish in brush, but they don't hit. Any suggestions?
Dang. Sorry to hear this. It would be helpful to know more to be able to give some guidance.
Generally though braid is no issue especially on a stained lake like Rayburn. I would suggest a leader though to make it easier to switch out jig sizes and colors using a swivel and snap. Use 10 or 12 lb leader of any sort. The snap will also help you find your jig on livescope which I'm guessing you have based on your budget! Rig up 4 or 5 different double jig combos with a combo of smaller and larger jigs, hair jigs, plastics, colors, and even a gold hook for a minnow.
Move quickly if you don't find aggressive fish. If you don't get bit within a few minutes it is on to the next spot. Catch a few and still see fish down there that won't bite, move to the next spot! Livescope will hypnotize and slow you down if you let it.
I would call Greg Fenn and go on a guided trip. Not sure if he would do a electronics trip on a customer boat but that may be an option.
Lastly, welcome to this frustrating love affair with crappie!
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Funny, I have been on two trips with Greg Fenn. He is a great guide and answered a lot of questions, but his reputation is too good and you have to book months ahead. I am looking for areas to fish on the lower lake out of Mill Creek and up Ayish bayou.
Sadly there are times when you can see the crappie but can not get them to bite. Tuesday I fished for 5 hours and only caught 4 undersized crappie. I fished ten different brush piles and six different sets of bridge pillars. Monday I fished 9 hours and only caught 10 crappie, only four legal. Monday I even tried minnows along with my jig combinations to see if that would make a difference. It didn't.
I generally spend 10-15 minutes to fish all levels and sides of a brush pile, trying different size and type of jigs to see if that will provoke a strike. If nothing happens I then move on.
I have found that crappie suspended in the brush pile (no movement) will not bite, regardless of what you do. So I look for fish that are showing some movement to target. I also drop my jig to the bottom around the edges of the brush pile as often fish right on the bottom will rise up and take the jig. I have also found that if there are no bait fish balls around the crappie are slow to bite. Right now the bait fish are missing from the areas I fish, including my slips, and the bite is very slow. It has been too windy to fish the open lake for the past week but I suspect that will be where I would find the bait fish right now.
I don't believe braid makes a difference. I use it year around without a leader.
I look forward to reading the responses to your question.
What we do for the love of crappie fishing or shall I say crappie catching.....
There was a time where kite string, hook, bobber and a can pole brought stringers of slabs to the dining table but it seems those crappie have gotten so smart we need all the bells and whistles, latest and greatest electronics to find a few crappie and then they turn their nose up at our offerings........
Slowing down, finding structure in different depths, having an assortment of jig color combos along with different sizes and being willing to stay in contact with said jig giving pauses in whatever action you apply, fishing your jig at various depths and move to different areas and structure to locate active fish will load your cooler......
Sound fairly simple but there's just not many folks willing to apply the patience and persistence required to consistently catch crappie.....
SI is the best electronics to have to learn a body of water, find the structure you find the crappie......
All in my opinion of course.....
Patience and persistence are as big as having string on your reel right next to being willing to make changes....
If what you're doing is not working make some changes.....
use a berkley crappie nibble in glo white on the swim up and wont bite fish.Quote:
Originally Posted by dennis monk
and try to SLOWLY rise the bait as they close in on it and i mean REAL slowly .
to long to look it over sometimes helps them to figure out whats up .
scent will also make all the difference .
if they approach it they are interested and to be sure its a matter of sparking that interest to the next level .
but also to be sure there are times it wont matter what you do
i often move on and possibly return a bit later
"bite windows" are something they often do
to early no dice , to late no dice ....the right time and you cant ketch them quick enough .