Newbie Looking for a Tutor

I fish on Barren River Lake in Kentucky. My wife's family has introduced me to crappie fishing and, as one would expect, I have the fever. I've been fishing with them a few years now, but it's always the same spots, regardless of the season, and regardless of whether or not they are biting. I am looking for someone to show me the ropes on alternative methods - trolling crank baits, jigging deeper water, ideas for finding spots other than relatively shallow cover (the typical spring and fall hot spots) etc etc. Any and all advice is welcome.

Respectfully,

a humble grasshopper looking to become an old pro.

Tim ... I moved your post over here, so you'd get more looks from people that fish Barren.

Any of you Barren Boys wanna help this feller out ???

... cp :kewl

Tim, you would do well to come down to KY/Barkley and do some research on the many guides who fish here. Talk to them and find out what kinds of techniques they use then pick a couple of them to fish with and let them teach you the different ways to catch crappie. Store that knowledge then take it back and apply it to your local lakes. The techniques used here will work there. It will cost you some $$ but the learning curve will be quicker.

A few hours spent reading the many stickies at the top in the state forums will be a gold mine of info for you.

Case in point;http://www.crappie.com/crappie/missi...nks-101-a.html

Ditto. This forum is the book of learning. Years of experience is posted here. Learn how to use the search feature. Good luck, these members will share, just ask.

I might be able to fill half of your request. i'm old but not a pro. I fish Barren on an average of once a week sometimes more. The things the fellas are telling you are true. The things i've used to catch crappie on Barren will also work when I go to Ky Lake or any other lake that have a decent population of slabs. I love bacon but would soon tire of it if that's all I could find. Some days the wife and I go out to eat, some days we eat on the deck. Crappie do the same. Change things up. The day you go into a bay with stumps and scrap the bark off the trees and wear them out and expect to do that the next......well it will more than likely disappoint you. If you think you can put up with my cynical attitude, and my coffee, your more than welcome to message me and we'll see if we can take the edge of your fever with a few pointers.

Slab, we'd probably get along fine. I'm pretty cynical when it comes to certain topics, and I don't drink much coffee - Ha Ha. I fully realize that there are numerous techniques, and different approaches work better in different conditions, different days, etc. My problem is the folks I fish with only fish one way and I know I need to broaden my knowledge base. I tend to learn by watching/doing better than trying to decipher someone's written description of how they do it. I'd love an opportunity to ride along with someone who makes adjustments rather than hoping for a different result from the same technique day after day. Thanks for being open to helping out the new guy!

:deadhorse Whatcha learn so far? :biggrin Them boys oughta change their ways or learn ta swim. Speakin of which, do you have a life jacket?

Tim, Barren fishes like two different lakes between winter and summer pools. It can be a head scratcher some days for sure. November and December is when I go after em hard. Keep up with the postings here, you'll learn a lot from ole slab seeker and others. We can lead you in the right direction.

Not sure how long you've been on here Tim but I've sent you a private message (PM). Look at the very top of your screen where it says "Notifications" it should be highlighted. click on it.

Brad I've taken the last week of October and first week of November off. After your last comment ya got me scared. Which way should I fish it? :fish We really need to talk to Pappy about an avatar where the guy is spider riggin.

They mean well, they just aren't going to catch anything if it's not biting a minnow on a bobber between 6 and 12 feet, or pick up a jig off a tightline pretty much on the bottom. They looked at me like I had 3 heads when I pulled out a spinning reel and a 1/16oz jig with 10' of line below a bobber last year. (I've been a time or two with some fellas from here at work, where I picked up that style. Like it a lot - once you locate a good spot I seem to get more bites from casting/jerking the jig/bobber than from sitting waiting for them to bite a stationary minnow)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by slabseeker1

:deadhorse Whatcha learn so far? :biggrin Them boys oughta change their ways or learn ta swim. Speakin of which, do you have a life jacket?

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I can swim - never had use for a life jacket so I don't own one (or a boat for that matter, but i'm working on the boat) - I can get my hands on a jacket pretty quickly if I need to though. Good part is, the wife can't really get mad about me buying a boat b/c it's her own family that got me hooked on fishin'. : P

Truth be told, my in-laws are awesome people and I wouldn't trade 'em for the world. I'm just the type who, once I get involved with a hobby, I want to know as much as possible as quickly as possible. There is no substitute for experience, so I'm trying to put myself in spots where I can pick up as much know-how as possible from as many different people as possible. I've been fishing with the in-laws a couple years now and I want to start helping catch more fish rather than just riding along and hoping for the best.