Fishing Trips: Fish vs. No (or few) Fish

I enjoy to see pics and reports from when you guys have successful fishing trips. They keep me motivated and I'll surely have some pics and positive reports to post sooner or later. However, how often do you guys that regularly post of successful trips (CrappiePro, CMJ, Nimrod, etc), have unsuccessful trips... Particularly in the times of the year when fishing is or can be a little tough ? Knowing that information would also keep me motivated and help me understand that maybe "I'M" not always the problem, maybe the fish played a small part in my dismal trip ! Thanks to you guys, I'm learning new techniques, learning crappie habits, and routinely having slightly more success as time goes by. I do still have days like yesterday where I find baitfish, black bass and white bass, but only 2 crappie. Just curious how often you "good fishermen" encounter the same.

Well, I am by no means a pro, but since you included me in your post, here are my thoughts.













One thing that every consistently successful fisherman has in common is that they know their area lakes well, and they know when each one is at its peak season. If you live in central Arkansas, then you can stay on a pretty good bite year round without having to travel very far. If you aren't as fortunate, then you either have to travel to get on a good bite, or you have to settle for sticking with a local lake that may not be so easy. Either way, it takes time to learn how to fish any lake, good bite or not. There will be transition periods even on a hot bite, and those days can be a struggle to put fish in the boat. On a lake like Conway, a good day in the Summer could only produce 8-15 keeper fish. A bad day could be 0-5. Those days are common, even for someone that knows it well. Now, in the Spring and Fall, that's an entirely different story.













So, most of us try to hit lakes when they are at their peak. That cuts down on the bad days, but we still all have them from time to time. If you are bound to one lake, well you are going to have more bad days than good, at least at first, no matter how good you are.

I am no means a PRO! But I will add my experience. What he said above 1st off! Learn your lakes! And the best way to do this is, more importantly keep logs of everything. I have been keeping logs for 7-8 years. But after just 2-3 years you pretty much have it figured out which lakes are going to be HOTT and when. Then you will notice a big change in your catch rates!!!!!! Only way to know is to go, so even the unsuccessful trips can teach you alot, just log them! Log weather, water temps, wind, barometric pressure, fish and game graphs, where you caught the fish and what on, or didn't catch fish. I still have ALOT of unsucessful days and try to post them on here when I do, but those days have decreased dramatically after I started my logs. I started off using calendars to log my stuff, but I tend to run out of rooms in the little squares. Then I found a logging system made by FISHSWAMI. I google it, then print it off. I still do my calendar logs of everything I do EVERYDAY (not just fishing) but use the FISHSWAMI logs for even more details of my fishing trip. You WILL notice a difference. There are alot of WAY better fishermen on this site that can give better advice than I, But the info I shared personally has helped me so much. And also the info other fishermen on this site has given me has added alot of fish in my freezer as well. Good Luck! FISH-ON!!!!

First let me say welcome to the site. I don't consider myself necessarily a good crappie fisherman. However, I was asked once what I thought the key to consistently catching crappie was. My answer is pretty simple, know a lot of other crappie fishermen. More importantly know those that are willing to help you catch fish, and be willing to help them catch fish too. And this site has a lot of people who are willing to help. However, it's my opinion that you need to be a contributor as well as a consumer of information on this site, most people don't contribute much, if anything. When I get ready to go fishing I often get on the phone and call a few friends and see if they have any good reports, as to where and how they are catching them. Then it's pretty normal for me to drive 2 or 3 hours one way to fish, fortunately for you, you live smack in the middle of some of the best fishing in the state. I also think to be consistent you need to learn multiple ways to fish, adjusting to the time of year, where the fish are located at that particular time and make adjustments as necessary. I say that even though I'm the worst at making changes quickly when what I'm doing isn't working. I think one thing that makes some of these guys excellent crappie fishermen is that they really know the habits of crappie at different times of the year and move with them. Best of luck to you.

EXCELLENT ADVICE MAC!!!!

There is alot of help here and alot of people eager to give it!

Thanks to you all I needed this.

CJ and LowePro (or others) ..... Would you say a person would reduce the learning curve faster by: Chasing the hot bite on a hot body of water ? Or, trying to apply similar hot techniques from a hot body of water to a lake you're familiar with. Let me elaborate:

Report says: Crappie are biting well on jigs fished around stumps in the mouth of creeks in 10 FOW on "Lake ABC"

So, would a person be better to run to "Lake ABC" and fish jigs in the mouth of creeks in 10 FOW and possibly learn a hot spot or two there ?
Or, would there be greater benefit to go to their familiar water "Lake XYZ" and try presenting jigs around stumps in 10 FOW ?

I hope you see the difference in the question I'm asking... I guess my point is, I'm not looking for a quick way or tip to fill my cooler "today"... I want to truly learn to fish so I can routinely catch fish whenever, wherever. I'd like to wean myself from needing the "hot tip" and be able to trust my own knowledge.

The fishing log is a great idea, that will begin this Saturday when I next hit the water !

Thanks for the help, hope more reply and I hope others benefit from the info provided. !

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Originally Posted by Mac Daddy

fortunately for you, you live smack in the middle of some of the best fishing in the state.

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I'm very fortunate in that regard ! Even a novice like myself has some really good days if only for that reason alone !! Sometimes all you gotta be is in the right spot at the right time, I working hard on making that combo happen more frequently !

Ok. If you are wanting to truly learn fish, there is a lot of literature out there about crappie and their habits. Another way to learn is to just get out there. And it's better if u log ur experiences so u can study them without getting confused on "what time of year did I catch them on lake x?"

Wanna good hot tip to start ur studies on Saturday..... Go to lake N (nimrod), use double minnow rigs on the marked channel ledge, at 0.3-0.5mph, and hold ON!!! Hahaha

Lots of good information here!!

IMO, go where the action is. Look, I've spent a lifetime learning what doesn't work. It's a much shorter road learning how to catch crappie when you go to where the bite is on and do what is working. Once you get the techniques down and learn, because your successful, how to catch fish, then you can apply that information on other lakes. However, lakes are just different, what is working "now" on one lake absolutely doesn't mean if you can match conditions on another lake it will work there. By being successful, and learning about why the crappie are biting where they are at a given time, and what method is working and why, then you can learn about the crappie's behavior, and learn more about the fish. Once you've learned about why crappie do what they do and when and why they do it, then you can apply "that" information to other lakes. But just trying to match the conditions, never worked for me. Again just my opinion.

Basically, what I was suggesting was that you should do some research about the lakes in your area and just go fishing. The trial and error of finding those hot bites on your own makes you a better fisherman, and makes the catches much more rewarding. And yes, once you figure out a bite on one lake, it can give you some insight as to what the fish may be doing on another lake, IF you put a little thought into what is causing the fish to behave that way. This doesn't mean that they will be at the same depth, same type of cover, same color, etc. It just means that if you know your lakes, you can connect the dots from one lake to another as it relates to seasonal patterns. I.e. If they are transitioning from a Fall pattern to a Winter pattern on Lake X, then Lake Y will soon follow. Water temps usually dictate these transitions on any lake, so keep that in mind.



Having said all that, fishing on a hot tip will teach you a lot about how to get them to bite, and can be a big confidence booster for the discouraged beginner.

I like to catch crappie. Because I live close to it, I primarily fish the Arkansas River at Toadsuck from the bank. I'll guess that, after 25+ years of fishing the area, I catch crappie on only 50% of my trips.

Fishing below the dam here is different almost every trip due to water flow conditions: they like to adjust the gates frequently. Also, you might be surprised by how much the currents change when barges are locking through. High water or fishing the current requires different lures or techniques than low-flow conditions.

Depending on the season, the time of day is as important as water flow. I prefer to fish as the sun comes up but year-round I think I catch more right at dark. I might fish at daylight for an hour. If I don't have any luck I leave and come back later, maybe in the morning or early afternoon, maybe in the evening maybe in a day or two. I just keep after them!

Like others have mentioned, keeping a calendar or log is helpful. After a couple of years, you'll be able to see when your fishing generally picks up and falls off. Those are indicators that (1) you need to learn new techniques or use a different bait for that time of year, (2) you need to find a different place to fish at that time of year, or (3) you need to stay home and put new line on your poles that time of year, etc.

PS- I don't get discouraged by only catching crappie on half of my trips, most of those other trips I've caught at least SOMETHING. When fishing the river, you NEVER know what you are going to catch next! I use a lot of 1/16 oz jigs. Besides crappie, I've caught a LOT of bass, white bass and hybrids, drum, skipjack, bream and misc. sunfish this year. I've also caught stripers, channel, blue, and flathead catfish, longnose and spotted gar, and a few sauger.

Keep learning and Good Luck!

Also, if you have a little extra cash, hiring a guide will drastically shorten the curve on learning a particular lake, or just Crappie fishing in general.

Before I retired 13 years ago, I felt compelled to just get out and relieve the stress and fishing took my mind off what was stressing me. Attitude has a lot to do with
your success on the water. The faster you can put the stress behind you, the quicker you become focused on what your doing on the water. If your determined to catch
a mess of crappies, you should be in a relaxed state of mind and allow the crappie to tell you what they want, the presentation they want and all you have to do is move
to crappie looking waters and begin the process. I found moving methodically along the shoreline picking places I would find compatible if I were a crappie helped me find crappie. The hardest part for me was to get the mindset that I would catch crappie as long as I found where they were and they told me what they wanted. Yes,
conditions do matter and the best time for me has always been ahead of a front coming from the west northwest and me being in one of those places I felt held crappie.
The worst place I could find myself when the time was right was anywhere but on the water. I do believe in my seasonal chart and pay particular attention when the spawn is near. I have found guides are very helpful if your approach to them is one of a respectful attitude. Guides are involved in a business and word of mouth is their
most productive method of advertising. Most guides are very helpful and can tell in a few minutes if your experienced or novice. Their attitude towards you is what you
have shown them in a short amount of time in their boat. I have found my best method with a guide is to speak little and listen a lot. I don't act like I have all the
answers but am there to learn. How I act in anyone else's boat or in my kayak is another story.

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As someone who is also just starting down the path of learning how to (successfully) chase crappie, I gotta say this is an excellent thread. I too struggle with the "stick to your home lake and learn it" vs "chase the reports at Lake XYZ", especially given just how many excellent crappie hot spots and reports we have around here.

Much appreciation to everyone, beginner and expert alike, posting here. This really is a fantastic resource for those of us who want to learn to fish. Now, if I could just not get distracted by the fish that *are* biting when I'm chasing those crappie. The wife usually gives me funny looks when I tell her I'm going out crappie fishing and I return with a mess of catfish.

My advice is fish and if you catch nothing or dinks , move or change tactics . On my home lake it is rare for me to have what most call a bad day . I will move and try different depths till I find fish . But only time I perfer not to fish is in high water because they are usually here today and gone tomarrow .:twocents:fish

Well in near 50 year of fishing....I have learned this much

Don't fish where they ain't

Don't fish with something they ain't wanting to bite

Don't present your bait or lure in a manner that they don't want

Don't think fish are not smart and sometimes picky almost beyond belief

Don't think that fish are ever uncatchable (even though sometimes they maybe)

Don't think that fish will always feed because they don't,most days they have a few specific feeding times and you need to be there then.When your lucky they bite all day

Don't fish randomly in the water...pick a type of structure or topography and focus on that..if that doesnt work try another type

Don't spend a lot of time without your bait in the water ..keep it out there

Don't think that you can catch as many as consistently as people who are very serious about it....if you aren't.

And a couple hundred more things

That's all I got to say about that

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Originally Posted by doggone

Well in near 50 year of fishing....I have learned this much

Don't fish where they ain't

Don't fish with something they ain't wanting to bite

Don't present your bait or lure in a manner that they don't want

Don't think fish are not smart and sometimes picky almost beyond belief

Don't think that fish are ever uncatchable (even though sometimes they maybe)

Don't think that fish will always feed because they don't,most days they have a few specific feeding times and you need to be there then.When your lucky they bite all day

Don't fish randomly in the water...pick a type of structure or topography and focus on that..if that doesnt work try another type

Don't spend a lot of time without your bait in the water ..keep it out there

Don't think that you can catch as many as consistently as people who are very serious about it....if you aren't.

And a couple hundred more things

That's all I got to say about that

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Man, that's awesome! This should be published!!

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Originally Posted by Cmj

Man, that's awesome! This should be published!!

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Lots of don'ts but no do's on that list .nonono

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Originally Posted by Cmj

Well, I am by no means a pro,

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Bull hockey. I need help Gewber. [emoji12]

Hey Minners N Jigs, you forgot to include me in your original post. Didn't see my name anywhere. [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

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Originally Posted by BigRiverMarine

Hey Minners N Jigs, you forgot to include me in your original post. Didn't see my name anywhere. [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

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BRM, complete oversight on my part ! You're approaching 19K posts.... I just assumed you'd know your input was welcome !

This thread took an unexpected, yet welcomed turn from the original question to where it ultimately landed. Thanks for all the info guys, it will be put to good use !

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Originally Posted by Minners N Jigs

This thread took an unexpected, yet welcomed turn from the original question to where it ultimately landed. Thanks for all the info guys, it will be put to good use !

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I had noticed that we hadn't actually answered you original question, so here it goes. If I do the things I mentioned, find out who's catching them, how and on what, and where, then I have a trip that sucks about 25% of the time. If I don't do that it increases substantially. That's also because I go to a lot of lakes and don't have a home lake that I've fished almost exclusively as some do. Having a home lake that you learn inside and out and in every way possible I think increases your success rate substantially as well.

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Originally Posted by Mac Daddy

Having a home lake that you learn inside and out and in every way possible I think increases your success rate substantially as well.

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It has obviously worked well for Nimrod, he "rarely has bad days on his home lake". I guess it's just a matter of putting in the time !

Thanks to all for the great input

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Originally Posted by LowePro

Wanna good hot tip to start ur studies on Saturday..... Go to lake N (nimrod), use double minnow rigs on the marked channel ledge, at 0.3-0.5mph, and hold ON!!! Hahaha

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LowePro, This was spot on.... Wind was tough on the fishermen, but the crappie didn't seem to mind ! Thanks for the tip !

Hhahahaha good deal!!! Man I love it when people are successful! Thanks for the update!

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Originally Posted by LowePro

Hhahahaha good deal!!! Man I love it when people are successful! Thanks for the update!

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Day went something like this:

Hit the water mid morning 8:30ish, launched at Anderson Branch. Idled out to river channel. Went to setting up 8 rods, rigged with double Minner rigs set to 8-10 feet and baiting them as we set them... Mistake ! Fish On ! That's pretty much how the next several hours progressed. Had to get off the water around 1:30, but we left with the wind blowing and the fish still biting. A rough guess would be we boated 2 limits, but only carried 16 home with us. Lots of short fish, but the action was fast and furious ! A return trip will happen, probably about this time of year next year when I check my new fish log and remember the white hot action !

Thanks again brother, you're good by me anytime I can return the favor !

Awesome!!!! Im glad to hear it. Let me know if you need anything..........including a fishing partner! :biggrin

Minners and jigs was you the boat with 8 poles out front and 8 out the back ? I took an old timer out Monday morning and we brought in 27 good Crappie , 2 Bream and a 5lb catfish single poling jigs
. The old fellow can barely hold a jig pole over an hour then has to rest . Sunday I kept a limit but had no distractions fishing alone .

BETTER WATCH THE WATER LEVEL BEING DOWN STUMPS AND HUMPS ALL OVER THE LAKE WAITING ON A LOWER UNIT TO BUST ! LOTS OF FOLKS THINK THEY KNOW THE LAKE BUT I SEE MANY ARE BAD MISTAKEN .:twocents

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Originally Posted by NIMROD

Minners and jigs was you the boat with 8 poles out front and 8 out the back ? I took an old timer out Monday morning and we brought in 27 good Crappie , 2 Bream and a 5lb catfish single poling jigs
. The old fellow can barely hold a jig pole over an hour then has to rest . Sunday I kept a limit but had no distractions fishing alone .

BETTER WATCH THE WATER LEVEL BEING DOWN STUMPS AND HUMPS ALL OVER THE LAKE WAITING ON A LOWER UNIT TO BUST ! LOTS OF FOLKS THINK THEY KNOW THE LAKE BUT I SEE MANY ARE BAD MISTAKEN .:twocents

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Boy, no kidding on the water level being dangerous in spots. Idling out from the launch I'd watch as the depth would vary by more than a foot in a boat length's worth of travel distance. Water went from 5ft to 1ft in a few spots over there with zero warning.

And nope, it weren't I fishing with 16 rods in the water... It was all I could handle overseeing the 4 on my side, but we were running 8 total off the front ! Hope to make another trip over that way one day, but for awhile I'll stick to waters a little closer to home. I've got to log some more hours learning these waters, but it was a blast acting on a hot tip and going and making happen as advertised !!