Newbie with the crappie

Fellas. Found the forum earlier today and been doing some looking off and on.
I have pretty much fished for bass most of my fishing life and done a ton of tournaments across the Midwest.
With a divorce last year and now a separated dad of 2 little ones I'm looking to down scale from what I was used to. Have been without a boat for some time now and going tonight to look at a 16' jon boat with a 35hp merc. If it's in good shape I'm gonna bring it home.
With the smaller boat and two little ones wanting to fish my focus is leaning to crappie fishing. Now I will say I have never done well to catch crappie at all. Really don't know a lot about them and their movements. The tackle is a bit different than I'm used to as well. With the thousands of types of jigs and so on what would be some of the better things to get baits wise to use to start out with

Also could some of you give me some pointers on starting out catching some slabs
We are heading to the lake memorial weekend and im.going to give it a shot trying to catch some with my son. Would really like to get on some fish for him so he has a good time

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Originally Posted by Luke

We are heading to the lake memorial weekend ...

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:yikes

You're a brave man.

It's not really that bad there on the holiday weekend believe it or not lol

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As a grandfather of four and a great-grandfather of a few more than that: Here is the best advice I can give you for fishing with kids. DO NOT take any tackle for yourself when the kids are in the boat. You will never get a moment when you can let your attention be diverted (like hooking a fish) from watching and teaching the kids.

As far as the crappie - follow the schedule of where the crappie go pre - during and post spawn. Deep prespawn with excursions into the shallow - shallow on the beds during spawn and then again deep post spawn. Remember these are very general guidelines and you will find crappie (like bass) where the bait is.

What kind of lake are you fishing in? Are you able to troll? If yes, may invest in a few bandit 300's or something similar and long line troll out the back of the boat. There are dive charts on this site that u will be able to find or someone will post. Doing this is really good for kids who are not experienced casters and even if they are good casters. There is no casting necessary just start hand lining line off the reel til u get it to where you want it and then just take off trolling at idle speed. When a fish gets on the kiddo gets to reel it in a good ways and not just "swing" in the boat like jigging. Makes the excitement last longer to the kid. Trolling can be more complicated than what I made it sound....but only if you wanna make it that way. Old timers been trolling for years with no GPS of fishfinders etc. If your not able to troll a man can never go wrong with putting a road runner on a zebco 33 and casting weedlines and structure. Once you catch a couple fish try to find out just how deep they are biting and put a small weighted cork on the line for depth control of the bait while retrieving. Crappie are pretty picky on what they want but when you find out what one wants...you have found out what most of em wants and just try your best to replicate everything about that successful cast. I don't know how old you kiddos are but I will say...I dont care for those lil short kiddie rods. Several reasons why: 1) The short poles will place the hook about an arms reach from the kid, increasing the chance of them hooking themselves and also guarenteeing the fact that they will run one in you because your never gonna be an arms reach away from the kid. 2) When they do get a fish they often loose them before the fish gets to the boat because it is difficult (even for an adult) to keep tension on the line when a fish is on it, we dont wanna discourage the outdoors by them constantly loosing fish we want to promote it! 3) Them small poles are dang hard to cast well to, even for an adult. I got my son a full sized pole with a zebco 33 when he was 17 months old cuz he ruined me with a short pole and a hook. And that lil dude went from being able to cast 5 feet MAX to casting COMPLETLY over my house and into the backyard in about 15 minutes. This trip is gong to most likely be hard and frustrating for you before its over...but this trip aint about you its about being the good father, I know you are because u have made this post, and PROMOTING the outdoors to the younger generation. Good luck and congrats on the potential new boat! I will help in ANY way I know how! Let me know of any specific questions you have and I wil tell you my opnion on it. I say opinion because I'm not saying Im right. I just have my own theories that others may or may not have.

Don't over look bream fishing, especially with kids on board that just want to catch a fish. A bucket of crickets, a light rod and you're set, but you probably already know this. Timing should be about right depending on your location.

Wow! Good job Luke. Hope you lot's of luck with the boat and don't forget the PFD'S(personal flotation devices, life jackets,and a boat paddle). Will be looking forward to some fishing posts and pictures.

I'd start him out on Bluegill, if he's never really fished before. They're relatively easy to catch, and will keep his attention longer than Crappie. A simple hook/sinker/float/worm setup, fishing along a bank with downed timber or steep rocky banks will get you bit by many different species of Sunfish, Catfish, and who knows what else.

The same setup with a minnow will work (for Crappie) around standing or fallen timber, but may require a bit longer wait for a bite.

Tackle is generally just downsized/lighter action rods than for Bass fishing, lighter line & smaller baits, and spinning or spincast reels. There are just more "methods" to use for Crappie, than what you may be familiar with for Bass ... several different types of trolling, and live bait use.

As far as YOU learning how to catch Crappie ... just keep reading this site, asking questions, hooking up with other members, attending any events in your area that are put on by the members, and your learning curve will be much shorter than you think.

:welcome I hope the boat situation works out for you. Being a father in that situation is tough and taxing on you emotionally. Keep on being a great dad and your kids will value and cherish their time with you. You have gotten some very sound advice on ways to go about it.

CrappiePappy gave you some pretty good advice there. You will learn a lot by reading these forums. You might even begin to raise or make your own bait and lures like I did. Have fun. I pray you and the children always wear your life jackets.

i would put the kids on bream if it were me for several reasons ....easy to ketch and find ....less boredom equals more fun .
and your kids will most likely want to swim more than fish if they are like others that age anyway ....
if you really want to ketch crappie and big ones you will probably need a bit of time to figure them out on the local water bodies before you take kiddos after them
....have fun be safe and YES make sure they have the pfd on at all times !

p.s. take LOTS of snacks and drinks ! ....and sunscreen and hats .....LOL

Well did manage to buy the boat the other day. It's in pretty decent shape and after not being started for 8 years we had it running in about 5 minutes.
Git some.work to do to it before we will be able to use it much and don't think I'll have it done to take for memorial weekend but at least I got it so that's a start


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Originally Posted by Ketchn

i would put the kids on bream if it were me for several reasons ....easy to ketch and find ....less boredom equals more fun .
and your kids will most likely want to swim more than fish if they are like others that age anyway ....
if you really want to ketch crappie and big ones you will probably need a bit of time to figure them out on the local water bodies before you take kiddos after them
....have fun be safe and YES make sure they have the pfd on at all times !

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^^ I agree, bream are always easier to find and catch, you might take live bait for both bream and crappie ??
Find those kids a good bream bed and it will be a memory they will never forget