Newbie knows nuthing..

Howdy from Louisiana... Got a few questions and hopefully get alot of answers and advice... Im new to crappie fishing, like brand new, never done.. So heres a few questions and please provide any tips or secrets.. Ive veen an Unsuccessful bass fisherman for about 3 years..lol.. So i know how not to bass fish.. Figured i woukd try my lucck and sone crappie...

1) anyone have an image of what crappie look like on sideinage and downimge.. How do you know its crappie and not gar,bass,catfish or aanything else..
2) im not very patient, i like to cast and retrieve kinda guy. I hate sitting in one spot watching a bobber for an hour.. So what i gather is a road runner is the lure to go.. Anything else work? Ive caaught a few on crankbaits by mistake.. Are the snall crankbaits effective? And do tou fish them the sane as you would bass fishing?
3) I seen where people veen saying to fish shallow in summer for big ones... How? I thought they were hiding on the bottom... Water temp is in the 90's here.. Dirty muddy nasty water..
4) do crappie perfer still water or current or whats their idea of a good home...

Any help would be awesome.. Thanks

And one morre thing.. My typing sucks... My fingers are too big for this little phone screen.. So please excuse all my typos.. Lol

Go with a good guide or a friend that is an accomplished fisherman now and then. Fill in on your own between those trips.
If you really want to learn the sport, it will come to you. They can show you what not to do. Learning where not to fish is
more important than learning where to fish.

Welcome from Alabama. I usually do long line trolling or a slip float rig. Tip a 1/16th jig head with soft plastic or a lively minnow. That will do the trick. I will post a drawing of my slip float set up. There is some great information in the Beginners and Mentoring forum. Here is a link to that forum..

http://www.crappie.com/crappie/begin...ntoring-forum/




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First of all, WELCOME aboard! You've joined the finest site for crappie knowledge there is. So let's take a look at your problem, starting with the obvious:

You indicated that you've already tried to crappie fish and have yet to be successful. That being the case, are you sure there is a viable population of crappie in the water you are fishing? If so, and you apparently enjoy casting, try a 1/16 oz. ball head jig dressed with any number of soft plastic crappie baits that are 2" long or so. I would recommend you start with curly tailed grubs and something with chartreuse color in the pattern. Black & chartreuse are particularly effective on most dingy waters.

The other thing is, being as you enjoy casting, what do you have for a rig to cast with? If it is too heavy for casting, you will have a difficult time with your enjoyment. An ultra-light or light action 6'6" or 7' spinning rod would be a good match for the 1/16 oz. jig heads. Any number of inexpensive reels will do, but if you can afford it, look at a Pflueger President reel, size #6920 will do just fine. Fill it with 4 or 6 pound (max) test monofilament line - such as Trilene XL. This rig will make casting enjoyable, I assure you.

The technique is simple. Just make as long a cast as you are able to and slowly reel it back in - just enough speed to make sure the tail has some action (in the case of a curly tailed grub). Fan cast the area you are targeting and you can eliminate a lot of non-productive water fairly quickly. Good luck to you and please do let us know how you make out. :)

just fyi, schools of crappie on the graph are usually bunched on top of each other and may be suspended. They will be small dots. Bass usually look like ducks in a row as i have found. and those dreadful asian carp will be suspended in large groups and they make big blobs on imaging and large boomerang shapes on sonar.

Welcome msn. I see that you're from La. and post the Red River as your home lake. Have you visited the La. forum on this site.
(http://www.crappie.com/crappie/louisiana/)
There you will find some info about the Red and other places possibly close to where you fish. There are many good fisherman in the northern and middle part of the state. Maybe you could hook up with one or two of them to get some first hand knowledge of your area. Good luck.
"gene"

I would drop the dime on the best local guide service , you will learn more in 4 hours than years a trying it by yourself in most cases ......
Many many times Ketchn crappie is about being patient as well .....sometimes they are a bit finicky to ketch and sometimes the littlest things matter ......
color sometimes matters , bait size sometimes as well .....and depth is critical ....it's a challenge to stay on them for sure

welcome from the north!

your blessed with muddy water. that makes it easy to get over them. jig a power grub down in the deeper brush along the river channel. thats all there is to it. lol you learn the details as you go. jig real easy so you dont get hung up and ruin a spot before you get started. try 4ft first t hen probe deeper but only if you have to. this kind of fishing is frustrating until you learn to feel around without getting hung. when you get it mastered, it pays off big(as in big crappie). run and gun, quietly probing good looking spots. no need for too much fish finder tech for this fishing. the only thing i used the fish finder for is looking for shad schooled around the outside of the brush, over the channel. that is a good indicator there mite be crappie hiding in the brush. its not necessary though, just drop a jig down and see what grabs it! lol but then again, sometimes you wont see what grabs it:yikes haha "'bzzz-snap""

loads of great info on here for you. hope you make use of it and enjoy it. take some of the basics and tweak it for your waters. all waters differ at least a bit, but crappie are still crappie.

again welcome to the site

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Originally Posted by Crestliner08

, but if you can afford it, look at a Pflueger President reel, size #6920 will do just fine.

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Cabela's has Pflueger Presidents on sale right now for $20 less than regular price.
IMHO, it's worth the extra money to buy the Pflueger reel. It's money well spent.

:welcomeWelcome to Crappie.com from south central Mississippi. You have come to the right place to learn about crappie fishing. There are several different places to learn a lot here. Check these forums out here on crappie.com:
Check this forum out for side and down imaging questions and pictures.http://www.crappie.com/crappie/fishi...d-photography/
Check this forum out for learning and questions on How to crappie fish. http://www.crappie.com/crappie/begin...ntoring-forum/
Check your state forum out for information for lakes around your state. http://www.crappie.com/crappie/louisiana/

You can also type in questions on the advance search in the right hand corner of these forums for older questions and answers to most questions. I will be looking forward to seeing your reports and pictures in the future. I would like to say also that you need to beware crappie fishing can be very addicting. :fish

First welcome and listen to PawPaw Gene and he is also from your state and that board has a lot of good guys on it that I feel sure will help you a lot! Next this board is also a wealth of info and good guys! Next there are a lot of articles on this site and see if you can find them to read when you have time!

i also longline troll with my troll motor and go slow! The s for me is mostly a spring and fall method as they go deep here! A lot will depend on where you fish too! Lots of questions and just take you time and read all you can find!

Skip

Welcome. Where in Louisiana do you live? We fish from the North down to the Central part of the state.

I guess the best advice coming from what you would call a sophomore in crappie fishing would be to try to find you a mentor, or buddy in your area to kinda show you the ropes. Before I got on here, all i knew was to dunk a minner by a stump and hope for the best. But now, I have found out that there are a lot of different methods to catching them that dont require sitting in one place the whole time. Go to your state forum and read and search anything that comes to mind. Post that you are looking for someone to go fishing with. There are people that would love to help you out. Oh and the question about what crappie look like on a sonar. Dots, dashes, and lines is what I was told. Stay away from them big arches, them things jump in the both with ya!

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Originally Posted by Snuffy115

Cabela's has Pflueger Presidents on sale right now for $20 less than regular price.
IMHO, it's worth the extra money to buy the Pflueger reel. It's money well spent.

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Yes, they are offering the President at this price point. However, I'm always skeptical about buys like this that have an alteration in the model number. They've added an "X" after the model number on these reels. Not sure what that means, but it could be a product overrun or a slight change in the interior parts. Also, they do not offer a discount on the smallest size, the #6920. I have 3 of these reels and they are the finest quality, at this price point, on the market today.

Here's the link:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Pflue...s#productChart

Awesome start guys.. I will try my luck the weekend i guess... Why cheaper teels? Ive got several poles and reels already that i bass fish with... Of course i woukd drop line weight down, but other then that would a medium 7ft fast action Rainshadow with a Lews speed spool work.. Ive got a moderate action too... And a medium heavy too, but thought it might be too much... I dont have any lite action.. Anyhow, on the sideimage/downimage, thats good to know info about how different fish congregate differwntly...anyhow, any more tips and suggestions let me know.. Im fixin to go to bait shop to find some baits..

Awesome start guys.. I will try my luck the weekend i guess... Why cheaper teels? Ive got several poles and reels already that i bass fish with... Of course i woukd drop line weight down, but other then that would a medium 7ft fast action Rainshadow with a Lews speed spool work.. Ive got a moderate action too... And a medium heavy too, but thought it might be too much... I dont have any lite action.. Anyhow, on the sideimage/downimage, thats good to know info about how different fish congregate differwntly...anyhow, any more tips and suggestions let me know.. Im fixin to go to bait shop to find some baits..

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Originally Posted by msn26753

... Of course i woukd drop line weight down, but other then that would a medium 7ft fast action Rainshadow with a Lews speed spool work.. Ive got a moderate action too... And a medium heavy too, but thought it might be too much... I dont have any lite action..

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Your lightest bass spinning rod should work fine.

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Originally Posted by deathb4disco

Your lightest bass spinning rod should work fine.

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And with anything heavier, you will rob yourself of the sensitivity required to detect hits.

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Originally Posted by maxwell328

Welcome. Where in Louisiana do you live? We fish from the North down to the Central part of the state.

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I am in Central La... I fish alot of the Red around Alexandria....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by msn26753

Awesome start guys.. I will try my luck the weekend i guess... Why cheaper reels? Ive got several poles and reels already that i bass fish with... Of course i woukd drop line weight down, but other then that would a medium 7ft fast action Rainshadow with a Lews speed spool work.. Ive got a moderate action too... And a medium heavy too, but thought it might be too much... I dont have any lite action.. Anyhow, on the sideimage/downimage, thats good to know info about how different fish congregate differwntly...anyhow, any more tips and suggestions let me know.. Im fixin to go to bait shop to find some baits..

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cheaper reels? - As with bass or any species fishing, gear ratio can be important as well as spool diameter. You want to maintain pressure to the hook point once the fish is hooked and especially with long distance hook sets,
There are many reels under $50 that have a smooth drag that are medium in size and too small or too large a reel is a waste of money when using light action rods.
Medium action rods usually aren't great for pan fish whereas a light action rod gets a good hook set yet doesn't yank the hook out. I prefer 5 1/2' - 6' rods with a fast tip but never super ultralight that bends along its entire length.

line type - 10# test braid as the main line on the spool and a 2' or a bit less fluorocarbon leader of 6# test. Strike sensitivity is paramount! The line combo you the sensitivity to feel long distance, light strikes as well as allows a no nonsense hook set and the maintaining of hook pressure once hooked. The light leader allows the best lure action.

Baits -As far as baits are concerned, as a bass angler you must have a stock of thin finesse action worms. Cut off the last 1 3/4" - 2", *remove the curl tail , if any, and cut the end to a point. Then rig it on a 1/16 oz ball head jig (unpainted if possible). If larger fish are known to be around, a 1/8 oz jig head can work but only if the curve of the hook comes out at the top of the worm less than half way the length from the front of the lure. (Note: plastic trout worms are too thin and flimsy.) There are many many lures that work for crappie as long as they aren't too long.

*remove the curl tail - reason being:
the presentation versatility factor. A lure is more versatile at the slowest retrieves when nothing affects its action except the rod tip and reel handle. With curl tail grubs, the curl tail has a muted action on the bait, whether on the drop or when mixing up lure speeds. Today I caught crappie and other species in 6' but the most and largest fish in 15'. In deeper water I want the lure to dart and die - one of the most effective retrieves when using light lures; a curl tail subdues that. Curl tails are IMO okay for straight retrieves near vegetation though there are better curl tail designs (IE Power Grubs). But even 2" tubes work better IMO.

*** You want the lure to quiver and dart at any retrieve speed and with rod top twitches as well as reel handle pauses. Fish don't usually go for steady retrieves as you know from bass fishing and the slower the better. You'll still cover large areas even when working the lure slow horizontally at a particular depth (which is mid way down in deep or shallow water.

Wherever you search for bass, you most likely will find crappie especially when weed beds are present. Always fan cast around the boat shallow and deep because crappies may school at any depth. Bass structure works for crappie.

Zebco combo comes with all you need except minners. I still use mine. Knowing "nothing" and admitting it is a confession of intelligence.