Rip Rap In The Rain

There I stood on the rip rap, just as light was breaking. Not a sound to be heard, except the rain falling on the water and a lone turkey gobble off in the distance.
I had my float and fly in hand. It consisted of a 10ft BnM double touch rod, a16th oz white fly, and a top weighted bobber.
I gave a pitch to my left, just a short distance off the rip rap. Lightly touching down, the bobber stood up as the jig settled in. A moment more and the bobber laid on its side, which indicating a strike! I set the hook! The crappie showed its displeasure by furiously struggling to get free, but was unsuccessful. After a quick photo I returned him to the water and started the search for another. I managed to use this technique to score a total of 12 crappie. One bass and one blue gill fell for this as well. Soon no more bites were to be had and I went on my way.

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I won't intentionally fish in the rain, but if it starts while I'm fishing, out comes the wet gear. I figure the fish don't care they are already wet... :ThumbsUp

Painted a beautiful picture in my mind, ESPECIALLY the gobbler!! :cheers2

Enjoyed your crappie story
Glad to hear you are having some crappie days

Great story! Enjoyed reading the report.:)

wonderful mind picture thanks. I too love to fish off the rip rap, put that bobber out there or just toss a jig and retrieve and do well doing it. Don't need no stinking livescope to have a great day for crappie! Plus when you hear gobbling too? Now that's heaven to me.

Fun and productive! Great report!

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Originally Posted by hdhntr

wonderful mind picture thanks. I too love to fish off the rip rap, put that bobber out there or just toss a jig and retrieve and do well doing it. Don't need no stinking livescope to have a great day for crappie! Plus when you hear gobbling too? Now that's heaven to me.

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You know, I like to try all sorts of ways to catch crappie. No matter the technique, I have found that mixing it up keeps things interesting. As far as live scope technology, I do not think it is for me. Seems almost as exciting as hunting from the road.

Great report, I enjoy fishing off the bank also. Creeks and culverts are my favorite, with catching, photographing, and releasing being my usual as well.

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Originally Posted by Pantastic

You know, I like to try all sorts of ways to catch crappie. No matter the technique, I have found that mixing it up keeps things interesting. As far as live scope technology, I do not think it is for me. Seems almost as exciting as hunting from the road.

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First off, I recognize that bank....don't you just hate it?;-)
Secondly, don't knock road hunting. I relish every late afternoon road hunt for ditch parrots in SD.

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Originally Posted by USMA65

First off, I recognize that bank....don't you just hate it?;-)
Secondly, don't knock road hunting. I relish every late afternoon road hunt for ditch parrots in SD.

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ON MY BUCKET LIST to hunt pheasant in SD!! Hunted them when I was a kid in southern Michigan but the stuff I saw/heard about in SD looked AWESOME.
:cheers2

...for now, I'll keep chasing the Thunder-Chickens in the hills around here

In my younger days, I used to fish off the rip rap, but try not to do that anymore. I fished with CUonthelake the other day and twisted my knee. Hurt like the dickens the next day, but Tylenol and horse liniment took care of it. You did good with that long rod, Gene. Great looking fish.

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Originally Posted by drumking

In my younger days, I used to fish off the rip rap, but try not to do that anymore. I fished with CUonthelake the other day and twisted my knee. Hurt like the dickens the next day, but Tylenol and horse liniment took care of it. You did good with that long rod, Gene. Great looking fish.

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Yes Drumking there are plenty of opportunites to bust it on the rip rap. Especially when it is covered with that slick algea when the water is down. I started to put something about that into my report but in the end decided not to.
I have tried a few different rod lengths with this float n fly method and feel as if the 10ft does a good job. Only issue is I can feel it in the wrist after a little while. I hear the acc crappie sticks are lighter but I haven't actually put my hands on one yet for a review.

Try a long rod with a rear seat spinning reel. It will take a lot of stress off the wrist joint.