Do you really need a graph to ketch crappie ?

Some would say yes for sure . Some would say it helps to locate them . I would be the first to agree with those statements in many cases .
But to be just as sure and yet another question , do you need an expensive graph to ketch the crappie ? Some would say yes for sure . Some would say it helps to locate them . I would be the first to agree with those statements in many cases .
And yet others might say to really hurt a nice box full you most certainly have to have a graph if you are out on the lake and or river . I would often agree with that statement as well .......
But "if" you know the lake well and the seasonal traditions and few spots they will likely be hanging around during the times you visit that lake . NO you don't really need a graph is the answer .
Case in point , a couple of nice guys give me a boat ride once a week , they both have pretty good boats . The larger of the bunch is a center console and on said boat are 2 inexpensive graphs . The two stops we made on the lake this week DID NOT require a graph ! both stops were each a single dead head tree near the shore .
We only visited 2 hours and we did glance at the graphs once or twice and I even made mention that isn't it amazing to get bit every drop and see almost no fish in the strike zone on the front or back graph !
Mind you this yawl , we could have turned them off and done as well or better . We know the lake well and we know where to look and the bestest ever way to tell if they are down there and biting is to ...pitch that jig :Rofl
So pitch that jig and concentrate on that rod and line and look away from THAT LIGHT !
Do not go into the light I tell ya .......:yikes
KABOOM is the word yawl and this aint no fooling around :cheers2
p.s. I pitched all kinds of stuff just for fun ,medium sized jigs worked best and the orange handtie whooped all the rest of them BIGTIME , fish were about a foot off the bottom bay the bases of the logs in around 12 foot of water 8 am to 10 am .

Very productive 2 hours!

Awesome job, KABOOM FOR SURE BUDDY!

Great job. I think it’s difficult to to be initially successful on a new lake without some type of electronics! That being said, me and my brothers spent the 70’s chasing walleyes around Ontario with only a flasher! We made detailed notes in a note book, ( ie line up blue cottage with silo at entrance to Hay Bay, 80 yards out). Sure was a simpler time!


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Jig color by committee? Toss the Tackle box at them as well? Does color really matter for actively feeding fish? 2 hours of fishing time, you did well and the questions posed are of course in fun but seeing the pics of all the different color combinations hanging from their paper mouths makes you think about the myriad of colors we label as our favorites or the best. KaBoom of many colors was the word!

Speaking of colors I think for the longest we've looked at them wrong...... It's not the colors it's the contrast or lack there of ..... Be it bright, dark or natural...... What say you?

Nice ketchn Ketchum.......

I think 2 things about colors on jigs
1 how bright is it in the water ? No matter the color
2 does it need contrast to get their attention maybe ?
The one thing I religiously do is swim it a bit before I drop it
How deep is it visible to my eye and does it closely resemble a baitfish?

Interesting!

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Originally Posted by SKs Crappie Catching Adventures

Speaking of colors I think for the longest we've looked at them wrong...... It's not the colors it's the contrast or lack there of ..... Be it bright, dark or natural...... What say you?

Nice ketchn Ketchum.......

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I think you’re on to something there. There are of course many factors, but not for nothing one hot color one day is a dud on another, same piece of water, and sometimes moving from one location to another on the stream the color may change more than once. Same bait, same technique. That keeps it interesting!
Bob

I think that the influencing factor, was that the both of you were wearing the same kind of hat. Or maybe not.

On waters you haven't been on, a graph is well worth checking for bait fish at least. No fish of any kind on the graph- less likely fish are in the area.
Fish locations change seasonally if not monthly and you got to find them and hopefully a pattern if you're going to catch them. My partner insisted we fish an area where we caught over 80 fish - mostly crappie and large sunfish. But that was two weeks ago. I told him we were going to a different area with different structure and sure enough we caught over 115 fish before 12:30 pm. I had found many baitfish schools in the area a few days before with the Lowrance and did very well.

Lure color a big factor? The lures Ketchn showed work - period! anytime fish are found regardless the color. Lure action and how he worked the lure is key. The same buddy I mentioned refuses to cast anything but a red body/chartreuse tail Crappie Magnet on a 1/24 oz jig. He catches just as many fish as I do playing around with many lure designs, sizes and colors that are different from one another.

General rule of fishing:
Find location / use any number of good lures with the right presentation = fish caught.

spoon you are spot on no doubt , i know a fella that ONLY pitches a red tube with a chart tail and he flat wears out the fish year round with that ONE bait ! :cheers2

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Originally Posted by S10CHEVY

I think that the influencing factor, was that the both of you were wearing the same kind of hat. Or maybe not.

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this is also spot on , all 3 of us had the same basic straws on .....but sadly enough the captain of the boat just wasnt swinging fish . not sure why but he couldnt seem to fling them. he managed 2 or 3 but he mostly didnt ketch ?

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Originally Posted by rcfillingham

Great job. I think it’s difficult to to be initially successful on a new lake without some type of electronics! That being said, me and my brothers spent the 70’s chasing walleyes around Ontario with only a flasher! We made detailed notes in a note book, ( ie line up blue cottage with silo at entrance to Hay Bay, 80 yards out). Sure was a simpler time!


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

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i would agree TOTALLY with new lake strategy and a lack of electronics , crappie can be one of the most difficult fish to find and ketch in my opinion and to go in on a new water blind would likely not be a good situation .

All valid observations no doubt. Perhaps one of the most valuable messages in this thread is the most obvious: Most fishermen tend to greatly "over-complicate" the very fundamental act of fish catching and on-the-water relaxation.

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Originally Posted by Special K

All valid observations no doubt. Perhaps one of the most valuable messages in this thread is the most obvious: Most fishermen tend to greatly "over-complicate" the very fundamental act of fish catching and on-the-water relaxation.

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Funny though, when I fish I'm not relaxed: tense feeling for the strike, tense setting the hook and playing the fish until its in the boat. Only then can I relax. LOL But I agree, expensive electronics and equipment are no guarantees of a good day on the water. Simply believing that my lure and sonar (for depth, bottom composition, fish of any kind and weeds) are my fish finders is the first step towards increasing the odds of catching them. Fish location patterns are based on such things and many patterns can be present on a water on any given day.

Although I have a preference for artificial only/ultra-light finesse fishing, I've never witnessed Panoptix forward scan. After pondering, I have come up with this analogy = Fishing w/o PFS could be similar to watching a movie(at a theater- big screen etc.) with blinders on...no see-ums!:Rofl

u2s

One lake I fish the Crappie population is suspended over deep water most of the year so in that instance yes electronics are a must have, unless you want to drift or troll aimlessly for hours with out a bite.

Another I fish they use deep structure 18 feet plus if you cannot find the structure you have problems Will Robinson.

in many lakes there are 3 distinct populations of fish .
one lives it life in the shallow end of the lake
two lives its life in deeper parts of the lake on cover
the third prefers the open water roaming
there have been studies done on this
it covered multiple species
i frequently target the fish in the barrel ...population one :cheers2

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Originally Posted by Ketchn

spoon you are spot on no doubt , i know a fella that ONLY pitches a red tube with a chart tail and he flat wears out the fish year round with that ONE bait ! :cheers2

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You mean Jeffery is right and I should switch from my black tube with chartreuse tail to his red tube with chartreuse tail as my go-to jig? That's hard advice to accept. :Rofl

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Originally Posted by ezgoing

You mean Jeffery is right and I should switch from my black tube with chartreuse tail to his red tube with chartreuse tail as my go-to jig? That's hard advice to accept. :Rofl

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i didn't say it was right , it was just an observation . you know from what you have seen in the past when all of us get together on the fish that there are days when one bait will for sure produce more than another my friend :cheers2

This started as is a graph needed to catch crappie and has turned into a squabble over jig colors ---- so far no looting and I'm learning stuff -- gotta love it !!!

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Originally Posted by StantheMan2567

Jig color by committee? Toss the Tackle box at them as well? Does color really matter for actively feeding fish? 2 hours of fishing time, you did well and the questions posed are of course in fun but seeing the pics of all the different color combinations hanging from their paper mouths makes you think about the myriad of colors we label as our favorites or the best. KaBoom of many colors was the word!

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I think Stan the Man has said the magic "woid"(Groucho Marx)!! With any grade of electronics the ultimate question that presents itself "Are the fish I'm seeing in BAM..."bite {active} mode" right HERE/NOW!?? I have experienced the bite turn on/off or off/on @same location/same day. Same electronics, same marks, even experimenting w/color changes. That being said if we had been successful same day/days at this GPS location, cheaper less sophisticated do not have the advantage that the Forward/side scan, LiveScope(big bucks) units provide at finding additional "targets"! The old adage "you can lead a horse to water, but he doesn't HAVE to drink it" pretty much sums up our catch-a-fish challenges. Also, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do". Obviously, w/o ANY electronics you're asking Jose Feliciano's Guide service to put you on the bite.:Rofl Long story/less Long a Live Scope setup is on my immediate list! :ThumbsUp
(reference- the Money-driven Pros...look inside their boats!):twocents

That being said- What are the latest upgrades/recommendations on a soon2buy Livescope Panoptics system. I have several boats/electric motors that I use, and would like the simpler/cheaper swap-out transducer ideas(shaft mount or independent mount). Thanks in advance-

u2s

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Originally Posted by Ketchn

i didn't say it was right , it was just an observation . you know from what you have seen in the past when all of us get together on the fish that there are days when one bait will for sure produce more than another my friend :cheers2

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:Rofl Just pulling your leg, my friend. While black tube with chartreuse tail is one of my favorite jig colors you know I do sometimes switch colors, especially when another is pulling in crappie with their favorite jig while mine is not producting. rotfl

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Originally Posted by DRFISHDUCK

This started as is a graph needed to catch crappie and has turned into a squabble over jig colors ---- so far no looting and I'm learning stuff -- gotta love it !!!

Sent from my SM-J337P using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

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no squabble, just fun among good friends. White Flag Icon

Go ahead and tell us about your livescope dock setup..... There------ just----- ain't------ no------- way----- you're catchn'um without it....:cheers2
JK.....
LOL.....
I SAID I WAS JUST KIDDING......:fish ON.....

it is terribly good fun to sit around at the boat slip and stare at that scope and watch how fish act when you put a jig in front of them .
if i was serious about ketchn crappie i to would have me a scope , but alas i just want to play with them when i have time.
heck i am still having trouble convincing my wife i need a boat ! she is like why ? i dont get it .....
you ketch like crazy right off the banks and docks , i am like i know honey .....but .....rotfl

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Originally Posted by SKs Crappie Catching Adventures

Go ahead and tell us about your livescope dock setup..... There------ just----- ain't------ no------- way----- you're catchn'um without it....:cheers2
JK.....
LOL.....
I SAID I WAS JUST KIDDING......:fish ON.....

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I admit that when I first got Livescope I set it up as a portable rig so I could use it on the slips. But I could not find a lithium battery locally so I set it up with a jet ski battery. It was too much work toting that battery around so I soon set it up permanently on the front of my pontoon.

I admit that I do use it when I am fishing the front of my slip where ketchn kindly placed a lot of bamboo. Since I have it on the front of my pontoon it would be foolish not to use it when fishing that area. But I also catch crappie at the sides of my slips and when I am poaching in my neighboring slips so I deny your observation. :Rofl

Plus I know some other individuals whom I shall not name that also use it when fishing the front of that slip. rotfl

All I know is ... if the operator says to the left 3 feet and down about a foot I get bit :Rofl

After the fall turnover a graph is a must. Crappies are in scattered pods and hard to find.
Maping is another graph feature that is very helpful.

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Originally Posted by RLS40

After the fall turnover a graph is a must. Crappies are in scattered pods and hard to find.
Maping is another graph feature that is very helpful.

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Finding them is not the problem. Getting them to bite is the problem! :dono:help

I don't need no stinkin' graph! I'd rather spend my money on cameras!

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Originally Posted by funbun

I don't need no stinkin' graph! I'd rather spend my money on cameras!

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heck them fellas got so many cameras i rode with the other day and electronics on that rig that I could buy a pretty nice boat with what they have in that equipment .
Never mind the 10,000 he had tied up in all the graphs and trolling motor ,there were go pro cameras all over the place running at the same time :Rofl
note rear light pole :yikes
and silly me just has a 100 dollar Samsung telephone for a camera rotfl

heck the front of the boat was like something out of a spy movie i tell ya :Rofl