New Crappie fisherman

Hail all,

My step dad and i have mainly bream fished all our lives together. Cricket and a #6 hook and we are good to go! I cant imagine the # of fish we have caught over the years. But the big slab crappie have always a mystery to me . we catch then now and again but never fish exclusively for them. I am gona change that!!! I finally have a boat and can go fishing much more often. i have always wanted to crappie fish now i can. Today was the first day i have ever fished with just jigs. Went to Pickthorn hung one really nice slab on a white/blue tube jig, but got Lil excited and tried to pick him up over the side of the boat with no net...bad idea...he kinda just hung there on the edge of the boat be for slipping back in to the water.;( was exciting. wind was terrible today.
Looking for any words of wisdom for all you master Crappie fisherman. all Info will be greatly appreciated.

TYVM

Fetmo:D

Welcome to the board Fetmo, glad you joined us. I'm sure you'll enjoy crappie fishing and look forward to your reports and pictures.

WELCOME FROM TARHEEL COUNTRY!

Welcome to the board and the wonderful world of crappie fishing from VA! One word of advice... GET A NET!!! :D:D:D
Blake

Welcome from Batesville, AR. Keep us posted on your fishing trips.

Welcome from Texas.Sometimes you have to learn the hard way.Good luck.

Welcome from Albertville Alabama. :)You might want to invest in a dipnet the big ones are hard to swing into the boat.:D

Welcome aboard!!!!

Fetmo, you are what this board is all about! You have come to the right place and at the right time. The bite is ON.

Read archival stuff and soak it in like a sponge and you will have a great Spring. On your 'home' lake, put the time in on the water and learn it. Get yourself a decent GPS unit sos you can find the brush piles time and again. That one piece of equipment will transform your fishing.

I hope to see you posting here often. WELCOME! <><

aj

Welcome aboard Fetmo....Where in the state are you?

Welcome Fetmo form Seymour,Mo.

Welcome Fetmo, From Lake Nimrod in Arkansas!:)

I live in Pulaski Co, jsut north of Gravel Ridge.

Fetmo,

I fish there quite often and catch 5-6 almost every visit; trolling with minnows along the east channel running parallel to the access road toward the back dock. And catfish is plentiful as well.

With this lake, a sonar is a must-have due to it being very shallow with the exception of the channel of course.

I'm a newbie to Crappie fishing by accident and now I'm addicted (just wish I can find them like LA and CP, etc...)

Welcome from Indiana

PS
The coffee pot is on, served all day long

Welcome aboard Fetmo, hope you enjoy it here.

Welcome to the sight. E-mail me and we can set up a trip on Millwood lake in south western arkansas for some big crappie.

Welcome and get ready for all the information you need

welcome aboard you will enjoy crappie.com keep us posted on where the fish are biting.

Welcome from the Lake of the Ozarks MO!

Welcome aboard!

Welcome

Welcome to the board. You'll certainly learn alot! Looking forward to hearing about your trips and seeing the pics!:)

Welcome to the board, I ust to live in Jacksonville while in the Air Force and fished Pickthorn allot yes it has some nice crappie in it. I caught allot of mine in the timber slip bobber about 2-4 feet most times and minnows or verticle jigging with a 10 foot BnM rod. I would keep moving until i caught one. Try it out and good luck. CP

Welcome to the site from Mineral Springs and Lake Millwood. A dip net is nice to have in Millwood. The fiberglass poles are a battle to land these big boys if you have your line too long when your pole bends. I keep my line a little shorter than the pole that way I can lift them over the side.

New at Crappie Fishing.--I share what Arkie John mentioned.--Know the water you are fishing, completely, like habitit under the water and water depths and temperature.

Know the habits of Crappie for the entire year and than ask yourself where they would be located. If you have done your homework and know their habits, you can cut the search to almost nothing if you know the area you are fishing.
Millwood is such a large lake you may get in the area but within that area you still must troll around until you find them and that may cover a large area. There is areas here at Millwood the crappie will return to the same spots each season if the water levels stay the same at 259 feet, normal pooling.
When the lake is at normal pooling this is when you need to explore the lake and search for the sites you wish to try.

Myself, I enjoy exploring creeks, coves and go where others do not venture. Some are scared of tight places and the Gators, but crappie go where it is at times very tough to find them or get to them. I drop a minnow if I even suspect crappie is there or if it looks promising. Once you find them spawning the first time and catch your limit, than next time you will look for those same look alike spots or places like drop offs, creeks and so forth-----Good Luck----Jim