Proper Gear for a Crappie-hunter?

[NorwayStacie]

I am brand new to crappie fishing, and could use some basic advice.

I have a pole and I have a reel plus a few bobbers. For a newbie such as myself with only a few bucks to spend, what are the absolute MUST HAVE's for a day at the lake?

For hooks, what size? For line, what weight? And for any plastic/fake bait - well, if you could attach a pic, that would be great! I am seeing words like crankbait and jig and spinners and I have no clue what any of that references!

As for the method itself - do you throw the line out and wait for the bob to get pulled or is this more the type of fishing where you are constantly throwing out the line and bringing it in and keeping things moving?

I am heading out tomorrow to see what the day brings, but any information to help me be better prepared would surely be appreciated!

[Cane Pole]

Dozen minners and a tote sack full of patience makes for a good day.

[majflyboy]

I agree with canepole. Fish the minnows around stickups, trees, stumps.

[dnchance]

Crankbait:


Jig:


Spinners:


As for hooks for live baits (minnows, shiners, etc.) probably a number 2 light wire hook.

You can fish all the fake lures by casting and retrieving them from the bank/boat and you can also cast the jigs under a bobber or float to control the depth that you run it.

The live bait can just be ran under a bobber. If you will be on a boat then that opens up a lot more possibilities. But if you don't want to buy a bunch of new equipment, then go get some minnows or whatever they have in your area and use those.

Also hit up the MO boards under the state forums and search that for summertime crappie tips for that area.

[CrappieKillerJigs]

Norway i dont know what part of MO you are in but there is alot of great guys on your side of the river...i know more then one of them would be more then happy to take you and show you the do's and dont's and show you the waters...if you are close to st.louis i would be more then happy

[NorwayStacie]

THANK YOU for the pics - wow, that alone cleared up a bunch of confusion!

[NorwayStacie]

Norway i dont know what part of MO you are in but there is alot of great guys on your side of the river...i know more then one of them would be more then happy to take you and show you the do's and dont's and show you the waters...if you are close to st.louis i would be more then happy

Thanks for the offer, that would be awesome, but I live in Kansas City. This is the exact problem though I was discussing with my hubby - for those of us who didn't grow up fishing and learning through our dads, it's pretty hard to make sense of all the stuff on the fish aisle in Wal-Mart - heaven forbid I step foot in Cabela's!

[dnchance]

If you just want some basics on the fishing equipment and like pictures and video. Bass Pro Shops has an outdoor library section with hundreds of articles and videos that cover the basics of all different types of fishing.... a couple of hours on there and the fishing aisle at Wal-Mart will not be big enough and you'll have no problems in Cabela's

[NorwayStacie]

Oh my - I just quick-checked on their website, and you're right - tons of stuff!! Thanks a bunch ... I will figure this out yet!

[anchorpuller]

Stacie,

Being a girl that wasn't taken fishing by her Dad as well; I learned mostly through trial and error. Over the years there have been a lot of lessons. I have learned a lot here on Crappie.com.
There are two books that helped me understand a lot of what was being discussed in the forums as well as giving me the questions to ask that made my fishing more productive.

Crappie Wisdom by Al Linder- An older book chock full of useful info.
and
The Crappie Book- Basics and Beyond by Keith Sutton- Again, chock full of great info.

As for equipment, what I use most of the time is an inexpensive spinning reel/lightweight rod combo, some 4-6 pound mono line and a 1/0 fishing hook. Add a bit of splitshot weight and a thill style bobber , slide a minnow on the hook (I hook em through the eyes) and I'm in business.

This is varied depending on where and how I'm fishing. I have brought coolers of fish home just using a telescopic pole rigged like you would a cane pole, using a bobber and a hook with a bit of split shot. Whole set up costs less than $15. Of course, that won't work when the fish are deeper.
An example:
B'n'M Black Widow Crappie Rod


As for fishing the artificial bait; cranks and jigs- I'm still learning. I'll leave that to the experts around here to help ya with!

Good luck!