Thread: How do i find crappie without a fish finder, all of the cover is underwater

First of all, do you have a boat?

Thanks for this advice! After reading this I went and printed a bunch of topo maps out to get an idea of what the lakes look like. I do not have any sort of electronics on my small pontoon boat and I am new to crappie fishing also. I follow crappie.com closely for all the up to date tips and advice! Hopefully I will be able to post a picture of my first slab soon!

Check the personal classified adds on this forum. There are a lot of good used units out there for not much money. I have personally given 3 units away to beginners after an upgrade.
Stay on your state forum and ask advice there. There is an old geezer out there just waiting to share what he knows with a youngun you will see. Listen to what is posted and just keep trying. If you ever get to missouri, give me a call. I'll take you.


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Originally Posted by Cmj

X2 it seems to be overstated around here, but it's just that important. Last week, it seemed the only way to catch them here was casting a RR head with a large body at a fast retrieve. Only problem was, the bite was so light that it almost seemed stupid to set the hook at some of the tics I was feeling. Every time I set the hook I was expecting to come up empty, but he would be there every time. Other people were trying the same thing, right down to the same bait/colors, and not having any luck. They just werent setting the hook. I think people expect the fish to hook themselves while casting, but that's not always the case. When in doubt, set the hook.



C.J.

Hooksets are free!!!

The best thing anyone can do when learning a lake is to look at maps. Contour maps will show channels, humps, drop offs, points and more. If there is a topo map online of the lake before it was flooded then that can show old roads, railroads, pits, etc.
Google maps will let you go back in time and see when the lake might have been very low and can reveal some shore structure.
If you are in a boat and find structure or cover you can mark it with a gps app on smartphone or using a handheld gps like garmin etrex. Same goes for banks fishing also.
Most of my info has came from this site. These guys/gals are great. They have many,many years experience. It takes time and tenacity to learn a lake and be able to fish it effectively. And even with that even the crappies win sometimes.
I'm still learning, and im learning it takes time on the water more than anything. So keep it up and don't make it a chore. Once things start making sense all the time put in will be worth it.