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Reply With QuoteNice fish, what rod and reel combination did you shoot the docks with? I lost a nice Smallie this afternoon from the bank, it is what keeps us going back for more
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Lanier 2/17/20
Lake 5.2' over full pool, very stained up rivers, surface temp 51 F. I put in at Laurel Park, fished Little River area from around 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Checked a lot of brush piles and flooded brush, but no dice, then found some big crappie under docks in 20-15 FOW. Fish were hanging near the surface (looking with Livescope), so I didn't let the jig sink much after a shot before starting a slow retrieve. I pulled some real nice slabs from under a few docks, on black/chart hand-ties and BGBS in licorice-chartreuse-pearl or key lime pie. I kept four over 13" for tacos, including this one I will call my best from Lanier so far. I did lose one at the boat that was VERY big, He was barely hooked, and came unbuttoned as I was reaching for the net. Oh well. At least I found an area with some good-sized fish. When this rain clears out, I'll be going back.
"Alive without breath, as cold as death; never thirsty, ever drinking, all in mail never clinking."
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Nice fish, what rod and reel combination did you shoot the docks with? I lost a nice Smallie this afternoon from the bank, it is what keeps us going back for more
jawjatek LIKED above post
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Nice. Enjoy the tacos and thanks for sharing.
"Just Like Iron Sharpens Iron... So it is that One Man Sharpens Another Man." Proverbs 27:17
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Stan, I'm glad you asked! This may shock some, but I shoot with a JDM rod: Major Craft Triple Cross TCX-T682-AJI. I have a Daiwa Regal LT 2000D on it. The rod was a generous gift from another CDC member and friend.
Today I also had my Yamaga Blanks BC 71/TZ NANO with 15 Luvias 2004H, my Tict IC-69-Sis with 20 Luvias 2000s, and a 5'6" ACC Crappie Stix with a vintage Garcia-Mitchell 408. I caught the big crappie on the Yamaga, and I think I caught at least one fish on all 4 rods today.
I have a bunch of US dock shooter rods for sale: Denali, ACC, Ozark. There's no going back after shooting with the Triple Cross. Think about it - after you make that good shot and get the jig up way under there, you now need sensitivity on the retrieve above all, and enough backbone to yank that big slab out without disturbing the school. The TCX is an AJI rod, which means it feels stiff, shoots good, and yanks 'em right outta there, but it is light as a feather and you can feel the daintiest pick-up or sudden weight. I'm hooked, pun intended. Thanks Scott for the great rod!
I also shoot with the other rods - I need several so when I inevitably get hung and have to break off, I just grab another rod and keep fishing. I try to shoot with the TCX mostly, and use the ACC when the TCX gets snagged. The Yamaga and Tict are there when I see fish on brush and cast/jig for them, or the shot is easy.
"Alive without breath, as cold as death; never thirsty, ever drinking, all in mail never clinking."
Slabmaster II
Nice fish, way to stay after them till you find what works. We camped at Lanier around Labor Day last year and had a hard time finding many crappie. We caught a lot of spots, but thats not crappie.
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Headed to Little River on Sunday. May do some Spider Rigging. Others will be longlining. Hopefully the water will clear up just a bit and they will get out and roam some. I will remember to scout some docks if I’m not catching any.
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I went back today 11:30 - 4:30. I didn't see hardly any other boats, and boy, was the water dirty. I saw a whole huge tree floating free out in the channel, a monster. Wind got up on me toward the afternoon, but the bite was very good. I quit counting at 15 fish, and I released all. Over half were slabs over 11".
I was dock-shooting again, checking the docks with SI and Livescope. If I got a jig to the fish, they bit it immediately. They seemed hungry for the Lights Out color (black/chart) BGBS, and like I said, the water was nasty, muddy and full of debris upriver where I was. Spots were hanging about, as usual, and would also bite the jig. Caught a new PB crappie for Lanier, a big fat 15 inch fish, but now I have to get a scale to be sure going forward. The sky was dark when I quit, and more rain is headed our way. Great, huh?
"Alive without breath, as cold as death; never thirsty, ever drinking, all in mail never clinking."
