Thread: Crappie Tournaments

most tournaments let you trailer to any ramp so your boat would be plenty.if you have a local crappie club you should join it.you will learn lots from the other members and make some good friends.

your have to start somewhere is right...i use to fish out of crap boats in tournaments...i have up graded to a 20ft polar kraft but its not the boat that wins tournaments its the guys in the boat...you might get into them really good and win some money you just never know till you do it...if im paying $200 to enter a tournament and then driving 500 miles each way then cost of hotel,gas,food and ect and im not catching fish good then its getting frustrating...but lil local tournaments then its just fun

i'd say join a club first to see if you like it. your boat will be fine as long as you can trailer to launches. you'll learn a lot just by watching, listening, and asking questions. i've been to tournaments where guys are fishing in 50k setups and other guys are fishing in 500 dollar setups. that's no joke.

Fish don't care what kind of boat you are and they probably hate boats but you have to start somewhere and who cares what kind of boat you have as long as it floats and you like it. I have a 17' Alumcraft and love it. I would love to have a big 21' boat but can't afford it so I will stick with my Alumacraft Super Bandit.

Me and my fishing partner were crappie fishing nuts, for about 10yrs then we started fishing crappie usa did it for about 4 yrs. Honestly it kinda burn't us out. the travel, motels, pre-fishing and disappointment.We finished in top 10 3 times at weiss, qualified for classic at Neely Henry but the pressure to win and travel wore us out.I think hiring a good guide you learn more on different lakes, But you only live once experience all you can. Smaller boats can have a advantage on some lakes, especially during spawn. Study your map go where the bass boats won't.

I am on the outside looking in but it seems that Alabama has a couple of "smaller" tournament trails going with North Alabama and Coosa River Crappie that would be perfect for what you are looking for(me too if it were a little closer)....You might get some help from guys on the bigger trails but I always take what is said by them and what's written online with a grain of salt b/c a lot of times it ain't the whole truth....those guys know that typically CUSA and CMASTERS come back to the same lakes and aren't going to give away their secrets....can't really blame them in all honesty.....
If it's knowledge you are wanting then fish the smaller clubs and/or go fish the lake when the big tournaments are around and see what's going on....but whatever you do don't let the price of your boat determine what you decide....the price/size of your boat should only come into play when it comes to how safe it will be to be on the lake that day with weather conditions........my $.02

Join a club you will meet some friends with the same goals to catch more fish and have fun doing it. I dont know what part of alabama you are in but you can come fish 1 tournament with us without joining to see how you like it. Check out our web site at SHOALS AREA CRAPPIE ASSOCIATION. We fish the north alabama lakes wheeler,wilson, pickwick,guntersville and the b.c.d.a. lakes

hey, Shoals area crappie association is a great place to start. Come join us and you will see it aint the boat. Great bunch of guys, and you will learn a ton about catching fish around these areas.

The Crappie USA classic a few years ago was won in a canoe.