What am I doing wrong?

[olddude]

I have read on this and other sites information on catching crappie. I have tried to absorb all of the information I can, am using jigs, roadrunners, minnows, etc., have talked to others who are catching but, alas, I still come up empty. I fish from a flatbottom boat in the same location as others, have a hummingbird fishfinder, use slip bobber, no bobber, fish off the bottom and all points in between but can't seem to get a bite. I am frustrated by not catching anything but I go as often as I can (2 -3 times a week) to waters that hold crappie in the early morning, mid-day, evening but not night because I have no lights on boat. What else can I do? Thanks

[TDHcrappiemaster]

If you have a trolling motor you should try longline trolling.
I use a 1/16 ounce roadrunner with a 2" twister a different color everyday it seems. But tip that with a bee moth, Crappie nibble or minnow and drag it behind the boat at .8 mph to 1.2mph just keep trolling till you find them and then you can just keep passing back and forth thru the school.
This is a great way to catch alot of fish....

Hope this helps.
Tom

[crappieseeker]

olddude, have you stayed within visible distance from some of the people that have been catching them? One of the best things to do to learn is to just follow people from a distance and learn by watching them. Sometimes its the little things that leave a live well empty or fill it up. Good Luck to you

[soswine]

Would encourage you to ask the same questions in the Arkansas forum and ask about the specific place you fish the most. There are all sorts of general concepts and it sounds like you have tried most of them but it seems like most of the places I have fished there are a couple of things that will work better than others. Folks that fish the same water you do should be better able to point you in the right direction.

[CRAPPIEHUNTER68]

In my opinion it is time for you to hire a guide for a day. There are little things you learn from being in the boat with a good guide that would take forever to learn on your own. I am sure you can get a guide on the lake you prefer to fish for 250.00 a day and that will be a small price to pay for what you learn.
Just my 2 cents and I no longer guide but I have seen this work many times.

[Eager Beaver]

You might ask at your local bait shop for someone that is willing to fish with you on occasion and to show you some things that will help you understand what they are doing and what you aren't doing to catch fish. Most things are just little things that are different but make a whole lot of difference in the catching. You can learn more from one trip with someone that can catch fish than by watching a ton of videos or reading lots of mags or books.
Last time I was out fishing a couple of guys saw that I was catching fish and watched for a while and then put the same jig on and still didn't catch any decent fish. The difference was they throw to the bank and cranked it right back in while I pitched the jig to certain locations and let it drop a couple of feet before I reeled it back to the boat. Little things make a lot of difference to catching or not. Attention to detail is very important. I modify some jigs after I get them so they work better for me. EB

[deathb4disco]

In my opinion it is time for you to hire a guide for a day. There are little things you learn from being in the boat with a good guide that would take forever to learn on your own. I am sure you can get a guide on the lake you prefer to fish for 250.00 a day and that will be a small price to pay for what you learn.
Just my 2 cents and I no longer guide but I have seen this work many times.

Ditto. There are several good guides who post here and are sponsors. It would be well worth your time to spend a day with one of them.

[brushnjigs]

It could be that you are not fishing at the proper depth. Keep your eyes on the hummingbird and adjust your baits to the depth you see them at. Then finding the right speed if trolling to get the bites. Turn the fish ID OFF on the bird and after a while you will be able to learn what each species looks like on the screen, just takes a lot of seat time. Different colors during different times of the day can pay off big time also, it all depends on the light penetration to how clear the water is. The darker the conditions the darker the color of bait. Im sure there is someone in your area that can show you the ropes. Check on the Ark board for a partner

[eriksat1]

I fish in the northern states but have seen time and again where people don't catch, I am pulling them in one after the other, they try and get as close as they can, fish all around my boat but still don't catch fish. The fish can be very finicky at times and I can usually see why they aren't catching fish. They are using too big of a float (bobber) and too big of fishing line, it looks like rope compared to my 2 lb test line,and 1/32 oz jig, and they are using to big of bait/hook/jig. On my rig with 2lb line a 1/32 oz, or even a 1/64 oz jig and a 1bb split shot, 2 bb's would make the float go under. Little things can make all the difference.

[creekslick]

What lake or lakes are you fishing?