Just Starting Out

[nrw1717]

I have looked over this forum for a while and have become really intersted in crappie fishing. The problem is I do not have a whole lot of knowledge of what I need and what are good buys and bad buys. I would sincerely appreciate to hear what you guys have in your boat as far as rods, reels, jigs, and hooks.

[gabowman]

Dont know all the styles of fishing that goes on in Ill. so I'll leave it up to folks near you to discuss what equipment they recommend. Just wanted to say hey and welkcome from Georgia.

[nrw1717]

thanks gabowman. It doesnt matter what state. I will be fishing mostly Missouri (mark twain) and Kentucky (kentucky lake). Im not to sure on what types of styles there are but probably not doing alot of trolling since we have a 2 pole limit in Illinois and I think Missouri to.

[TDHcrappiemaster]

Im not to sure on what types of styles there are but probably not doing alot of trolling since we have a 2 pole limit in Illinois and I think Missouri to.

You are missing out if you don't troll for crappie. Start out long line trolling with two poles and you will find yourself wanting to get the boat set up for pushing jigs off the front of the boat.
If you currently have some light weight spinning rods they will work. I would run 1/16 oz road runners with curley tail jigs. Different colors for different days.
Tip the road runner with either a bee moth ( Wax worm.) or a crappie nibble and cast it out behind the boat and start trolling. I always try to run around .7 to 1 mph.
This technique has put alot of fish in boats everywhere. You cover alot of water with the jigs staying in the water there fore you will locate the active fish.
I know when we fished Decatur Lake in IL the rule there was if you were trolling you could use three poles but if you were sitting still then you could only use two.
Crazy rule but you might want to check out the rules for the lake you like to fish.
I myself spider rig now with 14' poles. B'n'M, Wally Marshall and Outlaw poles are all good rods. As far as reels you don't need to break the bank just get some decent reels. Remember they are crappie so it doesn't take too much to get them in. As long as the drag works your fine.
I hope this helps.
Welcome to the site and good luck.

[illskifftroller]

I love to crappie troll. I drift, I spider troll, I long line, and I pull crank baits. When I go to the lake I look at all the different rigs. If I see something I like better than what I have I will try it if I can afford it . You can spend a lot or a little. I like to make something that is a little different and cast next to nothing. I made my pole rack out of a yard trapolin curved top rail some one was thoughing away. I bought pole holders, before I seen the ones made out of plastic pipe. I think the ones made out of plastic pipe or the best and are cheap to make. Half the fun of fishing is getting ready. Thats what I am doing now. If you would like to see some pics and hear more email me [email protected]

[beagle man]

welcome to the site, check out the missouri board lots of mark twain fishers on here, mo. has a 33 hook limit, anything over 3 hooks and you have to id, the hook holder, ie, jug,limb line, or if you have 8 poles and two hook per pole your under the limit of 33 hooks so your good to go. There is a lot of dipping trees, slow trolling a jig, or pitching docks up north. good luck on your search.

[crappiedoc]

Welcome aboard, the good thing is how inexpensive it can be to fish for crappies. As the addiction grows, so does the budget. Find a guide or someone knowledgable to get you started, its as good as money in the bank.

[ezgo]

As for jigheads I use GrouseFly on our business section for his jigs. 1/16 and 1/32 jig heads with a Y-Guard I ordered them last year and used them like crazy and still have over half full in both sizes. The Y-guard keeps it weedles, I also like 1/16 oz roadrunner jigs with a chart head. Some of the plastics out there would probably be good to ask some of the folks where you fish to what kind and size. I myself like for my #1 color I start with on any lake is Black and chart. Check out Home in our business section. I forgot to add the GrouseFlys business name is P&S Custom Tackle. Good Luck

[sayre315]

if you're not into trolling, a good dock shooting/verticle jigging rig is the tiny lite* setup from basspro. they are about 20.00 and do a great job!

[yankee doodler]

Don't forget to check out BnM website for gear too. BNM Fishing I run four of their Black Widow 13.5' telescopic poles w/ mini buck reels up here. I am going to do more long lining next year as our lakes are pretty clear and I think sometimes the boat spooks the fish is shallower water when I push poles off the front. Three pole limit w/ 2 hooks per up here too. Always take the wife (she loves to fish too) so we can run more lines.

Some will say artifical is the only way to go, and some will swear by live bait. I use them both depending on the time of the season. I will break out my flyrods in the early spring for spawn. There's nothing like a slab on ultralight fly equipment. Like I said our lakes are clear and that probably makes the fly fishing the best as the fish are only in 3' or less water and can see the offering. The nice thing is that you can crappie fish from anywhere or anything so read up on all the good advice the boys have been giving and give it a try...you'll love it.