Need some help, pretty please....15 FOW 10 F Down.....

[Jackinkc]

Hello all. I am newer to crappie fishing and need some help. I only seem to be able to catch crappie during the spawn, and really struggle before and after it. I am coming down to Bucksaw this weekend, and from what I can tell the crappie have backed off the back from the cold weather.

When people say to fish in 15 to 20 FOW and 10 ft down, etc, how do you do it. Do you just pick a spot and tie up? Do you just let the minnow sit there, or do you slowly reel it up? I am not set up to spider rig, but should I put my polls down and slowly troll?

Thank you so much for the help in advance. I need all the help I can get.

[DRD]

welcome to the site. Usually that means to keep your boat in 15-20FOW and drop your minnow and or 10 feet mostly along side timber or brush but sometimes out in the open water. I don't tie up too often just keep moving til you find some biting and stsy there til they quit and move on again.

[MellerAM]

Usually it means around structure or brush. The fish are "suspended" over brush and are 10 feet down in 15-20 feet of water.

Park your boat in 15-20 FOW over brush and fish 10 feet down.

[Jerkey Log]

The fish we have been catching are not related to brush, keep your bait at the depth and move slowly along. Check PM

[slab stacker]

keep on the move, get your boat in the right depth and just hold a long pole in each hand and troll real, real slow. I have been finding the larger numbers of fish over brush or lay downs but they can be anywhere. I use double jigs when there suspended in the deeper water.

[Jackinkc]

Thank you very much for the reponses. Long, thanks for the PM's. Very helpful... I tend to stay in once place instead of slowly moving around. I think that's where my problem is. Looking forward to giving this a shot come Saturday. I hope the rain stays away...

[Tom Smith]

Jackinkc, I hope you don't mind em posting on your thread but I was about to ask the same questions. I'm in the LS area whereabouts are you? I am a rookie lake/crappie fisherman as well and typically only do well during the spawn. When I am on Truman everywhere with structure looks good to me but it seems there are always spots that produce for some folks. Around bucksaw for example (was there for the first time last week), should I just use my gps maps to find and hold to depth contours and then hope to find structure on those depths? Do people actually have success trolling with jigs when not spider rigging and just one or two poles? I'm guessing you just start fishing vertically once you get a hit? Most of these questions have been touched on but anything further that can be added? This site has been a great find and thanks for all of the shared info.

[bwillaub]

Welcome aboard Jack and Tom. Lots of good people on here and most are willing to share all their fishing "secrets".

[jimmydee1]

Hey Jack and Tom: I am far from the "expert" on Crappie fishin, but in my 63 years I have learned one thing that is a FOR SURE.....You can fish too fast, but you'll never fish too slow for crappie. Sometime you just have to drop it in their mouths, and other times it's 'game on'. They are finicky little critters, to be sure.

For suspended fish over brush or tree tops that are not tearin it up, try tippin a jig with a minnow, troll/drift VERY slowly, and cover the same water several times, maybe at slightly different depths each pass thru. Works well for me, especially when trollin in Mississippi.

Now, quit readin this dang web site and get yur butt on the water..........................that's where they keep the crappie!!!

[Jackinkc]

Hi Tom,

I'm in KC, right on the Stateline. Real close to 135th and Stateline. Thanks for joining in.

I don't have much of a fish finder. I mostly just use it to know what depth I'm in. I am wondering if it's time to invest in a better one so it'll be easier to find the structure.

It seems the consistent message is to make sure you go very slow. I don't think I've done a very good job of that. I am going to try and concentrate on keeping the line as straight as I can and go as slow as I can and see what happens.

I think I'm going to try and get a few longer poles as well. I would imagine the farther away from the trolling motor I am there better?

I think this fishing is going to be like my golf game. All the supplies I need, but no skill.