New to Nightstalk

[slabslinger]

Diehard crappie fisherman by day my dad wants to escape the heat ive went on a nightstalk before but it has been a while where i live it has rained on and off for the past two days and the moon is kinda full not completly i know these conditions arent ideal but are there any tips to make me succesful and show my dad a good time?

[Bob # 1]

There is lot of good info, and members who are willing to help you out.
Here are some good links to get you started.

Night fishing tips 101

Articles

["G"]

Get you a good submersible green fishing light. I like and use the 408 LED size Reel-Lite. Click on the link in my signature

[slab-in-the-box]

wait till the moon is a slight cresent waxing or waning. Get a couple of Q-Beam submersible white lights. Find a good spot where you know the crappie usually hang out and anchor on the creek channel ledge or break. put your lights out and wait. They will come.

[Bronson]

wait till the moon is a slight cresent waxing or waning. Get a couple of Q-Beam submersible white lights. Find a good spot where you know the crappie usually hang out and anchor on the creek channel ledge or break. put your lights out and wait. They will come.

Good info, what techniques do you find work best, minnows or jigs or a jig tipped with a minnow? How deep do you sink your lights and at what depth to you fish? Any secrets to keeping your minnows alive when you buy them and when you drop them in the water? Doesn't the change in temps cause a lot of minnows to die pretty quickly?

Do you set up before dark or an hour or two before you expect the fish to come in? Do crappie usually come in the same time every night and if so around what time is usually best to catch them feeding?

[Crappie 1]

I'm new at this too. We put our light about 2 feet or so under water. I have the 612 Green Reel lite from Bob #1, I can't tell you how much I like it. We've been using minnows & slip bobbers. Go to the live bait forum for a "how to minnow bucket" the thing works great. Read the post & tips from Cray. Set up before dark (dusk) maybe. The Crappie come in when there ready or don't if their not ready. We went in the bright moon, not a good idea. Go with slab-in-the-box's idea. Look up the Chumming for Crappie posts, lots of tips and ideas from people that know. Keep asking about it on here, someone will help you out. Good Luck Fishing...

[CrappiePappy]

Any secrets to keeping your minnows alive when you buy them and when you drop them in the water? Doesn't the change in temps cause a lot of minnows to die pretty quickly?

Bronson ... they can & will die from "shock". I've always "tempered" my minnows, before placing them out into the warmer lake water. What I would do, is to remove small amounts of the colder water & replace it with the warmer lake water. Then give the minnows a few minutes to adjust, & repeat the process until the water temp in the bucket was about the same as the lake water. This always seemed to help keep the minnows from dying in great numbers, like they can if you just drop the bucket into the lake without giving them time to acclimate to the temp change.

... cp

[slab-in-the-box]

The rig that I use is a simple "bottom bouncing" rig. I use a 1/2 oz. bank sinker on the bottom, and about 18" up the line I tie on an eagle claw snelled hook (the kind that comes on a small leader). The best knot to tie the leader on to your main line is a palymar knot. I usually hold an ultra light rod in hand for those real light bites and have a 12 ' and 6.5 ' rod in holders. I drop my lights down about 2 ft. I haven't really found a good method to keep my minners alive for much longer than 20 or 30 min. One absolute must is that you have an aerator for your minner bucket and keep extra batteries, without an aerator, they will die quick. Also, I usually put a frozen water bottle in the bucket. I check my bait on my poles frequently to make sure they're lively, though I have caught crappie many times on dead a dead minner. Good luck to ya.

[BigRiverMarine]

I use a floating minnow bucket, and carry it to the lake in a 48 quart cooler with the bait shop water about half full in it. ( Make sure the bait shop attendant puts the minners in the floater. It's hell catching 10 dozen minners when you get to your spot and I've had that happen more than once while not paying attention). My cooler also has an aerator on it but I seldom use it unless I have a long ride. I throw the floater in the lake when I get to my fishing spot, and I never have problems with my minnows dying day or night, even in the summer. You can put the floater back in the cooler to move. I drag the floater as I go, and dip out a dozen or so to put in my regular minnow bucket to fish with. When you leave for home, you can put your fish in the cooler too. I don't use ice in the cooler, (but you could on a long haul) just the bait shop water. Might add some Better Bait. I don't, but I usually buy my bait close to where I fish.
I do save my minnows with my own oxygen and a plastic bag if I'm going back in a day or two. You can buy oxygen at any medical supply place and 20lb ice bags from any ice house. ( make sure the bags aren't perforated--holes in em ;-)

[gabowman]

This bright moon wont hurt you IF it's rising later in the night. If it's coming up at first dark (or is already up) then wait until it gets darker.