A very good day on the water.

[jyw1221]

I have bass fished and tournement trailed all over the USA from sea to shinning sea, but I had to give it up and my 21 ft bass boat as well because of health problems. I thought I would never be able to fish out of a boat again, but a friend of mind told me to get a stick steering crappie type boat. I did and I absolutely love it.

That being said, I had never crappied fished before and now I have only been crappie fishing about three months. Needless to say I have a whole lot to learn. I don't even know enough to ask the right questions.

Today or rather early this morning I was fishing here in North East Texas on Cypress Springs,my favorite lake. I was fishing over a brush pile and I think I had maybe six in the well. An elderly man driving a very old stick steering Ranger boat pulled up about 30 yards from me. I thought at first he was bass fishing because he would cass out and slowly reel back in. I saw him boat four big crappie and realized he wasn't bass fishing.

The old man hollered and asked if I had had any luck. I told him I had a few in the well. The old man was killing the crappie and soon he said bring your boat over here and I'll give you a couple of jigs that I make. He said he was 81 years old and had spent most of his life crappie fishing. He had worlds of knowledge about crappie fishing and I say he is a world class crappie fisherman.

He gave me four of the marabou jigs that he makes and he also showed me some good crappie holes here on the lake as well.

I thought you vertically fished over brush piles or bridge columns, I sure as heck didn't know you could fish a crappie jig like a Texas rig or Carolina rigged worm. Like I said before, I have a whole lot to learn.

I wound up with 21 crappie today. Two days ago I wouldn't have believed I would have caught this many crappie because they wouldn't bite anything that day.

[gabowman]

Like yourself, I'm always learning new tricks. And most of the time those older fellas can teach 'em to ya. Thumbs Up Congrats on a great catch!

[PIGINTHEPIGPEN]

Great story.

[skeetbum]

I recently heard that the proper way to fish a brush pile is to first fish the top of it, shallower than you might think. The aggressive bigger fish feed there. Worth a try.

[mkeller]

I like to fan cast over a brushpile using a roadrunner head and plastic body by counting down the jig and then slow retrieve before I start vertical jigging. Try from different angles around the brushpile.

[Blackhawk19]

Congrats on a great day!

[yankee doodler]

Ole fellers know alot about everything...just ask Cane Pole.

[wvsportsman]

I'd say great day, not just very good. Congrats.

[M R Dux]

Great story!

I'll give my observation of your situation. I tournament bass fished for several years also. I found that the run-and-gun style that most bass fishermen use is not well suited for crappie and is not well tolerated by many crappie fishermen. The fellow who gave you the jigs and the pointers would have probably kept both to himself if he hadn't taken the time to size you up and feel that you were learning the sport and were worthy of his knowledge. I've had to slow my fishing style down very much from my bass days and it allows me to more enjoy my time on the water and I've met some great folks along the way and been able to exchange info with many. I will say I've probably learned much more from the folks I've met than I've been able to share with them.

[CrappiePappy]

I have bass fished and tournement trailed all over the USA from sea to shinning sea, but I had to give it up and my 21 ft bass boat as well because of health problems. I thought I would never be able to fish out of a boat again, but a friend of mind told me to get a stick steering crappie type boat. I did and I absolutely love it.

That being said, I had never crappied fished before and now I have only been crappie fishing about three months. Needless to say I have a whole lot to learn. I don't even know enough to ask the right questions.

Today or rather early this morning I was fishing here in North East Texas on Cypress Springs,my favorite lake. I was fishing over a brush pile and I think I had maybe six in the well. An elderly man driving a very old stick steering Ranger boat pulled up about 30 yards from me. I thought at first he was bass fishing because he would cass out and slowly reel back in. I saw him boat four big crappie and realized he wasn't bass fishing.

The old man hollered and asked if I had had any luck. I told him I had a few in the well. The old man was killing the crappie and soon he said bring your boat over here and I'll give you a couple of jigs that I make. He said he was 81 years old and had spent most of his life crappie fishing. He had worlds of knowledge about crappie fishing and I say he is a world class crappie fisherman.

He gave me four of the marabou jigs that he makes and he also showed me some good crappie holes here on the lake as well.

I thought you vertically fished over brush piles or bridge columns, I sure as heck didn't know you could fish a crappie jig like a Texas rig or Carolina rigged worm. Like I said before, I have a whole lot to learn.

I wound up with 21 crappie today. Two days ago I wouldn't have believed I would have caught this many crappie because they wouldn't bite anything that day.

JYW ... I wouldn't be too quick to try fishing a jig like a Texas or Carolina rigged worm --- unless, of course, it's a weedless jig. (which is why I use them ~95% of the time)
Skeetbum's idea of fishing above, THEN into the brush, is a sound one ... and I'd only add that you "may" want to fish your way TO the brushpile (esp if casting). On cloudy/overcast days & early in the day ... sometimes the fish are scattered about around the brush --- while on Sunny/clear days (& clear water) they may be hanging much closer to the brush, if not hunkered down in it.
I approach bridge columns much the same way I do standing timber. I cast my way TO it, to pick off any fish that have strayed out from the main stem of the tree/column. Then I work different depth levels by allowing the jig to sink a foot or more on each successive cast. After working thru both of those scenarios, I get right next to the tree/column and use the Vertical Cast technique to finish off that spot. Here's how to "Vertical Cast" : Vertical Casting | Older Articles

That "old feller" was using the same technique I've used for almost 50yrs ... generally called "swimming a jig", which is casting the jig out well past the intended spot, then slowly reeling the line back in ... slow enough, that you really aren't bringing the jig back to you, as much as you are just keeping up with the slack in the line from the fall of the jig - until you get the jig at the depth intended & then keeping it there for as long as possible, until the jig starts it's upward swing back to the rodtip. Anywhere along that route, one can expect a hit .. and they can come in many forms. You can get a "thump", that you can feel thru the rod ... you can get a "tic", that you can only see as a very quick/light jump in the line ... you can get a "runoff", that's simply the line moving off to one side or another, rather than coming straight back at your rodtip ... you can get a "mushy/weight" sense, that feels like you're dragging a leaf or small clump of weeds ... you can get an "electric" feeling, or vibration that feels like you're dragging your jig along a concrete sidewalk ... or you can get "instant slack line", when you know the jig isn't on the bottom. I've experienced ALL of these, and when I set the hook ... it was obviously a Crappie causing them, as that's what the jighook had stuck !! Not always, mind you, but often enough that I set the hook immediately upon ANY of these occurring.

There are many other techniques, and baits, that can be employed ... so feel free to ask about anything, as there are plenty of people here to give you their opinion, share their experiences, and teach you their favorite ways of catching Crappie !!

And Welcome to Crappie.com Thumbs Up

... cp