New to Freshwater

[Djanes1]

I have not fished in freshwater in twenty years and have decided to get back into it. I have been strictly saltwater and Red Tide and the simplicity of Freshwater have resparked my youthfull interest. Not to mention my saltwater boat burns 30 gallons per hour and it is a two to three hour run to the good fishing since red tide moved in. What I want to know is what tackle i should get for mainly specks ( crappie) and other small pan fish. It's been so long I don't know what weight tackle to use. Also lures and what not. Any info would be great. And I already have a 16" jon boat with live well.
Thanks.

[CrappiePappy]

I have not fished in freshwater in twenty years and have decided to get back into it. I have been strictly saltwater and Red Tide and the simplicity of Freshwater have resparked my youthfull interest. Not to mention my saltwater boat burns 30 gallons per hour and it is a two to three hour run to the good fishing since red tide moved in. What I want to know is what tackle i should get for mainly specks ( crappie) and other small pan fish. It's been so long I don't know what weight tackle to use. Also lures and what not. Any info would be great. And I already have a 16" jon boat with live well.
Thanks.

It would take a couple hundred gigs of memory space, to even begin to tell you what's available for "speck fishing" :D
Let's try and narrow it down a little, shall we ?
What type waters are you planning on fishing ? (name of lakes or types of waters, and the prevailing cover, will help indicate what methods may be best suited, and what equipment may be employed)
What technique do you think you'd most enjoy using ? (casting, trolling, jigging, tightlining, shooting docks)
Will you be using live offerings, or do you think you'd prefer artificial ? (not limiting your choices, either or both are fine)
What, if any, light action equipment do you already have ?
What does your "speck fishing" budget allow (not necessary to answer in dollar amount ... but, do you want to start out relatively cheap, and upgrade later or when you figure out your favorite method(s) ... or purchase higher grade equipment from the outset) ??

If you don't know, or you're not sure, don't worry about it ...... most all the members here have their favorites (rods/reels/baits/techniques/etc) and will gladly give you their opinion on them. And they will vary wildly, in various directions :p depending on where/how/when they fish.

Check out the offerings of our fine sponsoring businesses (links at top of page) and here : http://www.crappie.com/gr8vb3/showthread.php?t=8205 for some of our members favorites. And, if you haven't already, you might want to read the articles, written by some of our members : http://www.crappie.com/tips.html

Welcome to Crappie.com !! ........ luck2ya ... cp

[shadow]

I keep my system relatively simple. I use a ultralight spincast combo (the cheap one you can get at Wal-Mart) just make sure it is ultralight...Way more fun that way!:D
I either use just a hook and small split shot straight down with a shiner (sometimes under a bobber) or I use a bettle spin and throw out and retrieve slowllllllllllllly! This will catch both crappies and bream.:D

That is about it for me. I know others have more in depth ways of getting at the fish but this works for me.
Dwyane

[Roberta]

The August-September issue of In-Fisherman had an article about panfish and macroinvertebrates (bugs) if you can still find it somewhere. There are usually articles in every issue geared to panfish. Crappie World tends to live and die by spider rigging, but you can get some gear ideas in it, too. They usually have a panfish supplement in the middle that covers the other panfish.
About all we use is ultralight spinning reel combos. It makes a bluegill feel like a bass and when you do hook a bass on a UL, it's really exciting. - Roberta

[GRIZZ]

"Specks" I take it then that you are fishing in Florida. What lakes will you be fishing there? I've spent some time north of Orlando fishing and there is some fine crappie fishing there.

[Djanes1]

I will start fishing mainly in a small lake called Myakka. It is tanic water but not muddy. It has several creeks that flow into it and than it overflows a dam into the Myakka river. My main style of fishing is casting lures, live bait and jigging. I have 4 light tackle rods by saltwater standars,(2) 8-15 lb med heavy fast action, 3/16-5/8 6', and (2) 6-12 lb 1/4-5/8 oz 7'6" slow action rods. And a small pan fish rod that I just play with.Are these rods to much. The 6' would be good for bass i Know that.

[CrappieLips]

Djanes1 Welcome; My 2 cents keep it simple 14' b&m pole, cork and a minnow, and sometimes forget the cork.