Need Advice......Badly

[Fletch]

I started crappie fishing last year when I bought a 1998 Bass Tracker. I fished exclusively East Fork Lake, and I had a terrible year. I think I had 1 day where I caught more than 10 fish, and most of them were in the 9" range.

This year I am taking an entire week off in the middle of April, and am going to hit some of the lakes in Southwest Ohio. Caesar's Creek, Eastfork, Paint Creek and Rocky Fork, and maybe Acton. Once on the lake where do I start? What conditions should I be looking for to decide if I should work deep water or shallow? Really any advice, down to equipment and presentation to interpreting the structure on my fish finder would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for any help......

Chris

[crappiemax]

A friend of mine asked a similar question. Every week he went to EF and complained he never caught anything. Every week he did the same thing.
Rule #1. If you're not catching any fish, don't keep doing the same thing. Do something different.
What's your favorite or standard way of fishing? Casting jigs, vertical fishing with jigs or live bait? If you're using slip bobbers and live bait or jigs, are you changing your debth, to see if crappie are deeper or shallower. You may be fishing above or below them.
If its April, and the weather conditions have been stable. I would try moving the boat along the shore casting jigs, both tube and twistertails on a 1/32 oz jig. I may switch colors a little to see if one worked better.I may also switch to a 1/16 oz jig head. At the same time I would have a slip float dragging along side the boat set at 6' or 7' to see if there were any deeper fish back away from the bank. Depending on debth, I may actually fish this even deeper. As I ease down the bank, I would fish any fallen trees or brush.
If nothings still, you may want to try a jig and bobber. Several twitches and a pause or maybe just leaving it sit for a little bit and slowly move it several feet.
If cold fronts have been coming thru, you may want to fish out away from the bank a little. Sometimes crappie will pull away from the bank after a front passes thru. They won't always go deep, but will suspend out away from the bank.

Catching fish is just a process of elimination. Keep switching around you'll eventually find them.

Please list the methods, time of year that you've tried. It will give us a chance to offer advice. Good luck

[Fletch]

I started in late April early May last year. I mainly fished minnows under a slip bobber at varying depths along the bank and to about 25 yards or so off the bank. I would let them move with the boat as I cast a twister tail jig (usually chartreuse) with a 1/16 jig head in among the brush. I can't say I ever jigged vertically or used a jig under a slip bobber.

It would seem I need to learn a bit more about crappie behavior related to the weather.

Thanks for the help.

Chris

[crappiemax]

Maybe try slowing your retieve down a bit (or speed it up). Vertical fishing isn't much more than fishing straight down. sometime lower your bait to the bottom, raise you bait a crank or to and just hold it steady. Nothing happens bring it up another crank or so and repeat. If there not hitting holding it steady try a little jigging action.
Might try afew new colors. I've seen days when it didn't matter and days when it did. Keep at it and you'll find your way.