Never been crappie fishing

[notteredsharon]

My wife wants to try crappie fishing. We both have fished before but amatuerly at best. Where is the best place for her to start as a crappie beginner? We are in St. Louis but have a place near Fredericktown, MO.

[vic n]

Welcome to the site! 99% of us on this site are also amateurs, just with a little more experience, maybe. I've never been to the Busch area near St Louis, but many people do fish there. I think it is similar to an area near KC that has multiple small lakes. Some are stocked with bass...some with smaller fish....some with catfish, etc. I'm sure there would be one with crappies, and that may be your best bet for now. This isn't the best time of year to start looking, as the spawn is over, which brings the fish close to the bank (and accessible to fishermen/women). You didn't say if you had access to a boat, so these suggestions are for someone just starting without a boat. Fredericktown has a city lake that may contain crappies that can be fished easily. Possibly there are some strip pits near there? Best bet might be to take a trip to one of the large lakes like Truman (best), or Lake of the Ozarks and hire a guide for a half day of crappie fishing. Let him do all the searching and you two just enjoy it. Good luck!

[doggone]

You can make acquaintance with some people around the Fredericktown area who have good farm ponds and private lakes.You can hit the small city lake there ( my grandfather was instrumental in the construction of that lake),you can go over to Lake Killarny near Ironton,you can run over to the Lake at Perryville,you can learn to fish the St.francis river some,you can run down to Clearwater lake or Wappapello from Fredericktown once in a while.

You can use this sight http://mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/file...shstlbroch.pdf

But I tell you what....if your serious and will travel a little way a few times a year. I would buy illinois license... and learn to fish Rend Lake.Go down and hire a guide and let them get you started. That will open the door for you.

[CRAPPIECON]

lake perry in perryville i hear is loaded with little crappie. heard you can catch a boat load which is fun for awhile until you get bored reeling in 6-7" fish. like doggone said if you have access to a boat rend isn't a bad drive from stl and an illinois fish license only cost $32. also if you wanna expand out from that, lake egypt and kincaid are all within about an hr and half or so of stl (also in illinois), and they are both very good summertime crappie lakes.

[Hank,J]

My wife wants to try crappie fishing. We both have fished before but amatuerly at best. Where is the best place for her to start as a crappie beginner? We are in St. Louis but have a place near Fredericktown, MO.

From Fredericktown, it is not that far down to Lake Wappapello. There is a fellow down there named Charlie Brotherton and he has a place called the Sundowner near the dam. I have known Charlie since 1979 and he is a super nice guy. If you get down there he will get you going in the right direction. I haven't talked to him in over a year and I think he has retired from guiding but if you can talk him into it, it would be worth every penny he charges.