Newbie knows nuthing..

[msn26753]

Howdy from Louisiana... Got a few questions and hopefully get alot of answers and advice... Im new to crappie fishing, like brand new, never done.. So heres a few questions and please provide any tips or secrets.. Ive veen an Unsuccessful bass fisherman for about 3 years..lol.. So i know how not to bass fish.. Figured i woukd try my lucck and sone crappie...

1) anyone have an image of what crappie look like on sideinage and downimge.. How do you know its crappie and not gar,bass,catfish or aanything else..
2) im not very patient, i like to cast and retrieve kinda guy. I hate sitting in one spot watching a bobber for an hour.. So what i gather is a road runner is the lure to go.. Anything else work? Ive caaught a few on crankbaits by mistake.. Are the snall crankbaits effective? And do tou fish them the sane as you would bass fishing?
3) I seen where people veen saying to fish shallow in summer for big ones... How? I thought they were hiding on the bottom... Water temp is in the 90's here.. Dirty muddy nasty water..
4) do crappie perfer still water or current or whats their idea of a good home...

Any help would be awesome.. Thanks

[msn26753]

And one morre thing.. My typing sucks... My fingers are too big for this little phone screen.. So please excuse all my typos.. Lol

[stormcloud]

Go with a good guide or a friend that is an accomplished fisherman now and then. Fill in on your own between those trips.
If you really want to learn the sport, it will come to you. They can show you what not to do. Learning where not to fish is
more important than learning where to fish.

[shipahoy41]

Welcome from Alabama. I usually do long line trolling or a slip float rig. Tip a 1/16th jig head with soft plastic or a lively minnow. That will do the trick. I will post a drawing of my slip float set up. There is some great information in the Beginners and Mentoring forum. Here is a link to that forum..

http://www.crappie.com/crappie/begin...ntoring-forum/

[Crestliner08]

First of all, WELCOME aboard! You've joined the finest site for crappie knowledge there is. So let's take a look at your problem, starting with the obvious:

You indicated that you've already tried to crappie fish and have yet to be successful. That being the case, are you sure there is a viable population of crappie in the water you are fishing? If so, and you apparently enjoy casting, try a 1/16 oz. ball head jig dressed with any number of soft plastic crappie baits that are 2" long or so. I would recommend you start with curly tailed grubs and something with chartreuse color in the pattern. Black & chartreuse are particularly effective on most dingy waters.

The other thing is, being as you enjoy casting, what do you have for a rig to cast with? If it is too heavy for casting, you will have a difficult time with your enjoyment. An ultra-light or light action 6'6" or 7' spinning rod would be a good match for the 1/16 oz. jig heads. Any number of inexpensive reels will do, but if you can afford it, look at a Pflueger President reel, size #6920 will do just fine. Fill it with 4 or 6 pound (max) test monofilament line - such as Trilene XL. This rig will make casting enjoyable, I assure you.

The technique is simple. Just make as long a cast as you are able to and slowly reel it back in - just enough speed to make sure the tail has some action (in the case of a curly tailed grub). Fan cast the area you are targeting and you can eliminate a lot of non-productive water fairly quickly. Good luck to you and please do let us know how you make out.

[jordanjones]

just fyi, schools of crappie on the graph are usually bunched on top of each other and may be suspended. They will be small dots. Bass usually look like ducks in a row as i have found. and those dreadful asian carp will be suspended in large groups and they make big blobs on imaging and large boomerang shapes on sonar.

[PawPaw Gene]

Welcome msn. I see that you're from La. and post the Red River as your home lake. Have you visited the La. forum on this site.
(http://www.crappie.com/crappie/louisiana/)
There you will find some info about the Red and other places possibly close to where you fish. There are many good fisherman in the northern and middle part of the state. Maybe you could hook up with one or two of them to get some first hand knowledge of your area. Good luck.
"gene"

[Ketchn]

I would drop the dime on the best local guide service , you will learn more in 4 hours than years a trying it by yourself in most cases ......
Many many times Ketchn crappie is about being patient as well .....sometimes they are a bit finicky to ketch and sometimes the littlest things matter ......
color sometimes matters , bait size sometimes as well .....and depth is critical ....it's a challenge to stay on them for sure

[river scum]

welcome from the north!

your blessed with muddy water. that makes it easy to get over them. jig a power grub down in the deeper brush along the river channel. thats all there is to it. lol you learn the details as you go. jig real easy so you dont get hung up and ruin a spot before you get started. try 4ft first t hen probe deeper but only if you have to. this kind of fishing is frustrating until you learn to feel around without getting hung. when you get it mastered, it pays off big(as in big crappie). run and gun, quietly probing good looking spots. no need for too much fish finder tech for this fishing. the only thing i used the fish finder for is looking for shad schooled around the outside of the brush, over the channel. that is a good indicator there mite be crappie hiding in the brush. its not necessary though, just drop a jig down and see what grabs it! lol but then again, sometimes you wont see what grabs it haha "'bzzz-snap""

loads of great info on here for you. hope you make use of it and enjoy it. take some of the basics and tweak it for your waters. all waters differ at least a bit, but crappie are still crappie.

again welcome to the site

[Snuffy115]

, but if you can afford it, look at a Pflueger President reel, size #6920 will do just fine.

Cabela's has Pflueger Presidents on sale right now for $20 less than regular price.
IMHO, it's worth the extra money to buy the Pflueger reel. It's money well spent.