New Member w/questions

[RottManK9]

I figured I'd introduce myself. My name is Jon Sarabia, I live in Sedalia. I'm married with 2 boys 11 and 10. My boys and I usually fish for Bass but last year they got to eat some Crappie at a friends house and now they want me to take them fishing for Crappie so we can eat it.
I've hooked into some Crappie before but I wasn't targeting them. Now I need to learn Crappie. We have a 14ft alum. v-hull boat but what do I need to know to put my boys on some Crappie? I'd be more than happy to e-mail with anyone to help me become un-Crappie stupid.

Thanks in advance.

[TwainGang]

Wow- where to start? I would check out the pages here-especially the how-to oriented ones. Learn how to use slip bobber rigs with minnows and/or jigs, long poles and dabbling jigs without bobbers. I use long poles a lot because it keeps me on the move and it is similar to bass fishing. I use 1/16 oz jigs and curley tail grubs a lot. Color selection- go by what the locals recommend. Talk to a tackle-shop counter man when they have some time to talk- as long as they are familiar with the lakes you fish. Check out seminars at boat shows this time of year- they are basic in their teaching and is great to go to with a couple of kids hungry to learn. Good luck- learning the puzzle is half the fun!

[KCMO CRAPPIESLAYER]

welcome to the board rottman. lot's of good and ate up people here on the missouri board. me being one of the ate up one's.:D i'm still learning myself and alway's will be. i have fished lake odessa right there in town in the spring and had excellent luck. there are some nice crappie in that lake with low fishing pressure. you really need electronic's as there is very little visible structure. hav'nt figured out a summer pattern out there but springtime is very good. catch a lot of 12-14 inch fish. maple leaf there south of higginsville is also a great crappie lake. there i basically just stump jump the timber and try and figure the depth..once again in april when they start get'n really active you can catch a lot of 12-15 inch fish... ive been told there are several 2LB plus fish there by several guy's. once the word get's out there biting out there it is an absolute zoo! me and kcballer found minnow's work best in the summer out there you got hazelhill there off 13 hwy were you can catch all the crappie you want. only problem is 95% of them are 6-7/2 inches. but they eat the same. kcballer and i found a excellent nightstalking pattern out at lake jacomo this past summer and are look'n forward to doing it again this summer. you'll get a few bigun's but mostly 7-10 inches are the average. i realize i did'nt give to much info on the pattern's but it just depend's on when and were your fish'n. usually take's a few time's out to get them figured out. and with this missouri wishy washy weather it's a day to day deal. hope this help's some. good fishing

[longliner]

Welcome to the board Jon. Their are several people in your local area that will be on here from time to time. We all are still leaning here and all you'll have to do is ask these fine people on here and they will be only too happy to help you. Again, welcome aboard.

[RottManK9]

Thanks for the initial info. I do have an OLD Cuda fish finder on the boat, not real comply with using it, but that's about to change this year.

So I'm guessing fishing for Crappie is mostly done around stumps and trees in the water. Should I use bobbers with live bait, plastics w/or w/o bobbers, where's a good starting point?

[IceWarriorGill]

Hi Jon and welcome aboard from Virginia!!!!!! I would start by looking for general topics in the forums that you are interested in and then by looking at topics by members in your state who fish the waters close to you. I know I've learned lots from this forum already and am still learning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FROSTY]

Welcome Jon! I think you'll be able to get all the help you need right HERE. If you get a chance to get out and follow some of these fisherpersons around , You'll keep those boys well CRAPPIE fed!! GOOD LUCK

[KCBALLER]

welcome aboard you will find the info u need here , just ask

[LOZcrappie]

There are several articles and tips on this page:

http://www.crappie.com/tips.html

Regarding location, yes the stumps and timber work well. Boat docks (particularly those with submerged structure) are great, too.

Technique-wise, you'll see a lot of options on the Tips page and from the folks here on the boards. I typically fish from docks, so I'm vertical jigging a SlabBuster jig with a Berkely Crappie Nibble on a 1/32 jig head. Let the jig fall to your desired depth (wherever the fish are) and watch the line like heck as it falls for bites, too. I've also tipped jigs with minnows in the past.

But you'll find there are tons of ways to catch crappie. There are even a few ex bass tourney guys on this site (e.g., Mr. Baker) who have good luck catching crappie on crankbaits and jerkbaits. So you may be able to immediately use some of your bass fishing skills in catching crappie.

Good luck and welcome!

[Just Jiggin]

Welcome to the board . You can learn a lot from this board:D . We generally ck it a day or so before we plan to go out and ask specifically about the lake you plan to fish to see if anyone else has been there . The wife and I are only able to fish on the weekends , and sometimes the specks move from day to day . There are a lot of guys here that are on the water a lot more than me and they can help you....you just have to ask.

Oh....and you gotta have nibbles!!!:D :D