Another Clark's Hill newbie

[bhodges]

Hi folks. Decided I'm long overdue for some good old crappie fishing. I have only a few real passions, two of the biggest are GA high school football, and fishing. I know a few things about football, but not very much about crappie fishing. I've already learned a ton just by perusing this website. I'm hopeful you experts can help me gain the knowledge I need to be successful on my fishing trips.

I can drown crickets all day with the best of them, but I've grown weary of catching overgrown minnows that some might call 'bream'. You know, the annoying bait stealing type. Anyway, I had some pretty good experiences when I was younger doing some crappie fishing with my dad. I'm looking to get back to that now, and really focus on getting it down so I can go put HIM on some fish for a change.

I've read all of DI's posts and have contacted him, but I'm not sure he'll get it because of his move and all. I have access to a 17' BassTracker. Nothing extravagant, but it's served us fairly well so far, despite being severely underused. I live in Martinez(Augusta) and work in Thomson, so I'm just minutes from Clark's Hill. That's where I intend to do most of my fishing.

For now I have just a couple questions, then we'll see where it goes.

First, I need to restock tackle. I have plenty of rods and tackle, but I’m thinking about things specifically for crappie here. If you had absolutely no tackle, and you had say $200 to spend, what items would be a necessity for you to purchase? What are those things you just 'gotta' have? What lure or jig and what colors could you just not live without? I know the answers to this will probably vary considerably, but that's fine, any input is great.

Second, what is your game plan? Obviously you know a few honey holes and will hit them. But, how do you decide where to go first? How do you decide what presentation to try first? What sort of progression do you go through if things don't seem to be working? I'm really looking for a strategy you use to find the fish, so I can apply those ideas on my trips.

I'm very happy I found this site and look forward to getting things into gear. With any luck, and some fish, I'll be able to provide some reports on Clark's Hill in DI's absence. I’m making my first run at the lake this coming Saturday and Sunday (April 2 & 3) and I’m hoping to put my newfound knowledge to work.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Bobby

[procraft1780]

Hello Bobby, its a pleasure to meet you.
I also frequent Clarks Hill in search of Crappie. I live in Graniteville, SC and usually drive all the way up to Little River (SC side) to put in. The lower end of the lake is closer but it's so wide and gets pretty rough with the slightest wind. I'm somewhat of a newbie myself, just took up Crappie fishing last November. I was having better luck when it was real cold by fishing minnows over deep brush piles. Now that the weather has warmed up and the Crappie have moved shallower I'm not having as much success. Part of the reason for that is I'm trying to learn the in's and out's of trolling. If I had $200 to spend right now I'd buy myself a few of 10' and 12' crappie rods. You can really spread those jigs out with those long poles. I might suggest buying a crappie jig kit from Bass Pro Shops, picked one up the other day for about $20. Would have cost tripple that to stock one of those boxes myself.
Might see you out on the Hill sometime but it won't in the next few weeks, getting ready for a Kentucky Lake Trip next week. +

[bhodges]

Heya. Hope you didn't get caught up in that whole train mess over there, sounded pretty bad. Good luck on your trip up to KY, perhaps we'll be able to hook up later this spring.

[tracker II]

Hello Bobby, I guess you are on the lake on this windy Saturday. I have elected to wait until monday to give it a try. I am planning on fishing everyday next week. I have never fished the Hill but have fished Talquin, WF George and Blackshear fairly regularly. I fish from an od 16' Tracker II and it has served me well for over 10 years. I mostly troll but love to throw jigs to the bank in spring and when times are really tough I will venture out for night fishing with minnows. If I were just grtting started and had 200 to spend I would spend some of it on Jiffy Jigs 1/16th chartrues/Black/chartrues and red/green/yellow. I order my 1/16th naked jigheads from bass pro by the 100 pack for $12. I only order red, chartrues and black jig heads and use an asortment of tripple ripple jigs and tube jigs. I certainly agree with procraft that the long pole are a must. As you evolve as a troller you will want to invest in an electric steer trolling motor but in the interim you may want to put a rehostat on your existing mtr togive you better contol of your speed. Goood Luck!!!

[bhodges]

Yeah, we were out for a few hours early Sat morning. We split when the wind started picking up. It was very nasty out there.