Brain picking time...

[BG12]

Hey guys, pretty new to the site and Crappie fishing as well. When I was a kid my grandparents had a place at Little Fir. 60 a day was the norm, and not hard to do. Since they left there I probably haven't caught 60! I mostly Bass fish, but really would like to hone my craft a little to become a more well rounded, (no fat jokes) fisherman. I have been to White Oak once this year and caught one fish. Kind of figured that one out by just watching the folks around me. I'm sure ya'll have some kind of slang word for the guy that trolls around trying to see what everyone else does lol... That's me!

Here is my dilemma. I have access to a large pond. Little less than 40 acres. It gets what I would say is moderate pressure but not too bad. I fished it a little for Crappie last year but could not pin them down. It is really like a small lake, half mile or so long and 125 to 200 yards wide. On the deep end there is probably 3 acres of 18 to 26 foot deep water. The main basin is 10 to 15 foot deep and it has a few decent creek arms coming in to it.

I don't have fancy electronics, just a little Eagle Cuda 300. But can read it pretty well. I fished Friday for a couple hours. I was seeing quite a few fish in about 20' water, just up off the bottom around some trees and logs. Saw some pretty decent looking schools in several places like that and never got a bump. Went back Saturday, light rain, and fished farther up the pond. In the timber, around the banks, mouth of creeks, points, everywhere... Nada.... Didn't even see very much on the graph. Went back tot he deep end on my way out and saw lots in the same places I did Friday but couldn't buy a bite. I used several different Bobby Garland colors all pretty much shad pattern variations. Even dipped the tails Chartreuse a few times. Tried pink/chart, green/chart, and red/white hair jigs. Nothing seemed to make a difference. I didn't have any shiners, and the few I caught last year were on shiners. Gonna try that my next trip. Just wondering if anybody had any tips or strategies for ponds/small lakes that differ from big lakes. I may just have to kidnap GoTennTitans and get him to show me how it is done!

[GoTennTitans]

You might not wanna kidnap me just yet..........I'm getting over the flu!

Some days they just don't bite and other days they'll literally eat a bare hook. I'm a firm believer that color does NOT matter, but with that being said my favorite colors are Gumdrop, Cajun Cricket, and Black Night in Bobby Garland Baby Shad. Crappie Magnet colors Tennessee Shad, Dude Special, Bulldog, and Bison are always good too. I like a 1/16oz painted or unpainted bullet or round head on a #4 sickle hook.

My buddy hit Lower White Oak last week and caught 0 on Wednesday, 6 on Thursday, and 4 on Friday. On Saturday, another buddy went and caught 14 (all over 2 lbs). You just gotta be lucky enough to be there when they're biting............and on White Oak, that could be for a 10 minute window on only 5 days of the month on any month of the year. That's a finicky place! GTT

[CrappieNEA]

I agree with gtt. I went Sunday couldn't hardly get a bite with jig and minnow. Ditched the minnows and immediately starting catching fish on blue and white sparkle jig. Ended up with same setup on all poles but one pole caught 90% of fish. That was in muddy water. What made one jig different from the others in same pack I have no idea but that one worked. Unfortunately most were too small so still didn't hurt any grease. Keep at it. You ll have that day eventually when it all works.

[wolfhnd]

I consider crappie to be one of the most finicky fish. They just are not aggressive fish so inducing a strike like you do with bass doesn't work. Of course that is not completely true because you can dangle a lure in front of them and irritate them into biting, I know this not from personal experience but by watching videos guys make ice fishing where they either see the fish in clear water or see the lure and fish on some sort of electronics.

If I was you I would try fishing with a slip bobber and live minnows. While it is true that sometimes jigs work better than live bait what live bait teaches you is the subtle way that crappie take a bait.

[NIMROD]

I consider crappie to be one of the most finicky fish. They just are not aggressive fish so inducing a strike like you do with bass doesn't work. Of course that is not completely true because you can dangle a lure in front of them and irritate them into biting, I know this not from personal experience but by watching videos guys make ice fishing where they either see the fish in clear water or see the lure and fish on some sort of electronics.

If I was you I would try fishing with a slip bobber and live minnows. While it is true that sometimes jigs work better than live bait what live bait teaches you is the subtle way that crappie take a bait.

Most times Crappie inhale a bait , nothing real subtle most of the time . We live for the thump .

[wolfhnd]

Most times Crappie inhale a bait , nothing real subtle most of the time . We live for the thump .

Most fish inhale their food unless they have mouths like gar or Bill fish or teeth like sharks or vampire fish. It's what they do after they inhale that distinguishes between most fresh water fish.

Here is an explanation of why nibble is a misnomer.

Jerry Carlson - Finicky Fish and Nibble Nonsense

I certainly respect people that feel the thump but most of the crappie I catch are just resistance on the line. I think the thump experience is something that only the more experienced anglers experience.

[NIMROD]

Most fish inhale their food unless they have mouths like gar or Bill fish or teeth like sharks or vampire fish. It's what they do after they inhale that distinguishes between most fresh water fish.

Here is an explanation of why nibble is a misnomer.

Jerry Carlson - Finicky Fish and Nibble Nonsense

I certainly respect people that feel the thump but most of the crappie I catch are just resistance on the line. I think the thump experience is something that only the more experienced anglers experience.

It is your methods and tackle . We vertical jig on good graphite jig poles with jigs heavy enough to stay in contact . Even the subtle strikes can be felt , I say if you don't feel your bait lift up . I have taught lots of folks my method of jig fishing and they usually get better with experience . I have good luck with most catching fish like a champ after a short time .

[D10]

I would have to agree with Nimrod. More often than not, crappie thump my jig. Sometime very hard. If they didn’t, I don’t know that I would fish for them. The thump is what makes crappie fishing fun (in my opinion). Nothing wrong with the other methods either though. I just prefer the method where you feel the thump.


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[goblerblaster]

30 years or so ago a buddy and me were pre-fishing for a bass tourney in March on upper White Oak. About noon I caught a 15 inch crappie on a 3 inch rattle trap. Silver with a blue back rattle trap, A few minutes later- another same size !! After 5 or 6 more over 14 inches, my buddy put on a silver and black back Rattle trap. When they stopped biting, in only about 30 minutes, I had 16 crappie over 14 inches and he only had caught 1. I think sometimes color does make a difference !! Maybe I was just holding my mouth right- as Grandad used to say !!!

[GoTennTitans]

30 years or so ago a buddy and me were pre-fishing for a bass tourney in March on upper White Oak. About noon I caught a 15 inch crappie on a 3 inch rattle trap. Silver with a blue back rattle trap, A few minutes later- another same size !! After 5 or 6 more over 14 inches, my buddy put on a silver and black back Rattle trap. When they stopped biting, in only about 30 minutes, I had 16 crappie over 14 inches and he only had caught 1. I think sometimes color does make a difference !! Maybe I was just holding my mouth right- as Grandad used to say !!!

We used to have a place at Upper White Oak we called the "RV Hole" and we always casted Rattle Traps or Hot Spots in there before moving in with shiners or jigs. We always caught a few big ones in the RV Hole before moving on in close. One summer morning, I caught a 7+ pound bass in there too. I would bet that you guys were at the RV Hole! GTT