A couple questions- (long read)

[CrappiePappy]

Ok I just did crappie camp. I’ll try those terms. Thanks for the info!

Back in 2000 I started running Spring Fling & Fall Brawl events down on Watts Bar Reservoir in East Tenn. as that was where we'd normally go for our Spring & Fall road trips to fish. They ran until 2005. I started the Spring Fling event here in KY several years later, but dropped the Fall Brawl event. In recent years, some of the West KY guys have taken to running their own "Shindig" event. Other members in other states took up the practice of having these kinds of events & Crappie Camps & Slabfests were their choice of names for their events. Some have tournaments, while others are more about the food & fellowship, but most all of them do have some amount of prize giveaways to the attendees.

In the original Spring Fling/Fall Brawl events, there was a "tournament" of sorts, but no money involved (no admission fee or payout). What we did do was give the higher end ($$) prizes to the top weights on down the list until we ran out. We still did the goodie bag giveaway to all those that fished in the tourney. When I started doing the Fling here in KY, I dropped the "tournament" aspect and instituted the ticket drawing in its place.

Here's a link to some pics of our 2018 Spring Fling : https://www.crappie.com/crappie/test...ng-fling-pics/

And one from the 2017 Spring Fling, where we did have a couple of seminars : https://www.crappie.com/crappie/cont...7-Pappy-s-pics

[ChoogieChunker]

Looks like a real good time! I haven’t seen anything like that for Texas. You’re a winner for putting in the time to put even one on!

[DockShootinJack]

Back in 2000 I started running Spring Fling & Fall Brawl events down on Watts Bar Reservoir in East Tenn. as that was where we'd normally go for our Spring & Fall road trips to fish. They ran until 2005. I started the Spring Fling event here in KY several years later, but dropped the Fall Brawl event. In recent years, some of the West KY guys have taken to running their own "Shindig" event. Other members in other states took up the practice of having these kinds of events & Crappie Camps & Slabfests were their choice of names for their events. Some have tournaments, while others are more about the food & fellowship, but most all of them do have some amount of prize giveaways to the attendees.

In the original Spring Fling/Fall Brawl events, there was a "tournament" of sorts, but no money involved (no admission fee or payout). What we did do was give the higher end ($$) prizes to the top weights on down the list until we ran out. We still did the goodie bag giveaway to all those that fished in the tourney. When I started doing the Fling here in KY, I dropped the "tournament" aspect and instituted the ticket drawing in its place.

Here's a link to some pics of our 2018 Spring Fling : https://www.crappie.com/crappie/test...ng-fling-pics/

And one from the 2017 Spring Fling, where we did have a couple of seminars : https://www.crappie.com/crappie/cont...7-Pappy-s-pics

Watts Bar is just up the road from me

[catchNgrease]

Use the lightest jighead you can get away with and hold a good angle based upon the current.

I Use 1/32oz-1/64oz

Use the lightest lb test you are comfortable with.

I Use 2lb-6lb mono in hi-vis

Loosen the drag to stop the line from burying up.

Move fast from spot to spot....but fish each spot slowly.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

[Micanopy]

Like you I am new to this but not to fishing.

Everyone swears flouro catches more fish than mono because it is invisible underwater. They say it’s molecular structure matches water. Well I know better. If that were true then their 400 lb flouro would also be invisible and it is not. The way to get some invisibility is to go thin. A 2lb mono leader will be more invisible than a 8 lb flouro.

The issue becomes how thin can I get away with. What is my comfort level with losing a few nice fish ?

Crappie do still bite when using braid line, which makes no claims to be invisible. Many fish in fact do NOT seem to be put off by line. Many claim it has no affect at all, but how does one know that ? How could one know that ? Well they would have to fish each at the same time in the same manner and then they could guess at it. LOL. Maybe ask the fish.

There can be all sorts of reasons why one line will outperform another though. Depth, visibility, floatation, flash, color, etc. Advice on this usually points those who ask silly questions towards thinner lines for some reason. Keeping in mind some say it doesn’t matter, but thinner is usually recommended. So why is that and what does that mean ?

Well I have concluded that it is based on the action of the jig. Forgetting visibility, 50lb flouro would limit the action of my very light weight jigs much more so than say 6 lb flouro. Could that be the key ? I tried a heavier leader and it did not perform anywhere near as well as the thinner stuff. Lesson learned.

I now use an 8lb flouro leader attached to my 30lb braid. The lighter braids wrap whimsically around the rod tips and form beautiful macrame knottings and such. So I use heavier braid for sanity retention, but then lighter leaders to impart action.

I troll long line fashion and that should be a basic steady straight forward pull, but it is not. There are wobbles and waggles and all sorts of small activities occurring back there. I discovered jigs swim differently as more line is given. Duh !!!! When I am using two exact same jigs and one seems to be more popular than the other, by a bunch, I start to look closely at the details. Maybe the plastic bait is impaled differently. Could be dumb luck, but usually there is something to be noticed.

So my advice is to stick with your heavy braid because you can manage well with it, but consider sizing downward on your leaders. There are many options in this regard, and 8 lb might be thin enough to work with your style. Maybe dropping down in size again to 6 lb would do something for you, maybe increasing the action will cost you some fish. Maybe not.

Some here use 2 pound line because it allows them to cast super light weight lures. Not because it catches fish better. Easy to miss some of these nuances.

I discovered that no matter what, all the advice in the world will not be of much use until you make a big decision. You MUST select a style. Once you have chosen that style then and only then can you begin to dial in your gear. What works really well for vertical jigging while staring at a Death Scope machine ain’t worth spit for long lining. So I recommend playing around some with the different styles and see what pleases you best. What works for you. Then line selection will become a breeze and you will have it right. No one can help you with this. It must be what you will be doing out there when no one is watching.

I like to add my leaders by forming King Sling loop knots in both the leader and the braid. Then slip the braid loop through the leader loop, pass jig through the braid, and draw down. This will leave the braid to form a Catspaw, with the leader material not forming anything at all, completely uninvolved, just captured. It can slide about within the sleeve of the Catspaw, with no kinks, creases or other damage at all. Pristine. The Catspaw prevents the braid from over tightening because the leader material is inserted and has a diameter to it. It can accept the folds very easily and without any damage. Forming the sleeve keeps the pull spread out along the leader material and not at a small point. The entire mess is streamlined and durable. Simple, quick and works with no need for a swivel, which is also a matter of debate.

Find yourself……then start figuring. I like the posts you have been generating and you will be a quick learner with this. While learning and finding your way try to experiment as much as possible. There are still plenty of things to be invented, discovered and imagined. You seem to be an idea man and I wish to encourage that in you. I suspect you will like crappie fishing a little more than being a BassMaster. Just find a style that you can enjoy as you enter your golden years. Something you can do whilst also being old. I left surf fishing for that exact reason, and I think I chose well. Too hard dragging my junk down the hot sand in what can only be viewed as a death march because all the stupid fish are all two miles down the beach. HAH !!!

[ChoogieChunker]

Thank you for the long answer and the others who’ve also given advice! Luckily I’ve guessed right on jig sizes as the ones I’ve bought have been 1/32 and 1/64. I have some up to 1/8 also from the past, mostly maribou. Those might be useful occasionally, possibly. I know line size affects action and depth as well as line type,(mono floats and flouro and braid sinks). Just gives more variables to consider! Ive found unless water is gin clear line size affects action and presentation more than fish seeing it, or at least seems so to me. I’ve already had another idea to consider. This time of year an A-rig can be great, even multiple fish on one cast. They don’t mind the heavy stainless wires at all. I’ve not seen a smaller version mentioned by anyone yet. I guess spider rigging allows different jigs at different depths to do something similar but wondering if a smaller lighter A-rig would work. So my mind is already thinking outside the box. Of course it may have already been tried and discarded as useless or someone may be making them already. Just something I may play around with in the future. So many techniques to try and things to learn just like bass fishing. I imagine just TOW is the best way to find what a person likes and what works for them. All yall’s help will shorten my learning curve for sure so thanks again for all the advice!

[DockShootinJack]

I have wondered before why there wasn't an A rig geared towards crappie

[SuperDave336]

Actually Rickie sells one. (rnvinc here on cdc)

da bama rig - Podunk (po dungk) A small isolated town, region, or place that is regarded as unimportant. . . .

[DockShootinJack]

I knew it had to be out there

[CrappiePappy]

Road Runner has a double rig called the "Buffet Rig".

Mr Crappie has a double rig called the "Troll-Tech"

And there are several others that make multi-arm rigs, some called "A-rigs" & others are known as "Umbrella Rigs". Some are called Ultra-lite and others are designated as "Crappie" specific. Whether or not they're available still ....

I'm thinking that IF they had proved themselves ..... there'd be more chatter about them. Maybe there is and I just haven't kept up with the concept.

The only one I've actually tried is the Road Runner Buffet Rig .... and its jigs tended to run side by side, rather than one over top of the other, at any rate of speed over a very slow retrieve. They're made with a 1/8oz & 1/16oz head, with the idea that the 1/8oz head will stay under the 1/16oz head. The rig "could be" made to work that way by replacing the 1/8oz head with a 1/4oz head (I think). I haven't tried that, so I'm not sure, but it would seem a viable tweak. I just removed both heads and use them as single RR's.