Crappie Fishing

[GRIZZ]

Yes, I'm familiar with the 80/20 rule but I think the curve is a bit steeper in crappie fishing because so many people do it that don't know what they are doing. The vast majority of my crappie fishing experience has been on Chautauqua lake NY. Its a fairly shallow 27 mile long lake that doesnt get more than 2 miles wide. Up till about 7 yrs ago it was the best crappie fishing lake I've ever seen. I can remember as a kid in the spring in my favorite canal seeing crappie stacked in the clear water from shore to shore, and several places of open shallows seeing crappie stacked as far as I could see in the water. I'm 41 now, but all during my 20's I spent a large percentage of my time crappie fishing this lake. I can't count the days I had 300+ fish days and these were nice fish most exceeding 1lb, at least a couple over 2 and once in a while a 3+.

Now to the point. I spent a lot of time fishing this lake. This is a lake that for that period of time the primary draw for fishermen was the awesome crappie fishing. I learned most of my skills by watching the experts on this lake and when I became one myself I watched everyone fishing, and there were a lot of fishermen on this lake. There is a catagory of fishermen I call monkey fishermen, as in "Monkey see monkey do". Me or someone else who knew thier stuff would find a school of biting crappies and be pulling them out one right after another. Soon, 10 boats would be on that spot with monkeys throwing lines all over the place. Funny thing is it was still the expert catching the most fish. One of my favorite things to do on a busy day on the lake was to get to one of my spots that was crowded with people and work my way in, then start hammering them while everyone else just watched. I coined the 90/10 rule then and have found that its the same most places I go or species I fish. (not neccesarily with me being in the 10%, but I am with crappies, and close with walleyes and smallmouth) Heres a few walleye pics from chautauqua. www.fishingextreme.8k.com - click on pictures.

While I fished primarily at chautauqua in my 20's, I fished other water more in my 30's and got a wider perspective of the different kinds of crappie fishing in different states, mainly south of NY because I got tired of the hideous winters we have here and the crappie fishing seriously declined on chautauqua.

I've done less crappie fishing in the last 5-7 yrs, but I plan on rectifying that this summer on Watts Barr. I'll be spending the summer there and look forward to becoming a 10%'r there. I want to catch a 4lb+ crappie and I think that will be a place where they can grow that large.

[CrappiePappy]

IMHO .... the saying - "90% of the fish are in 10% of the water" (most of the time, spawning not included) was meant to explain a couple of points. One being that most species school together, thus large numbers are in a concentrated space. The other is that most of those fish are not always concentrated around the banks, where a majority of anglers seem to prefer to fish. Now ... change that saying a little, to : "90% of the fish are caught by 10% of the anglers" -- and that seems to imply (to me) that 10% of the anglers are: more educated on the habits/habitats of the species they're after - fishing more often than the "weekend warrior" - more diversely equipped to handle varying conditions & methods - and are more likely to spend their fishing time in the 10% of the water, where the 90% of the fish are most likely to be.
I believe this "rule/saying" was brought about by Bass anglers ... but, probably is a pretty close definition of Crappie fishing, as well. That's why this site is so valuable to Crappie anglers ... the less experienced 90% can learn from the more experienced 10%. That's the purpose of this site (IMHO), to show those 90% how to join the ranks of the 10%. And, as a member of the 90% faction, I'd like to thank the 10% for sharing their expertise. ........ cp

[Crappie Reaper]

Getting tired of percentages so I will discuss jig presentation. Tony, I slow troll using minnows or jigs tipped with minnows to locate new hot spots. Once I have found a bite, toss out a marker bouy, then fish one pole with minnow, and jig another. If the bite is hot, jigs will be all that is needed. I drop the jig completely to the bottom and bring it up no more than a foot. I let it set there without moving it for about 20 secs. I then, very, very slowly start a retrieve stopping every couple of feet. I try not to twitch, but catch myself doing so at times. I have been fishing for strictly Crappie for over 34 years now, and this is the most consistant presentation that I have used that produce the infamous "Thump".The bass fisherman in you tells you to cast. Once you are accustomed to Crappie and their schooling ways you will become a vertical jigger. It's truly the only way to load up a limit in an hours time.

Top 10 percent? Heck, I try to stay in the top 2 percent.
Remember, I think I can, I think I can, I know I can, I know I can....
HEHE

[GRIZZ]

Now ... change that saying a little, to : "90% of the fish are caught by 10% of the anglers"

Uh, thats exactly what the saying was from the beginning there pappy.

[CrappiePappy]

looking at it/ approaching it from the reverse perspective.
I had heard that 90% of the fish are in 10% of the water, long before hearing that 90% of fish were caught by 10% of anglers (from the Bass anglers). I was a Crappie angler, as a youngster ... didn't get into Bass fishing until my late teens. As a child, one looks at a body of water and thinks fish are scattered throughout ... then is mentored by an experienced angler, and finds out that the fish are more prone to being in large groups in certain places. Thus begins the learning of "habits & habitats" ... which should, eventually, lead one to becoming part of the 10% of successful anglers. .......cp