Getting a little down

[Ketchn]

find a bridge midday on a 10 to 12 fow preferably or deeper very slow river or a deep spot close to the bank on a lake under a bridge at high noon IN THE SHADE , set a slip float about 5 to 6 foot deep and move it a foot deeper at a time until you get bit . use a loop knot and nothing between your jig and the float and if the float does ANYTHING at all up down sideways quivers twitches or slides north or south east or west ,SET THE HOOK HARD and real fast as you can . any playing around with a crappie at a distance from you equals lost crappie .
use a small body bait and a crappie nibble slid down to the bend in the hook ,not just on the hook point. you will need a 7 foot rod in my opinion that's pretty stiff to cast well and take the stretch up on the mono at a distance away from you on hook sets .
try light twitches first with a long pause in between , if that don't get bit try a hard pop and a pause . if all else fails drag it really really slowly to you . watch the float like a hawk and don't look away EVER .
if you follow this advice and apply it to several spots that meet the mentioned criteria , you will likely ketch some crappie I am pretty sure off the bank in the summer .

[BAFishBarn]

My take away so far. Yea I know I am the crappie.com project child, but depth, cover, time of day make a difference..... unless you have sonor and can just spot where they are at. I want sonor. I have a jon boat, but it has no motor let alone a sonor unit. So I mainly fish city ponds. I know they make a sonor that is capable, the iBobber, I believe. But from the info on this thread I'm almost more confused on what to do.

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[BAFishBarn]

I think though I'm going to let it go. I'm not a quitter, but I know when to call it and crappie have me beat. I can catch bass and let them go. I can catch small sunfish. But I love to eat crappie, and I cant catch them no matter how hhard I try. So I think I might just say bye and forget about them. I know I'm a bit up and down emotionally on here, I'm sorry. I'm an US Army combat vet of the Iraq war and haven't quite found my niche in the world I thought crappie fishing was it. I love this forum but I will leave in peace because I know it's a great place better without me.

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[Jamesdean]

BAFishBarn, you giving up way too easy...like falling out of a 10 mile road march in the first mile...I have only been chasing crappie as a target fish for about 7 years now. I still have troubles. I am stuck on shore 99% of the time, in locations with little visible structure. It's very hard for me to move around a lot due to a back and knee injury from the service. However their is no quit in me. As often as I can, I am at the water for as long as I can take it...It's like learning to march, stay in step, rifle drills or anything else in life that matters to YOU, you have to put in the time, other wise you just going to go through life not accomplishing much of anything...
Everything in life that's worth a darn takes time...Some people have a nak for everything in life, then some of us struggle at most everything and still don't get it. But the trick is not to give up on yourself and something you love.
Me, I'm mostly a loner, not many close friends that's any where close to where I am. So I fish by myself, that's just me. I hate crowds, and that's any thing more than 1 in my book. I'm that way probably from being the youngest sibling with 6 yrs between me and my closest sibling and them having older friends closer to their age growing up. So I spent a lot of time Alone...Don't matter. I guess I'm trying to say, is don't give up on yourself too early, as you are doing now. Stay with it, and it will come...

[Ketchn]

a great forum needs all the mix of people hanging around to make it interesting . skill levels and experience need to be broad to help those ghost entities learn and keep coming back to visit . and the entertainment value of been there done that is great as well .
don't give up just yet on them my friend and to be sure some member is likely to come along and help you ketch some in person .
if you ever visit the ft worth area I will take you with me somewhere if you want .

[Spoonminnow]

Stay with it, and it will come...

Freshwater fishing isn't like saltwater fishing or fishing on a large body of water with a guide. The tips provided have a time and place - some more than others, but at least the basics have been covered and can not be denied. You can't but help learn a water the more you fish it, study it and remember key facts either by memory or other means (notebook or a digital camera as I have). If possible fish with someone in order to speed up the learning process of what can be used, how it was used while noting where both of you caught fish. Many false ideas (IE loop knots and painted jig heads always catch more fish) will fall away and be replaced by the truth-in-catching.

The single most incredible thing about crappie.com that to my knowledge only one other fishing forum has: input by many to arrive at the truth and discover what is real vs. what is superstition, hype, misinformation or nonsense. Finding fish is one thing - knowing what to use, knowing when and how to use it is another. Since you already catch bass, crappie is just another species that is no smarter or less susceptible to lures and as is true for fishing anywhere, there is no substitute for learning everything one can by thousands of casts that become less blind as one continues the process. If that doesn't work for you, there's always golf....

[deathb4disco]

I think though I'm going to let it go. I'm not a quitter, but I know when to call it and crappie have me beat. I can catch bass and let them go. I can catch small sunfish. But I love to eat crappie, and I cant catch them no matter how hhard I try.

I think your main problem is you're fishing in places that don't have many crappie and might never have had many crappie. Crappie don't do well in small ponds.

[deathb4disco]

My take away so far. Yea I know I am the crappie.com project child, but depth, cover, time of day make a difference..... unless you have sonor and can just spot where they are at. I want sonor.

Sonar is just a tool, and it's not indispensable. I don't have sonar and catch plenty of fish. For decades in this country, fishermen had, at best, a small flasher unit -- and they caught plenty of fish. Sonar is a luxury that we take for granted.

If you want to approximate the depth of where you're fishing, cast out a 3/8 oz weight and count it down when it hits the water (1001, 1002, etc.) When it hits bottom (you'll know when it hits bottom when the line goes slack), take note of your count and double it. So, a count of 1005 would be 10 feet (2 x 5.) Cast around with the weight and build a mental picture of where the depth changes are.

[BAFishBarn]

Thank you for all the encouragement everyone. I'm going back out today. I'm going to an oxbow of a river, so there should be crappie, I just have to find them. So I'm going to do my best and cover water and use what I've learned so far to try to catch as many as I can. Wish me luck!

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[Yak Fish]

Maybe look for a mentor in your area who would be willing to help shorten your learning curve. Nobody is born knowing how to catch fish, so it's all about learning and learning how to adapt.

Before sonar, we used a pyramid weight on masonry cord and felt our way to the holes & channels. What I used to do was divide the lake up into sections and concentrate on learning a small section at a time. Eventually, you'll connect. You also need to study the habits and behavior of what you're fishing for. Crappie have fairly consistent seasonal patterns. The sooner you can learn to match the depths and structure in the water with the crappie's pattern, the more likely you will be to catch fish.

Keep after it. Good luck.

Jim