Tips on finding crappie without sonar?

[castingcole]

I have a kayak but that’s it and no sonar. Any tips?


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[deathb4disco]

I have a kayak but that’s it and no sonar. Any tips?

Learn to fish a jig. The jig is a “search and destroy” fishing weapon. Fish it slowly and experiment with different depths at each location. If you don’t get hits, move.

[CrappiePappy]

Standing & fallen timber - bridge pillars - docks - and other forms of cover .... plus points, channels, cliff walls, sharp bends, and other forms of structure .... all have a time when the fish will be there.

A waterproof map of that particular lake can be of assistance for general depths & contours ... & when used in conjunction with the visible cover can also help in picking out potential areas.

Learn the "normal" seasonal movements of the fish, but more importantly (??) learn the seasonal movements of the primary baitfish species of that lake. Crappie are not going to be congregated in an area where the baitfish are not !!

["G"]

What he said

[thaDudeAbides]

Move quickly and fish slowly. Bridge pillars, shooting docks, and any standing timber should be plenty to get you started.

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[6poundtest]

Not directly answering your question but see if you can find a copy of this book:

Amazon.com

Lots of good info there on perch, bluegill and our favorite, the crappie. I think you'll find it a good read.

And if you can't swing it, send me your name and address in a PM and I'll mail you my copy for you to read and then to pass on to another guy starting out.

[CocoLoco]

All you gotta do is find one fish
See this video on a $5 Livescope from "Walking on Water"
LIVESCOPE DIY 5.00 WOW - YouTube


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[6poundtest]

All you gotta do is find one fish
See this video on a $5 Livescope from "Walking on Water"
LIVESCOPE DIY 5.00 WOW - YouTube


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REALLY??????

In my opinion, that violates all aspects of fair and ethical. I'd rather be skunked 10 days in a row than resort to that.

[SuperDave336]

I don’t think I’m a fan of that either. Just doesn’t seem right.

[catchNgrease]

When you really stop and think about sonar and DI in 15 fow your view is really only about 4 feet of the bottom. That is not to say that they can't be great tools... I have 3 on my boat. 2 are low end and older and one is on loan and kinda gifted from a good friend. Learn to judge depth by rod length + number of one foot pulls. Learn to look at slopes of banks and imagine it's depth as it flows back to you. Learn to look for large blowdown trees that appear to slope down at a 45 degree. Odds are they run out 40 feet and span the entire water column. These are gold mines. If you can't find fish of some kind on a tree like that. Go home they ain't biting. When you find fish on that tree figure out how deep the bottom is rod+ 1ft pulls and how deep they are in the water column in relation to the bottom. Ex... Fish are 6ft down in 12 fow. They are relatively close to that on every structure you can see. Move quick but fish slow. When you catch a fish KNOW how deep it was and in what depth of water. That is easier said than done....but it's required to learn how to catch rather than fish. It's harder to do without sonar but it can be done. I can't tell you the number of times my wife or my boat partner says....Why are we fishing here there's nothing on the screen? Well honey we ain't fishing under the boat we fishing right here. That box can't reach "here".

There is more to it if your fishing a watershed body... something with flow. Main thing is fish pretty much always look into the current and/or into the wind...that's the direction there next meal is coming from. Also learn to look for eddys or reverse flow... Those need to be fished. Fish will stack in those because food is coming at them from both directions and they don't have to exhaust energy to stay put.

Hope this helps and dang good question.

Chad

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