New mind sets on Crappie fishing .

[NIMROD]

i am willing to try anything that will improve my ketch rate .

I think that is all of us .

[Ketchn]

i try to aim for areas where there aint a person or a seat or electronics , but to be sure in the heat of the moment and especially if its a good size fish i might just do my best to get it "in" the boat .....
then there is always them short line small ones that go to the air on the hook set ....them are the most dangerous as they typically go FAST thru the air ....

[Rojo]

I agree especially using a 14 footer to fish with. When you start the swing on a 14 foot rod the fish seem to pass right over the boat before you can correct. Then observing from another boat, the fish is going back and forth over the deck like a Grandfather Clock Pendulum.

[NIMROD]

Say what you will, but I've had zero bites until I change colors and found the combination they want. Exact same lure at the exact same depth, speed, and presentation, but until I hit the right color combination, nothing's happening. The bite went from zero to hooks deep inside the mouth. To prove it, I switched back to the other color & it got ignored again. When I switch back to the color/pattern they want, it's bite on again. Something as simple as cloud cover can shut it down temporarily, then when the clouds part, the bite is back on. You can't tell me color doesn't matter.

Agree 100% with Loop Knot that you have to fish where the fish are. The closest I've come to Live Scope are images shared here. It looks cool and I'd love to try it. But I'm old school, learn the bottom with lures and let the fish tell you where they want to be. Catch a few fish from the same area, then go back to dissect it to figure out why they're there.

Jim

Don't ever go fishing with someone that has mastered livescope unless you can afford to buy one . Everyone telling me it is addictive . Definitely works from everyone's posts .

[BobC]

I think bait size has a lot to do with fall rate and action, so it’s part of presentation.

Biggest crappie I ever saw caught was on a deep diving crank bait. Biggest I’ve ever caught was on a 1/32 jig under a Thill bobber. I tried split shot up the line to get it down to the fish faster and they ignored it.

If I live long enough, someday I might start trying to throw what the fish want how they want it instead of trying to get them to bite what I want to fish the way I want to fish it.

One of those truisms of life! Good observation!
Bob

[INTIMIDATOR]

I been saying presentation matters most , colors no so important as Crappie will hit bare leadhead . Colors more to catch fishermen . Never liked small baits my self . When I was swinging my fish with no net lots of people told me you can't do that here our fish too big . Now I see everyone jumping on board like it is all something new last couple years .

In my experience, I actually agree with NIMROD....
90% of the fish I catch (all species) is on a Big White Keitech swimmer...heck, the other 10% would've probably bit on white but I threw something else!lol
I have had conversations about this before, and have put a piece of paper and plastic on my jighead and caught crappie, just to prove my point.
I also use a heavier pole, braid, etc, since I may hook into a big Walleye or Muskie, so I have no use for a net for a 2-3lb Crappie!

[Ketchn]

even though livescope is really really cool and I have fished under them with 3 or 4 different anglers ,it isnt really my thing , i like the "feel" of a bite and not the "look" persay .
one thing for certain it tightens the learning curve by about 10 or 15 years easily . maybe even more than 20 years on the extra hard headed people ....
now mind you this , if i was one that wanted to just ketch real big crappie and or compete for fame and glory and or did it for a living to pay my bills ,i would for sure POSITIVE have one on my rig .
even old crusty me learned a few things and solidified many things i was pretty sure were going on down below long before i actually got to see it "live" .
some say its a toy but i am hear to tell you its an invaluable tool if you are targeting the big fish and that there is a FACT !

[chaunc]

even though livescope is really really cool and I have fished under them with 3 or 4 different anglers ,it isnt really my thing , i like the "feel" of a bite and not the "look" persay .
one thing for certain it tightens the learning curve by about 10 or 15 years easily . maybe even more than 20 years on the extra hard headed people ....
now mind you this , if i was one that wanted to just ketch real big crappie and or compete for fame and glory and or did it for a living to pay my bills ,i would for sure POSITIVE have one on my rig .
even old crusty me learned a few things and solidified many things i was pretty sure were going on down below long before i actually got to see it "live" .
some say its a toy but i am hear to tell you its an invaluable tool if you are targeting the big fish and that there is a FACT !

For us guys that don’t tournament fish anymore, it’s just a toy.

[SuperDave336]

I agree on not really my thing and not wanting to spend my time watching screen to fish. But..... I want to catch some big ones! So I'm sort of undecided on it all right now. It's a bunch of money to only use every now and then for a big fish when I could catch them without it just maybe not directly target them as much. Right now I'm happy just knowing there are fish on a pile and then fish the pile. Seems a little more sporting too.

[Ketchn]

I agree on not really my thing and not wanting to spend my time watching screen to fish. But..... I want to catch some big ones! So I'm sort of undecided on it all right now. It's a bunch of money to only use every now and then for a big fish when I could catch them without it just maybe not directly target them as much. Right now I'm happy just knowing there are fish on a pile and then fish the pile. Seems a little more sporting too.

HMMMMM , funny you mentioned "sporting" , I hear a few rumbles now and again about it being outlawed in tournaments and even heard a bud tell me TPW was actually considering it a not fair chase thing .
to pursue most game animals and possibly i would suppose a game fish in such a manner is not considered "fair" chase , running down any game animal with a motorized vehicle is a no no bigtime .
i know factually you can chase a single wise old big fish down with one, that under most conditions would escape .....
heard a guy recently say he chased a 3 lb crappie for over a 100 yards to ketch it .....
food for thought i suppose.....its all in the "perspective" right ?....