Caught Over 5000 Crappie In 2021: My Personal Best

[CentKyPaddler]

Ok, so no more pics on this thread from me. I getting ready to go fishing and its 4 am in the morning and the weatherperson says its going to be gorgeous out.

To Sum Up 2021:

1) For me slowing down to smell the coffee and truly appreciate life, fishing and the outdoors, is a blessing.

2) Slow trolling in the early morning hours of dark and letting my fishing lines and bobbers tell me where the fish are instead of electronics increased my catch of monster crappie. I know its backwards with everyone's move towards greater tec, but that's just been my experience in 2021.

3) Its amazing what a group of crappie can relate to. One time I had a spot the size of a car hood that for hours produced slabs. BIG SLABS! If you were 3 feet to the left or right you would not get a bite. But you knew they were there by the bus load, because when you reeled through the hood..."THUMP" and it was another fish. Fish after fish until your curiosity gets the best of you. What is it they love so much about hitting only on THAT spot and not to the left or right of it. Then you finally snag the object of their affection. A lost minnow bucket and a metal fish stringer. In 2021, because of my limited movement, I would find gems like this that my depth finder would have not seen.

3) The biggest crappies always comes when I am the most uncomfortable. Freezing hands and trying to find a jig that slipped out onto the dark floor, in the dark sky. Barking at myself for forgetting the thermos of coffee. Breaking through shore ice to launch the boat into a back bay and having to use a broken rod (to have larger guides), so that ice wont build on the tip.......... will get me the biggest fish of the year.

4) Being friendly to people who come up to you when your pounding the fish. I have to remember that some people simply never experience catching crappie like that. People just cannot imagine catching crappie for hours when they only have shore experience with a minnow under a bobber.
Some want to be educated and some might want to join in the fun. It is about the fun! And if you see a kid in his dads boat go by....... tell that boat to come on over and make a kids life change forever.
There HERE their HERE!

5) Covid changed our world. Mostly for the worst. But it was so cool to see laid off dads taking time to take their kids fishing. Some say there is way more pressure on lakes because of covid, and that may be true, but as our society slips back into the old norm, those kids will be back to playing video games in the basement. Get dem' kids on the water!

I know I am forgetting a few things but that will close my thoughts on 2021.

D

Cheers to you BigD . I enjoy reading this thread.


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com

[mikey16335]

BigD

Thank you for your post. One of the best I have read since joining here. Years of knowledge shared in a few paragraphs.

One question. At Pymie, do you prefer the North or South end and why?

Mike

[crappieseeker]

Been there done that many times in the past. I do not tell a lot of my fishing experiences due to non believers but those who know me do not question me. However I feel like I have lost my touch lately. Last year was my worst ever and this year is not starting off any better yet. Maybe I will turn things around but if not it's been a heck of a crappie ride for me over the years.

[Charman03]

Big D when would you say are your best times of the year? Also when is the best time to fish shallow or deep

[Charman03]

Also I ran some numbers and if you fish 5 days a week you’re averaging about 19 crappies a day. Up in the 30’s if you fish 3 days a week

[BigD]

Been there done that many times in the past. I do not tell a lot of my fishing experiences due to non believers but those who know me do not question me. However I feel like I have lost my touch lately. Last year was my worst ever and this year is not starting off any better yet. Maybe I will turn things around but if not it's been a heck of a crappie ride for me over the years.

I know what you mean. I quit posting pics of bag limits years ago because most just could not comprehend that you could catch and release over a hundred crappie a day and keep 20 nice ones.
Old timers do not share on forums. To them its bragging, and in a way they are right. But if you never tell your stories to new generations, they wont have the knowledge of what's possible. So its a balance of education and bragging that gets you the thumbs up or thumb's down for those who don't want the knowledge to spread..lol They see it as increasing fishing pressure.

100 fish a day in the 4 months of spring is easy for the men that mentored me. I have personally witnessed an 70-year-old man catch 200 crappie like a robot , over 8 hours. Yet I and their family was the only one to witness it. To tell others was akin to breaking friendships and trust.

The internet did change things and he is long gone not to smack me for telling his catching's......lol


D

I respect their feelings but I ever so often will share to inspire new people it can be done.