Tackle?

[SuperDave336]

That’s awesome and something your son can focus on and be excited for. Wishing you tons of slabs, good times and memories.

[skeetbum]

Another lure I like to throw is a basic curl tail. 1.5” work well for me and the Mister Twister brand has consistently good action and a few colors that work well for crappie. They also work well on the beetle spin frames and the extra drag of the curl tail lets you work it a bit slower. Don’t pass up the root beer looking color when you shop. Glad that you and the boy are getting all this done for the fishing he loves.

[CrappiePappy]

I'd suggest looking at the Slabanator lineup ( Shop ) ( https://www.crappie.com/crappie/-mem...abanator-jigs/ ) for your plastics needs.

And don't forget to enter into the Road Runner Contests each month ( https://www.crappie.com/crappie/cont...ept-30-2023-a/ ) ... and should you win a contest, I'd be more than happy to put your son's name on the mailing address.

[bigtattoo79]

Thank you all for the advice. My son enjoys reading the replies as well with me.

Thanks BigTat

[BuckeyeCrappie]

Road Runners are awesome for sure…

[Grainraiser]

Thank you all for the advice. My son enjoys reading the replies as well with me.

Thanks BigTat

I was going to suggest taking him on a guided trip but it appears you already have that in the works. I am sure he is excited about the trip. My son learned how to fish by me taking him to the creek during the white bass spawn run. He caught plenty of fish and learned how to cast with lures.

[Grainraiser]

Thank you all for the advice. My son enjoys reading the replies as well with me.

Thanks BigTat

I was going to suggest taking him on a guided trip but it appears you already have that in the works. I am sure he is excited about the trip. My son learned how to fish by me taking him to the creek during the white bass spawn run. He caught plenty of fish and learned how to cast with lures.

[Ketchn]

if you are after sunfish , you should drop them number 4 gold hooks down to a number 8
and for a float , them comal pinch on ones I use are by far the best for short water action
thill makes better ones ,but they cost too much ....

[bigtattoo79]

if you are after sunfish , you should drop them number 4 gold hooks down to a number 8
and for a float , them comal pinch on ones I use are by far the best for short water action
thill makes better ones ,but they cost too much ....

Will give that a try, Thanks for the advice.

[Spoonminnow]

Color is overrated IMO. I could have stayed with white all day yesterday and still caught over 60 fish. Most important was tail action and jig weight/hook size. Straight-tail soft plastics ruled! Do a google search for crappie soft plastics and many come up. Key is lure action on the slowest retrieve - especially in water less than 5'.

Also important is finding fish to begin with that will strike your lure or live bait. Casting to many areas - especially from a boat - ups the chances. I found schools of fish yesterday and the day before that increased the number to over 100 fish caught for two days. Few were large enough to keep, but the drug is the tug in my book and fun to anticipate what is hooked. My last fish taken on a small lure was a 2 lb bass that really put a bend on my light action rod.

personal recs:

My jig weights (oz): 1/16, 1/24, 1/32, 1/64
jig hook size matched to soft plastic size: #8, #6, #4

light action 5'6" or 6' rod for ease of casting light lures

8lb test braid for best strike detection and better hook sets as well as allowing good lure action. Braid has no memory (coils), no stretch.

Spinning reels allow the best distance casting of light lures.

The nice thing about the above are the number of fish species that attack small lures. Crappie, yellow and white perch, bass, sunfish and even catfish will strike small lures.

The above is only one anglers opinion based on years of catching fish in many different waters. There is no hard & fast rules when it comes to tackle or finding and catching fish using the ultimate fish-finder: your lure. Cast cast cast to many areas is the best way to do that.

Good luck to the both of you. These included in the 60 fish caught yesterday bit small soft plastics: