Thread: Hi there! New to crappie fishing

Hey skittles, welcome on board. You may want to try a kayak. I have fished out of both, and there really is no comparison. You can paddle miles and get to places away from your launch point. You can also easily mount a fish finder on a yak when your ready for that. They are nearly indestructible and you can get a cheap new one for 250$, maybe less if you can find a used one. As with any small craft, you have to be careful in strong wind and high boat traffic areas.

As far as kids go "stomping around on the docks", don't worry about that. When Crappie spook, it only runs them deep into a brush pile without changing their appetite. So target the brush, get used to feeling the difference between a bump and a branch. Crappie tend to hang out next to the brush, so if a limb is 3' off the bottom and you get bumped, concentrate on that depth trying different areas of the brush. I've had three kids swimming on one side of the boat while I fished brush off the other side and flat tore them up. The bite got better after they jumped in and it's because the noise spooked the fish into their hidey hole.

Read as many threads as you can in the main forum as well as other states to see all the different techniques that are used to catch Crappie. There are NO stupid questions!

Welcome and good luck!

If you can fish dock, that is a good way to go. Try different "dock shooting" methods. There is usually always some type of brush piles under docks, and the natural shade of the dock attracts fish. Don't be afraid of trying from the bottom to the top of the water column. Depending on depth of the water and time of year they can be anywhere. As Reaper said, they love brush so that's where to target them. If your not getting hung up in the brush, your not crappie fishing

Little Axe dock at Thunderbird. Won't cost you to fish either like Arcadia. Go during the weekday as weekends get stupid on it. Plenty of brush around and under the dock.

Welcome aboard..............and good luck.

Thanks for the replies everyone! I really appreciate it. My father and I are gonna check out Thunderbird this week.

First and foremost Welcome to the Insanity of Crappie Fishing.

Welcome to the board also.

I have always heard that if you are not using Chartreuse then you are not crappie fishing. LOL I would try different depths like the others have said and even try two different size jigs on the same line. You might be surprised at the results. I have actually used a larger jig on the bottom and a smaller one a bit higher. Then when you cast start reeling it in slowly. It will look like the larger jig is chasing the smaller one.

Different times of the year call for different presentations just like with bass fishing. Experiment a bit and see what you come up with.

One major hint is to use SLAB SLOBBER on your plastics and your hair jigs. It is the difference in bringing Grandma's station wagon to the race track or taking a funny car. There are a lot of products out there that they say attract Crappie. Most like bass lures only attract the fisherman. Slab slobber is one of the exceptions to that. The stuff works great and it is the difference between a very settle bite and the fish grabbing the bait and running with it. The stuff is awesome.

Last year the dock at Carl Blackwell was on fire out there. Several of us on this page caught limits several times over the winner. It is a small dock but it was on fire. It is up by Stillwater by the way. I really don't know many places to fish in the central or western part of the state as I live in Tulsa and generally fish the eastern side of the state.

Keep doing what you are doing now also, by that I mean keep asking questions. There are only two of us on there that were born knowing how to crappie fish. That would be Ranger and Eufaula Boy. Both of them are fantastic guides by the way.

Come on out and fish a tournament or two with us or bring you and your dad out to one of our Crappie Camps. The both of you will meet lifelong friends, and some crazy people also. LOL

Let me know if I can help in anyway and I will do my best.


Stay safe and tight lines,


Bobo

Gonna go try my luck on the tube today around the fish attractor's at Arcadia and see if I can't get some crappie. Never been out there on my tube so hopefully all goes well.