Do you use minnows, jigs or plastics? What color combos are most productive for you? What locations do you find them? What depth do you find them?
As you can see I have a lot of questions buy answers. I hope members can provide answers. :help
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Do you use minnows, jigs or plastics? What color combos are most productive for you? What locations do you find them? What depth do you find them?
As you can see I have a lot of questions buy answers. I hope members can provide answers. :help
Always on jigs....
Color depends on water conditions.... same as depth....
Location = usually small stumps that most don't even pay attention to....
We'll be working on locating some soon.......
First off you have to fish waters that HAVE 2+lb fish in them. And that's not always your major or large lakes, although those would likely hold greater numbers of them (but you also have to contend with the size of those lakes).Quote:
Originally Posted by ezgoing
You can use live or artificial bait ... your choice, and also your choice of techniques.
Most of my 2lb+ Crappie have come on artificial baits ... primarily marabou Road Runners & jig/plastics .... primarily casting to pre-spawn & spawning fish (mainly because that's mostly what I've done over the past several decades). There were times, in the past (far distant past & recent past) where using minnows and Pushing jigs got me into Slabs of that size.
Their "locations" were determined by the lake I was on & the time of year. Mostly they were caught in the Spring, during the spawning period. There were occasions where they were caught in the Fall, just not as often, overall.
Their depths were determined "mostly" by time of year, with the Spring fish being in <10fow and the Fall fish being in >20fow ... not "always", but collectively over the years they were.
Colors that have shown the most consistency (for me) over the years are:
blue/chartreuse plastics on a jighead
Solid pink or solid chartreuse on a marabou Road Runner
My thought is right place right time ....location is key like mentioned, some lakes just dont have many if any...I use just jigs myself and manage a few each year around dfw ....but it ain't easy in town to top 2 lbs ....
Fork tawakoni Palestine lake of the pines Navarro mills produce a few
All the fish lined up on the left are over 2 pounds, and some on the right are VERY close.
No minnows, just pushing jigs.
Tom
Attachment 329907
One thing everyone isn't mentioning, is the time of year. 2+, prespawn, and during spawn, or in the fall when they turn the feed bags on, late September and on, getting ready for winter. They loose weight because of spawning, and it takes time, to put it back on.
The old rule is... large baits catch large fish. So I trap 3/4 - 1# crickets for bait. [emoji846]
I have only caught 1 over 2# and was by drifting a nightcrawler.
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I thought that also until last Fall. Friend gave me a 1/64 bumble bee jig to catch bluegill. I didn't catch any bluegill with it but I caught a lot of crappie with it before I lost it. Biggest was a 14" but I also caught some 12"-13" crappie with it.Quote:
Originally Posted by silverside
I have no scientific data, but a few things trend with big fish.
If the bite is light, you won't catch big ones.
They seem to hang on the outside of a school, catch one first and last on a drift.
They seldom pound the bait, light tugs almost hard to see.
Don't get them on their side coming to the boat, they'll be gone.
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I’ve caught fish here that based on length would probably be at least 3 pounds in, say Mississippi. When I weighed em....didn’t make 2 pounds!
deceptive fish to say the least ….real large ones often don't top 2
I remember a trip real well where an experienced fella lost his mind on a really large fish I brung up .
was a dancing around like an wild indian saying it was new lake record at well over 2 lbs on a lake that had a barely 2 lb record .
as I held it before I pitched it in the ice chest I told him it didn't feel heavy to me and I doubt in its summer condition it was much over 2 if it hit 2 …..
I had to leave early and later the guy that owns the boat weighed it at 1 lb 13 oz ….
to add insult to injury I was walking away from a spot the other day and asked a guy how he was doing on fish . he said I just got me a 2 lber and I said wow that's nice , don't see many 2 lbers ….he said go look in the bucket right there and see for yourself
I said ok what the heck lets see this here whale fish ……
I almost cried and laughed at the same time but held it back so I didn't offend anyone …
as it was just the length of the inside diameter of the 5 gallon bucket yawl ….
and to be sure there was no confusion on what fish it was the only fish in the bucket ..
might have weighed 1 lb maybe with a few sinkers put in its belly …..:Rofl
in many cases length on them isn't the deciding factor on weight , they need to be long for sure at well over 14 inches in most cases but in order to top 2 they need to have massive girth as well ….
many times they just aint all that thick
just saying
Yep, that is what I was trying to say. The worst purchase that I’ve ever made was a scale! :Rofl Before I bought it, I had lots of 2 and 3 pound crappies. After buying it......not the first one!:Rofl:bashQuote:
Originally Posted by Ketchn
I go to Sardis in Miss to catch them
I bought some scales last year but have never used them. Maybe I need to "lose" them if I am ever going to catch a 2 # crappie. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by ET Fish
Oklahoma has some big crappie to. All these fish weighed just under 3 lbs. Two were white crappie and one was a big black. After chasing crappie a lot of years, there is nothing I have used that worked better than big shiners. Not saying we haven't caught 2 plus pounders on jigs but the majority was on live bait pre-spawn.
Nice! My wife would only used minnows, she always laughed at me for using jigs. She told me crappie ate meat, not metal. She always caught more than I did but being stubborn I stuck with the jigs.
Tim .... looking at the dorsal spine count (I count 6) and the faint vertical alignment of some of this fish's specks, I'm gonna go out on a short limb and call that fish a "hybrid" (naturally occurring).
https://www.crappie.com/crappie/atta...-crappie-5-jpg
Now that's not taking anything away from the size of that Slab ... for sure it's a dream fish for many an angler !!
Very well could be. Didn’t take the time to count dorsal fins but looking at it now it is a hybrid
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White, black, or hybrid that's a nice fish. Congrats.
Fish Lake of the Pines in the late winter. We catch several over 2 pounds pretty much every trip
Yep, I'm with 'Pappy'. To catch 2 lb+ crappie, you need to be at a lake that has several of them. Spent 30 years in KY fishing for them, caught maybe 5-10 over 2 pounds, then moved to SC, Santee Lake system. Was not a big deal to catch a 2+ crappie there, but was not easy. Best day I had there was 15 over 2 lbs. Basically I found them with gigs, but minnows seemed to catch the best ones. I just think the Southern lakes have a better 'growing' season and less early mortality of the Crappie. Man, Weiss Lake Alabama EVERY year get pounded with Crappie fishermen, but it still produces good numbers of good fish every year. Several Lakes in KY are great for crappie fishing, but 90% of them, you would hard pressed to produce a 2+lb crappie on a single fishing trip. I would guess Cumberland or KY lake would be your best shot if you are in KY.
Never ever forget the local small ponds in search of big crappie
The ones that folks don’t suspect or know have crappie in them typically have one or 2 monster fish in them
Go Go Go Fish Fish Fish
First thing is to fish waters that hold 2 lb plus fish . Not all waters created equal .:fish:twocents
None of the above…cranksQuote:
Originally Posted by ezgoing
Just depends on the day, I always have something dark, something light/bright, and something dullQuote:
What color combos are most productive for you?
Flats and edges of flatsQuote:
What locations do you find them?
At or slightly above the thermocline.Quote:
What depth do you find them?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Buff58
Wish I could. But since I can no longer launch a boat I am stuck at Joe Pool Lake.
As many have said you have to fish where 2 pound crappie are at. Center Hill Lake produces a lot of 2 pound fish....albeit for the last 8 years they have been harder to find than they were slightly over a decade ago. The dam has been under repair for more than a decade. The water level of the lake has been kept at or around 630 during that time.....normal pool is 648. If you look at this pic where my son is standing it is now covered with trees.....when at normal pool the water will be in the trees you see behind him. Going to be a lot of cover for crappie......and everything else. Late spring it is going back to 648. According to TWRA the fishing will be on fire for the next 5 or so years with all the new cover.....which was actually old cover....LOL. I for one am very excited about this......the crappie are finally going to have some wood to relate to again....should be great.
RegardsAttachment 330643
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you should not half to ask that question in texas.if you put in the time it should be no problem.if it is look for new water.
no worries EZ we will find where they live in your lake SK is good at finding big crappie and I aint terrible at ketchn em sometimes
I bet there is a spot or 27 that holds large fish in that there pond ….that one that guy hanging around with us yanked the other day we were there was closing in on 2 lbs for sure :highfive
[QUOTE=Ketchn;3779288]no worries EZ we will find where they live in your lake SK is good at finding big crappie and I aint terrible at ketchn em sometimes
I bet there is a spot or 27 that holds large fish in that there pond ….that one that guy hanging around with us yanked the other day we were there was closing in on 2 lbs for sure :highfive[/QUOTE
Joe Pool Lake in the DFW area has them, I just need to learn how to do a better job targeting. But I am now that Ketchn and Sk fishing with me I will soon do a better job at finding them.
I need to do a better job of finding them due to a crappie tournament at Lynn Creek Marina that starts Friday. To win everyday will take a 2# crappie each day. And my goal is to win every day. :biggrin
For three years a heart condition and my wife's failing health kept us from using the pontoon. We fished the slips as she could but very few two pounders are caught in the slips at Joe Pool Lake. Now that it has been almost a year since my wife died I am starting to fish with the pontoon again. First I had get it upgraded with some of the newer electronics and fishing gear. But after a three year absence I need to relearn everything over again.Quote:
Originally Posted by Keith K
the most important thing is fishing lakes that have good populations of 2 + pound fish. Second most important thing is to have good Electronics, and use them! Garmin livescope has really helped me Target the biggest fish in an area. YouTubeQuote:
Originally Posted by ezgoing
I just upgraded my trolling motor to the 36 V, 112# MinnKota Ultrex. have it on my pontoon now and love it. I ordered the Live Scope with a Garmin echoMap Plus 93 sv. Now I am impatiently waiting for it to be delivered. I am going to do the mobile setup with it so I can use it on the front of my pontoon and on the slips when the weather is too tough to go onto the lake. That will certainly add a new dimension to slip fishing, being able to see which slip has brush and fish.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishers