Holiday Homework Project - Free t-shirt and Hat and Jig Scent for articles

We need articles to keep us going during this slow season. This is your mission, should you choose to accept it. Over the coming holidays, while you may have some time, take a break from the relatives, and write us an article. Include at least one picture, and if we publish it, I will send you a free Crappie.com t-shirt, hat, c.c sticker and jig scent as well.

And for the most part, you can count on most if not all the articles getting published.

Have at it. Consider the Article your Christmas present to me (and the members), and accept my gifts in return. Merry Christmas all.

Here is an idea for you Slab..... check out these threads.

Art of jig tying

Eyeballs on jigs

Some have expressed interest in writing up information on tying jigs and working with molds. There is alot of knowledge spread between a few people, you should be able to pick them out pretty easily. Either individual or a colaboration, I know you would have some EXCELLENT articles!! But you may have to contact (PM) them to get it done??? You could also use the Jig Pictures thread that is there too, there are lots of jigs in there now and only a trickle of new ones have been added in. Just a thought! :)

I woke up in the cab of my uncles 1969 Ford pickup just after sunup, looking out the window I observed shoreline and water, I'm at Eufaula lake, they loaded me into the truck asleep @5:00 am and hauled me with them fishing on a warm March day. I'm only 11 years old at the time but my uncle Troy and his cousin Bitsy are no where in sight I grab my rod and small tackle box and start fishing knowing I'll find them later. I cut my teeth bank fishing for crappie and never looked back! Where are they Bitsy we asked? Well boy's right over there! He'd pointed out a sloping bank with button willows 1/2 under water with good water color and peagravel bottom. We eased out into the water on the backside of the willows and I instantly heard the hookset and loud splashing of a big black male crappie. After taking out around 25 between us both in a spot not 10' I hooked 2 big ones and let them throw the hook....Dang it boy! say's Bitsy now it's over, and sure enough my grizzly old cousin taught me how to fish the spawn wading, reading the water before ever getting in it, watching for baitfish and paying close attention to conditions. We usually witnessed lots of bank fisherman using minnows and occasionally catching a few, but why aren't they wading I asked? Probably scared of snakes exclaimed Bitsy! Or they just dont want to work at it. After 30 years I never miss a spring spawn on my home lake, so if your ever on Eufaula lake and hear someone laughing loudly and and hear fish splashing, It might be me.....or Troy & Bitsy, gone now but I can still hear them laughing even today.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/100_0354.jpg

Old School Fisherman

If I had to use only 3 words to describe my Uncle Dick, it would be "Old School Fisherman". The fact was, that for most of his life, he never bought any bait of any kind. He would catch his own worms in his yard, or else where. He would go to creeks and streams and seine for minnows, and if he was using crayfish, would go to some of the same places at night, to catch soft shelled crayfish.

Now his equipment was also pretty basic too, maybe 2 to 3 poles, for various species. He had a few plugs for fishing, but not many, and then he had several sizes of hooks. He didn't buy store bought weights, but had a couple molds to make his own. His source for lead was free, as his Dad and Brother ran a vehicle repair shop. He did though, buy the makings, to make his own walleye harnesses.

He never owned a boat, and very few times in his life did he fish from someone elses boat. In those days, he mostly fished the Shenango River, and at that time the lake didn't exist until in the late sixties. The closest lakes in those days was Pymatuming Lake, Conneaut Lake, or if he was willing to go further away Lake Erie.

One of my and my son's fondest memories will always be of him. One evening he called and asked, if we would go with him and help catch some crayfish. At the time, we were all for it, and he said he would be right over. So off we go to a creek that he knew would have them. So we pull off the road, walk down over an embankment, and get to the waters edge with a flashlight, a net, and a club. My uncle has the flashlight, me the net, and my young son at the time has the club.

So with the flashlight, Uncle Dick starts scanning the water, looking for those crayfish. I see them he says, and boy are there alot of them. So into the 2 to 3 foot of water I wade with the net. He explains to me that they won't take off, as while they are in this soft stage, they arn't very capable of moving very fast.

So here we are netting almost a couple dozen of them. When all of a sudden, my uncle starts hollering. We ask whats wrong, and he says there is a water moccasin in the water. He says to me, you stay very still, and to my son, throw me the club. So the club is tossed to him, and he turns toward it, with the light shining in its eyes. We watched, as this snake was straight up out of the water about 2 feet, and with the club, he made one swift swing, and killed it. The snake was between 5 and 6 feet long. Well he says, lets get out or here, as there is probably another near by, and we don't want to go thru that again.

On the way home, my son says, hey dad, don't ever ask me to go again, and I agreed. I remember at some point, while we were on our way there, that my son had asked what the club was for. And my uncle said just in case, but never explained the just in case.

The Lip RIPPERS, I've published your article, please PM me your shirt size and address. The other will get published over time. Thanks for all the great work.

s10chevy, do you have a picture to go with the article, or did we already talk about me using a generic pic?

The year was 1967; the location was High Point, NC. A skinny 13 year old boy who 40 some years later is known as Pop Pop, was getting ready for school. His mom finally heads out the door going to work after telling him not to ruin that brand new pair of blue jeans he was wearing. Just like clockwork at 7:00 am I hear that familiar beep-beep of the horn on that old blue Volkswagen Beetle my uncle drove outside in the driveway. Now, my uncle was a family man who just couldn’t always get to work because he liked to fish too much. I grab my dollar my mom left me for lunch and headed out the door, because I knew I was laying out of school and going fishing. Now, this ain’t the first time I have laid out of school to go fishing with my uncle, who was the only one who ever had time to take me fishing, so we had a routine. I jumped in and asked, “Where are we going today?” He said, “Let’s go to Ramey Creek and catch some brook trout.” So we head up toward Low Gap. We got up the road a little ways, and he asked if I had any money. So I gladly pitch my dollar in for gas for the Beetle which took a whole two dollars and some change to fill up. Now, we are set but broke. Now my uncle is a great guy but back then he had some responsibility issues about working and things a family man needs to be concerned about. We get to Ramey Creek and head up the creek. We used Panther Martins and Rooster tails with two of the hooks clipped off, so we could release the trout. Now Ramey Creek as it ascends toward the Blue Ridge Parkway is pretty rugged, tumbling down over boulders, a true paradise. It was so rugged, one place we had to climb up a pine tree to get to the next pool. We spent the day there, caught a lot of little native brook trout, and then we started back down toward the bottom where we parked. Now just imagine what scooting down boulders, logs is going to do to a brand new pair of blue jeans. We made it back to the Beetle and we were starved to death. After taking the back seats out, we found enough change to get a pack of Nabs and a bottle of pop which we split. That tasted as good as a steak dinner to me. We made it back home, and he let me out. He didn’t have the guts to come in and face his older sister, my Mom, so I had to go it alone. I walked in and she said, “I figured you was with Bug, (my uncle’s nickname), and just look at your pants.” She just said, “You better start going to school and quit staying out fishing with Bug.” For some reason I didn’t get that whipping I just knew was coming like so many times before. The whippings were worth it, and I loved to fish with my uncle Bug. I have so many more stories of our fishing trips, like the time we built a fire beside High Point City Lake and cooked fish on a stick because we hungry, and of course we didn’t have any money. That worked great until the park warden got to chasing us. And the trip to Sparta Mill Pond near Sparta, NC. My mom, who has been gone for many years, would have celebrated her 77th birthday this past Sunday. My uncle Bug lives in Monroe now and has serious health issues. But I will always have those memories of our fishing trips.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p...ven20Cliff.jpg

It was bitter cold 18 degrees North wind as I pulled into the closed mareina,it was midnight.I could barley feel My fingers as I walked back and forth as I thought why not! I fumbled around trying to get a rod out of the boat I sunk the minnow about 6 foot down and layed the rod on the plank's to put My hands in My pocket's.The tip shoot downward as reached to save My best piece of crappie gear 2hour's later I left with 25 crappie the smallest was 1.5 lbs. with 2 over 3 lbs! I brought my Mother and Father back the next night ,same thing different day 2 fish shy of a 75 fish limit 8 fish over 3 lbs.I still see that smile on there face's though My Dad passed year's ago I remember the night's He'd carry My Mother to the fishing dock with His coleman trying to replicate what took place those cold nights long ago in 1981.The stillness of the night awoke Me,it was 24 degrees as I got up to go out the tent was cold,but a welcome shelter the Motor fired in antisapation of a successful night. I guided the boat with ease,as I rounded the corner of the neck ,to the main lake I saw a lantern glow From the old fishing dock. I thought Who could it be at 1:00 a.m. as turned towards the warmth I got excited remembering My youth hoping My Dad would hollar out Any Luck! as I drew near I saw it wasn't Him.I often stop while fishing these days and tell Him this one is for You Dad,I hope My Grandson does then same when He looks back.

Red Ear Sunfish

Redear sunfish are a popular game fish because they are hard fighters on light tackle and, like other sunfish, readily take a variety of baits and can be caught in large numbers. They are considered good table fare and can be prepared in a variety of ways.

Because they relate to deep bottom structure, the best technique is to still fish with a baited hook lying motionless on the bottom, moving it occasionally. Popular baits include small worms, grubs, maggots and snails if available. Common artificials include small spinners and jigs. Fly-fishing is not a common technique for fishing redear sunfish because they rarely come to the surface, although some sinking or sub-surface fly patterns can be effective.

Most anglers pursue redbreast and other sunfish with light- or ultralight-action spinning or spin-casting tackle and line weights lighter than 6-pound test.

The best time to catch redear sunfish is while they are spawning. After the spawn, they can be found in deeper waters, often near to areas they used for spawning.

Ed, I Pm'ed you to use a picture of your choosing.

There are areas in Alabama along the TN river where the fields are flooded for duck hunting. I am just using Alabama as a reference because this is where I am from. You may very well have these in your state or area or something similar to this. As you will be able to see from the attatched pictures, you can easily catch many different types of fish from these water releases or spillways. After duck season is over, the game and fish division open the valves and let all the water spill into the river to drain the fields for planting. There are several different factors that attract so many fish to the area. The current stirs up different types of bait sources, it creates eddy water so that fish can ambush their prey, the eddy water also serves as a calm area directly related to the current. Usually the water being released is a little warmer than the river that it is flowing into which creates a temperature change. These are just some of the things that attract the fish to the area. You can catch fish without having any knowledge of fishing in most of these areas simply due to the amount of fish that the current attracts. However if you take the time to watch people fish it, you can learn from the tactics they use. I will also point out a few things I target in this particular water release that improves my catch tremendously. These places are generally heavily fished and therefore the fish move in and out and are caught a lot, so sometimes you may not catch fish and then sometimes you may load up. This particular release pushes a lot of water out into the main body of the river, and when it reaches a certain distance and the pressure is less, along with the push of the main river current, this causes a bend in the water flow toward whichever direction the river is flowing. I key on several different areas. A good place to start is right beside the edge of the rough bends on both sides where the water turns back. Also, in the calm water right next to where the water releases. Do not overlook the direct current thinking it is too rough or fast for crappie, they will sometimes be holding in it as well. Usually you can catch these fish in many different ways. Minnows under a float, jig under a float, or casting. It is really a forgiving way of fishing at times in these areas. So, if you know of one of these areas and have never tried it, you may want to give it a shot. Here are some different fish caught at this particular spot. Good fishing to you all.