New crappie fisherman

New to this site & fairly new to crappie fishing. I live in central Oklahoma and want to do some winter crappie fishing. Now that I have a boat I want to expand my horizons and not just fish for bass. Plus I hear crappie are great to fish in the winter. I'm headed out this weekend but first must buy some jigs. Should be 60 degrees Saturday and partly cloudy. I don't have any ultra light rods, but do have some spinning tackle I've used when fishing soft plastics. From what I've read it sound like I don't need to drop a lot of money on equipment, just some good lures. Is that accurate?

Any tips for this beginner?

Thanks

med to lighter outfits can be used ... they'll work just fine. You might want to downsize your line, though, if you're spooled with 8lb or larger. A 6ft or longer spinning outfit will work great for casting jigs. Your air temps will be quite comfortable, but what are your water temps ? If they are around the same or slightly lower, I'd expect fish to be on wood cover or dropoffs, from a few feet below visual sight - to right on the cover or drop edge. It depends on the weather trend thru the upcoming week. Standing timber/cover can be fished vertically (Vertical Casting, Vertical Jigging, tightline with live bait). Blowdowns on steep banks can be cast to, bridge pilons and stationary dock posts can, too. Deep fish can be reached by slow trolling, drifting, or using a heavier jighead to present to them in any of the vertical or horizontal methods. Tube jigs, hair jigs, jighead/minnow, Roadrunners, Beetlespins, Rooster Tails, and plastic grubs (like the Panfish Assassin) are good baits to consider. Open water presentations can be made with plain/open hook type jigs ... but, consider using weedless style jigheads when fishing in/around wood or weeds. When using light bass tackle and 4-6lb line, and a weedless jighead .... don't think you have to use a wimpy hookset - you don't have to "cross their eyes", but you do want to use a fast & firm jerk !!
Everyone has their favorite colors and color combos ... but, chartreuse in combination with other colors or alone, seems to work in most conditions. Talk to the other Oklahoma members, local tackle dealers that you trust to give you the correct & current info, and other anglers you see on the water. They can steer you in the right direction, as far as depth, colors, presentation methods, and cover types -- maybe even specific areas of the waters you intend to fish. Check the local fishing reports, but bare in mind that they may be "old news" ... especially if the weather has made a drastic change since the last report. ......... luck2ya .......cp :cool:

Welcome to the site Big Bear. You have a lot of great Crappie waters in your state. I wish I could get down there much more often than I already do.

Winter fishing can find your fish about anywhere. Warm afternoons can draw the Crappie shallow on cloudy days, but deeper on Clear days. Ledges, or sudden depth changes are usually a good bet. I'd concentrate my efforts where I can locate baitfish with deep water near by.

A couple of things you will want/need:
*Jigs 1/8th - 1/32nd ounce are the most commonly used for Crappie. Pink, Red, White, and Chartreuse will get you started.
*Some tubes & twister tails. Chartreuse is a key color, then anything else combined with it such as Red, White, Black, etc. will be a good starting block.
*A 10' pole - this will allow you to probe brush farther away from your boat. Getting you presentation away from the boat will increase your hookups. I would reccomend Outlaw Poles, my favorite.
*Crappie Nibbles, and Fish Formula attractants. They really make a big difference at times.
*Some slip bobbers, and line stops for them. These will allow you to cast whether fishing deep, or shallow. They also give you the ability to maintain exact depth settings - real important in Crappie fishing whether using jigs, minnows, or combos of both.
*Hooks - should be light wire hooks. Some use size 6, some use 1/0. I personally prefer sizes 2, or a 4 in Black Nickel, Bronse, or Gold.
*6lb test line. I prefer Fireline, but a good mono such as Trilene XL or Stren Hi-Vis Gold will get the job done for you too.
*A subscription to Crappie World - this will educate you about Crappie habits, and eliminate a lot of wasted fishing time for you.
*A good depth finder. Concentrate on finding structure that is different from the norm. Don't be concerned if you are not marking fish on it. Fish it anyway, Crappie often hold so tight to their cover, depth finders don't identify them.
*The last thing you need is simply time on the water. I suggest maybe hiring a guide a couple of times. Vary the seasons to get a better insight of what to do for particular conditions.

Hope this helps. Let us all know how you do!

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Thanks guys -- Lots of goon info there. I'm not much of a livebait guy so I was going to gather up some jigs of all sizes before heading out. I've got 10 lb test spooled on most of my spinning tackle that I can replace with 4-6 although with heavy cover I feel better with the heavier line. Thanks again -- If I have any more questions I won't hesitate to ask.

welcome to the board Bear. There are many different ways to fish for crappie and the equipment you will need will be determined by the method you choose. Personally, I use long poles (10-12') with a basic spincast reel. Terminal tackle is slipfloats, splitshots and lightwire hooks for minnows or I tightline a jig. The same can be done with a shorter rod, but I like the reach of a long pole.

Bear, Welcome fromTn.!!!

..look's like ya got ya ??? answered...so Hi from NC... :cool: