Pierce County south sound region.
Hi everyone My name is Dan I am new to the group. I live up in South Hill Puyallup area. I was wondering if any of you seasoned crappie slayers had any tips or pointers as far as finding Crappie in the area. I have been out to Kapowsin had no luck there. I am using a small inflatable pontoon boat and do not have any sort of electronics on my rig. Reading some of the posts here and watching videos on how to fish for them makes it look like fishing for them is a no brainer. I am using an ultra light rod and reel. I think I need to probably change my line but ive been using different chartreuse combo little jigs with some crappie nibbles on them. I also have various tube jigs too. When I do go out its pretty early in the morning too. I feel like I am getting super frustrated and want to say the heck with it and just go back to my bass fishing. Some of the places I was looking to check out was some of the small lakes in the Federal Way area, Lake Tanwax and Ohop Lake.
Anyways Thanks for any suggestions and help.
Daniel L.
Pierce County south sound region.
Dan, keep doing what you've been, however take the chartreuse jigs and throw them away. (Not literally, they work for some people, however I have very little confidence in chartreuse.) I recommend jigs no heavier than 1/32 oz. with a pink head and white body. I believe Walmart sells them, but don't quote me on that. Also, there's really no need to tip a jig with crappie nibbles, wax worms etc. If using them gives you more confidence, by all means use them, however IMO they are a waste of time/money.
The lakes you've fished, along with the ones you've mentioned, will produce crappie. In fact I can't think of a lake in western Washington that doesn't produce crappie, although some are more productive than others.
Concerning your setup, an ultra lite rod with no heavier than 6lb line will suffice, however I recommend 4 or 2lb line as crappie can be line shy.
At the current time, you can find crappie all over a body of water, from the lily pads to open water, depending on the time of the day and cloud cover. Without electronics (which arn't needed but helpful to find open water fish) I'd focus my efforts on the outside of the lily pads and weed lines using a bobber and jig. Set your jig 3' under the bobber (smaller bobbers work best for crappie to detect very soft bites) I recommend not letting your bobber sit in one spot more than about a minute, if no bites cast again, sometimes a 2' difference in where you cast can result in a fish.
I hope this helps, I've used these methods for years and they are proven time and time again. I've literally landed well over 1000 crappie this year, doing exactly what I just explained. Good luck, keep us posted on how you do.
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