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If any member on here fishes with American Crappie Trail, Crappie USA, or Crappie Masters and would be willing to answer some questions for a rookie tournament fisherman, I would appreciate it. If you prefer to send a PM so you’re not bombarded with multiple questions, I understand.
I’m just trying to learn more about targeting bigger fish since all I run into are smaller schools. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Surprised you haven’t had a response yet but this site is full of tournament fisherman. Ask away
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I have never fished in those particular groups but have fished many tournaments on the state level on other trails. (decades ago)
This was my simple strategy on finding bigger fish. I would ask myself... if I was here with a buddy looking for enough to have a fish fry, what places would I pull in to? That was the places to STAY AWAY FROM. My reasoning was the stock (fish) is rotated in and back out as many people harvest the same spot. Much like a grocery store shelf. My "gotta find places" are the hidden structures that most boats run 50 mph over and never notice what lies below. Channel bends, roads, you get the picture I hope. Those fish just swim around and eat and grow without being harvested. Anyway that was my game plan and btw... I never made enough money to retire [emoji846]
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Thanks guys for replying and I did have someone reply by PM and is helping me understand more about targeting larger fish.
Isolated cover and open water seems to be a common trait for some lakes.
Most on a tournament level are using a Livescope/live view/mega live to find those larger fish and I’m just getting into it with ML. It definitely has shown how spooky they can be with boat and trolling motor noise.
I’m a big lake map studier and look for areas that will hold fish at different times of year and was curious if certain areas draw or attract bigger fish compared to the same places that attract the mega schools of smaller fish.
Thanks to all for any input n
Good luck with your goal
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I fish local Crappie tournaments and have for years. Mostly for fun and comraderie. I have met some great people and had a ton of fun. On any given day anybody can win. I have won our local club tournament in a 14' mod-v boat that was 40 years old. I had a 10hp 1957 Johnson and rear mounted TM. The lake has no horsepower restrictions, so i was competing against guys in bass boats. Electonics don't matter, sure it helps, but it can't put fish in the boat. Big fish are usually near the little fish. Every hear the anglers say they had to sort through a bunch of little ones to get to the big ones? Yep, in the same areas.
I have upgraded boats several time since that 14', but I wouldn't trade the knowledge I gained from it for anything. When your forced to fish a small area, you work it hard and learn all sorts of things. I see way too many people burn a ton of gas running back and forth on the lake. You ain't fish on plane!
I do plan on fishing the big tournaments one day. I want to work on a few more techniques first. I spent the last few years accumulating my rig and set-up. Retirements around teh corner and I'll be ready.
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The best advice I've heard is to break the lake down into sections (how many depends on the size of the lake and how long you have to pre-fish). Your goal is to fish each section and write down the weight of each fish caught by section. When you are done, tally each section and calculate the average weight in each section. Focus the bulk of your time in the section with the highest average. Many times this section will be fed by the largest tributary to the lake as there should be a higher level of nutrients coming into the lake from that tributary which generates a larger and healthier food chain. Note: I don't fish tournaments as of yet but I have been gathering tidbits of information in the hopes of one day giving it a try.