Yankee is confused

[Fishnoob]

Hello all - new to forum.

I'm a bit confused. I just moved to western TN. and when I ask people a good place to fish BlueGill, they all look at me funny?

So down here should I say "crappie?"

I fished a bit as a youngster and now being 39 I want to start again. Been so long I probably forgot even how to fish. Not only that, but being from Michigan, I am used to fishing BlueGill and Perch in much larger lakes.

Here in Western, TN. what they call a Lake, I thought was a small pond.
Can BlueGill (I mean Crappie even be caught in these tiny lakes down here?)

To me a 400 Acre lake seems too small to even support a good Pan fish that is large enought to eat.

I honestly like eating them as much as the catching part.

I'm just overwhelmed, because I don't know how to fish these small ponds. I'm 3 hours away from what I would call a good size lake. Too far for me to drive.

Any advice for a noob is appriciated.

[beenfishin?]

That's allright! All yanks is confused! Naw, Bluegill are bream. Crappie are, well, crappie! Do you want to fish for bluegill... or Crappie?

[Arkie John]

Google is your friend.

If you persist, you will get used to fishing our 'ponds.'

aj

[Fishnoob]

Oh I see, so Briem is the same as BlueGill, but Crappie are totally different?

I have never eaten Crappie. Love BlueGill. How are Crappie to eat?

Also, Is there a way to fish for both when out fishing. You know what I mean? I'm confused on how to set your line and area for Briem vs catching Crappie.

I want to go next weekend, but I suppose it would be too cold for the fish to bite.

I guess what Arkie must be saying is that you can still catch good size pan fish in the small lakes down here in the south. Do you calll them lakes or ponds here?

There is one fair size body of water a few miles from me that rents small boats. It not a bad size lake and looks clean. Perhaps I will try fishing there.

[GRIZZ]

From one Yankee who likes TN to another. Your going to have to learn the fishing language down there, but its not to hard. A crappie is a crappie is a crappie unless it's a sac-a-lait, but your to far north for that or a speck, but your too far north for that too, but they are all still crappie. Well, unless its a white crappie or a black crappie or a black nosed crappie or a hybrid crappie or a strawberry crappie, but I won't go there. Now a sunny or a sunfish or a bluegill in TN is a brim or bream, but they are still sunfish. I'll give some links to pictures later. Your going to hear a lot about rockfish and stripes. A rockfish is a striped bass and a stripe is a white bass.

The biggest problem is knowing what letters in the words they leave out there. You'll soon know what I mean. Then you need to stick to your northern guns and keep saying crappie properly. Down there they insist on saying craw-pee instead of the properly pronounced but unfortunately associated crap-ee. They can scream the F, D, GD and S words at the top of their lungs when their craw-pies get off their hooks, but heaven forbid someone dares to say crap-ee. Oh.. and they call minnows - minners. That's all I can remember right now.

Did I miss any of your weird TN fish names guys? Despite all the weird ways they say things though, people in TN are the friendliest, kindest, most generous and fun people you can meet. I love being there and can't wait to get back.

Here is my advice, well its what I do, but I'm kinda hard to get along with. Learn the fishes real names and use them. Here's a list. Fishes of Tennessee - Reservoir and Big River Fish of Tennessee - Jim Negus

[luvjign]

From one Yankee who likes TN to another. Your going to have to learn the fishing language down there, but its not to hard. A crappie is a crappie is a crappie unless it's a sac-a-lait, but your to far north for that or a speck, but your too far north for that too, but they are all still crappie. Well, unless its a white crappie or a black crappie or a black nosed crappie or a hybrid crappie or a strawberry crappie, but I won't go there. Now a sunny or a sunfish or a bluegill in TN is a brim or bream, but they are still sunfish. I'll give some links to pictures later. Your going to hear a lot about rockfish and stripes. A rockfish is a striped bass and a stripe is a white bass.

The biggest problem is knowing what letters in the words they leave out there. You'll soon know what I mean. Then you need to stick to your northern guns and keep saying crappie properly. Down there they insist on saying craw-pee instead of the properly pronounced but unfortunately associated crap-ee. They can scream the F, D, GD and S words at the top of their lungs when their craw-pies get off their hooks, but heaven forbid someone dares to say crap-ee. Oh.. and they call minnows - minners. That's all I can remember right now.

Did I miss any of your weird TN fish names guys? Despite all the weird ways they say things though, people in TN are the friendliest, kindest, most generous and fun people you can meet. I love being there and can't wait to get back.

Here is my advice, well its what I do, but I'm kinda hard to get along with. Learn the fishes real names and use them. Here's a list. Fishes of Tennessee - Reservoir and Big River Fish of Tennessee - Jim Negus

Purdy good synopsis, GRIZZ. The main two are:
Drop the "g" in words that end in "ing" (it's a waste).............and don't add "s" to the end of "crappie". (This gets more important the further south you go).

[SweetHomeAlabama]

Fishnoob,

If somebody tells you the milk is "rurnt", don't drink it. :D

[fatboy]

weird???????? Hmmmm, kinda like ice fishing and taking pics of snow drifts several feet high is weird to me. Glad to have ya noob and welcome to the South. Grizz, you are welcome down here anytime. FATBOY

[waterboy1]

Fishnoob, Although its harder this time of year, both types of fish can be caught. Although a bream will hit a minnow, he is more likely to hit a worm, spike (maggot), wax worm (waxie), or cricket, or bug looking jig. Crappie are more likely to hit minnows, or jigs, but will also hit a waxie or cricket. Styles of fishing can be similar, ie slip floats, light rods etc. Both fish seem to like similar habitat, stumps, fallen trees, rocks, docks, etc. Don't be surprised also if you catch a catfish or two. The lakes here can be plenty big. Used to fish a 6 acre lake in northern Indiana all the time, pulled hundreds of gills from it, but it can depend on the fishing pressure the lake receives. Good luck

[Minus 1]

There is a nice lake up in the NW corner of Tenn. Got a lot of cypress trees in it. Full of big bream and crappies . Been going there for over 40 yrs. Can't remember the name of it tho..:p