Getting Tough. . . (Continued from Previous Page)
“You should have stopped and asked before you went fishing,” he said. “I recommended it to him this morning, ‘cause a guy was catching crappie on that color yesterday. “Always check at the bait shop to find out what’s been working best,” he continued. “We interrogate every angler coming through here, and ask what they’re using, what depth they’re catching fish, and where. We don’t keep anything secret. We want everyone to have an enjoyable fishing trip.” Problem: The fish are there; your sonar unit “With a depth-finder, I can indicates as much. But they find channels, drop-offs, refuse to bite. brushpiles or whatever.” What now? Solution: “Most crappie anglers use jigs or minnows and nothing else,” says Lewis Peeler, an ardent crappier from Wynne, Ark. “I’ve seen times, though, when other baits worked, and jigs and minnows didn’t. On some lakes I’ve fished in Louisiana, we caught more crappie on freshwater shrimp. Crappie in ponds near my home seem to hit small spinners or spoons better than jigs or minnows. On certain lakes at certain times of the year, I catch most crappie using small shad-imitation crankbaits. “The key,” he continues, “is versatility. If one bait or lure or color doesn’t work, be prepared to try something different.” Problem: Crappie are hitting so lightly, their bites go undetected. How can this problem be overcome? Solution: “It pays to be a line watcher,” says Jim Spencer, an outdoor writer from Calico Rock, Ark. “A crappie may rush a bait, then just flare its gills and inhale it. The only indication of a bite may be a slight slackening of your line or a tiny, almost imperceptible twitch. You must be watching to see it and react. “ Page 10
“When using a bobber,” he continues, “be sure it’s not too large. A bobber the size of a grape detects strikes better than one the size of a golf ball.” Problem: Your crappie lake has dozens of sunken brushpiles to attract crappie, but you can’t hook anything but snags. Solution: Bill Fletcher of Mountain Home, Arkansas, has guided fishermen on Lake Norfolk for more than 20 years. He was instrumental in the completion of the Lake Norfork fish cover project etc. “Brushpiles are magnets for crappie,” he says. “Use a graph to find the brushpile, and mark it with a buoy. Then take your boat a cast away from your buoy, and using 4-pound-test line and a 1/16-ounce jig head, cast to the buoy. Count the jig down until you get a strike or hit brush. If you get a strike, use the same count next cast. If you hit brush, use a shorter count. “The key to catching crappie on fish attractors is positive depth control,” Fletcher continues. “Crappie don’t feed down, they bite up. So don’t fish under them. You establish that the fish are at a certain depth, then boom, boom, boom, you’re putting them in the boat.” The next time you confront a tough situation, try the tips offered by these expert crappie anglers. They won’t pay off every time, but they will pay off most of the time. And that means more crappie fishing fun for you.
Keith Sutton
With a resume listing more than 3,500 magazine, newspaper and website articles about fishing, hunting, wildlife and conservation, Keith Sutton of Alexander, Ark., has established a reputation as one of the country’s best-known outdoor writers. In 2011, Sutton, who has authored 12 books, was inducted into the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame as a “Legendary Communicator.” Visit his website at www.catfishsutton.com.