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| Where you find one crappie you can be sure there are others around. This is especially true in the spring. Make sure you can get back to the spots where you've had success before. |
The Key to Catchin' Crappie: Part 2
By Stan Fagerstrom
If you visited Casting Corner column last month you know it dealt with the basics for catching crappies. I said those basics were first finding these wonderful little panfish; fishing at exactly the right depth and retrieving your lure at the right speed.
This time around let’s take another look at the first of those three basics---finding where the crappies are located.
They say 10 per cent of fishermen catch 90 per cent of the fish. I think that's probably true. I guarantee you the10 per cent doing the catching are fishing where the fish are. What anglers some never do realize is that only about 10 per cent of a given lake or river holds fish. You can fish the other 90 per cent all day with little hope for success.
As I mentioned last month, I may find only one or two crappies in my first try at the spots I mark. But in the spring I know more fish are somewhere nearby. Crappies don't hang around by themselves in the springtime. Again, where you find one there is a cinch to be others. And that's why I keep going back to the spots where I've caught at least one.
Sooner or later the fish will start biting in one of the marked spots. If I'm lucky enough to be there when one of those feeding binges takes place, I'll likely catch all the crappies I want to take home without ever moving the boat.
There’s another super way of finding crappies. It’s why I always keep these panfish in mind whenever I go bass fishing. Why? Because often my bass fishing takes me where the crappies are concentrated. That’s why I make darn sure I’ve got my favorite crappie rods stored in the boat’s rod compartment. Every now and then I have a chance to make good use of one another of them.
I remember once fishing a Northern California lake with a guide. It was in May and we were fishing for bass. The action was slow, but every now and then along one rocky shoreline I felt something pecking at the small spinnerbait I was throwing.
"Please just hang tight here for a minute," I asked the guide, "I've got a hunch I'm getting crappie hits but the hook is too big for them to get hold of. I want to try something.”
The guide waited while I rigged up a 2-inch grub on a 1/8th ounce jig. I knew those rocks along the shore ran on out into the water a ways. You'll recall I said earlier crappies like rocks. I made one cast with that little grub and a crappie picked it up before I had moved it three feet.
The guide and I sat right there and caught 24 fat crappie that would do credit to any skillet. You can bet I marked that spot before we left. That way I knew I could go back to the exact location and have a good chance of making the same kind of catch the next day or the next week.
Keep what you’ve just read in mind when you go after largemouth. Get your own G.Loomis crappie rods. I’ve taken a couple thousand crappies on my own favorites.
Next time something starts pecking on whatever you’re throwing at the bass, set your bass rod aside and cast a crappie lure into the same area. If you choose you can go back to bass fishing after you catch a couple, but do mark the spot. It will pay dividends next time you go out after crappies.
Make finding the right spots your first priority in any kind of crappie fishing adventure. I've told you the best spots I’ve found in my own crappie fishing. The best spots may vary one way or another where you’re doing your own crappie fishing. Whatever they turn out to be, make darn sure once you get fish that you mark the productive spots one way or another. That way you can go back to where you’ve had success before. It really boosts your chance for success.
As I said in the beginning, the first of the three keys in catching crappies is finding where they are concentrated. Put this suggestion to work in your own fishing. It will pay off in results.
Next month we'll take a look at the importance of fishing at
the right depth. It’s the second of the three key ingredients to successful crappie catchin’.
To Be Continued
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| There's a heap of good eating contained in the landing net pictured here. |
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