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Hey y’all – hope you’ve been boatin’ some good ones lately! We’re back with another Target Crappie loaded up with juicy summer slab content!

Father’s Day weekend is right around the corner, and we hope you get a chance to sneak out and whack a few with your dad, your kids or your fishing buddies!

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Aaaand if anyone is wondering, here'es what's been going down on Sam Rayburn, TX:

Let's get into it!

"When the BaitFuel was on there...they were smoking it."

That's TN pro Clay Wilson talkin' about how he discovered BaitFuel Gel was the deal for him on his crappie baits. When he’s not chasing crappie and shellcracker across the South, Clay is competing in tournaments, working on new gear and serving as a school resource officer in TN.

Clay and his tournament partner JoJo Baker won this year’s National Crappie League Championship on Lake Washington, MS, and fish multiple trails year-round. Clay also guides on the Tennessee River and surrounding lakes.

He gave us the story on how he discovered BaitFuel and why he likes it so much:

> "I fished a tournament on Table Rock last year, Wally Marshall Crappie Expo. It's the biggest crappie tournament in the country, highest entry fee. I mean, the entry fee is $5,000 it's pretty good, pretty big for crappie tournaments.

> "I fished it with a guy from TX, Travis Deckard.... We'd found some different areas that were holding some fish, and black crappie are a little more finicky.... So you gotta have something that's more natural.

> "...live bait's not allowed in that tournament. I was like...we've got to have something that's got some kind of scent on it – something to make 'em eat.

> "...a couple of key bites on a big black crappie go a long way. I had that BaitFuel in the squeeze bottle. I said, 'Man let's see if we can get some of these black crappie to bite.

> "I started squeezing that BaitFuel on different soft-plastics...it was crazy man. Every fish that would come look at it would eat it, where before they'd run off the tree look at it and not necessarily eat it.

> "But...when the BaitFuel was on there, I mean, they were smoking it.

> "On day 2 of the tournament, we had a giant crappie on a tree sitting like 32' deep. The cast has to be perfect with a 1/8-oz jighead to get that far down there and look real enough for them to bite it.

> "Travis threw on it a couple of times and got pretty close to it. The fish wouldn't come off the tree. I lathered the BaitFuel up on this little bitty 1" powerbait deal. I put it on the head, the lead, everything. Just put a big ol' wad on it.

> "I threw it down there and the first cast was perfect. Right when it come off the tree, I burnt the the reel up trying to take it away from it and [the crappie] smoked it. It weighed 2.16 lbs and was the biggest fish we weighed and probably the fish that carried us to make the final day.

> "We had another tournament this year in January in MS – those fish wouldn't look at a minnow, period, nothing.

> "We'd practiced all day, probably caught 1 fish from when we got there 'til about 3:00, and off-limits was at 4:00. We picked up one of the NanoSnak in black and chartreuse, and I put some BaitFuel on it about 3:30 and boom, boom, boom. Caught 3 fish and left.

> "We pulled up there day 1 of the tournament and dropped that same bait on there with BaitFuel and caught a 2.86 and a 2.99. Jojo actually believed in it because he saw firsthand how they ate it.

> "I ain't gonna sit here and say it's gonna make every fish bite, but if a fish is borderline and interested, it'll make 'em bite."

Also:

Clay likes to put BaitFuel Freshwater Hardbait Scent Stick on crankbaits.

Be on the lookout for some Clay-inspired BaitFuel NanoCrappie baits and Halo crappie rods!

SNEAK PEAK: New slab candy from Berkley 👀

I (Joel) got a tour of the top secret Berkley bait lab in Spirit Lake, IA – incredible. Don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that! More on that later.

Anywho, got a sneak peak at some new stuff coming out this fall. One particular bait that caught my attention was the #4 Berkley Finisher – a new smaller size of this bait. 

Caught up with head Berkley bait designer Dan Spengler for some deets behind why they added this size to the existing lineup:

> ''The #4 was built to target popular panfish species [crappies, gills], yet it's sized large enough to still catch [other] predator fish species.

> ''Even though the #4 is small, it casts exceptionally well and has the same proven darting and hovering action [as the larger sizes].... It's more of a panfish bait and works for open water and also ice – something we felt we were missing when we launched the bait.''

Dan's favorite setup for it is a longer L-action rod with 4 or 6-lb Berkley Fireline and 4 or 6-lb Berkley Trilene 100% Flourocarbon leader. 

One thing that surprised when field testing the #4 size was amount of giant bluegills that hammered it – including this 1-10 PB:

You go the scoop! Be on the lookout for it this fall or sooner.

Couple things that stood out on the #4 Finisher

Joel's 2c as a long-time panfisherman – open water and ice:

1. Compact, one-of-a-kind profile, perfect for aggressive or subtle fishing styles.

2. Tons of ways to work it, ideal for targeting aggressive fish in a school.

3. Bite-sized, fishable year-round, no wrong way to use it – works anywhere in the water column. Hop it off structure fish it vertically like a jig and minnow, work it like a jerkbait with snaps, rips, falls, etc.

4. Light enough for high suspended fish, heavy enough for 40-60' casts with FFS.

5. Flat belly creates a unique, slow fall with hang time to tempt fish, yet sinks fast enough to reach the bottom-dwellers.

6. Available in lots of colors – perch, blue smelt, stealth shad for the more natural clear-water stuff, and a handful of loud colors for stained water.

7. Paint seems durable – holds up against rocks, timber and toothy fish.

Also:



Be a little cautious fishing near wood. With the trebles it's a little snaggy.

Brett is 100% going to break these out on Sam Rayburn to pull some slabs off of piles! 😁

Forward-facers = dimes??

How about this question: What fish direction gives the best live sonar return? Crappie.com user KrappieKrane sparked this gem:

> FFS is only able to display distance and depth. Width (left/right) can only be known by sweeping the transducer to both sides of the object to determine the brightest return. 

> It is my understanding that at a particular forward distance from the transducer, only a single pixel can be displayed indicating the presence of an object. ...Garmin [LiveScope] displays the most centered and hardest object at that exact distance that remains in the cone.

> Here is my question – When those beautiful ''dimes'' appear on screen, is the fish perpendicular or facing the transducer? 

KrappieKrane thinks the brightest sonar ''dime'' shows when a fish faces the transducer head-on, beam cutting through head and tail.

[Click that pic ^ and you get YT vid that will show you what he means.]

What do you think all you FFS users? Agree or disagree?

1. MN Fishing tournament raises $702k

MN Adult/Teen Challenge holds a huge 1-day tournament in Brainerd, MN,a nd funds raised support teens and adults battling chemical addictions. The top team raised over $149,041 – incredible!

2. KY/TN: KY Lake slabs are...

> ...suspended and shifting to summer spots like deep drop-offs and channels. Bite is slowing down with NW winds and pollen in the water.

3. IA: Fill your cooler at Cold Springs Lake

> The [DNR] will relax the fishing regulations at Cold Springs Lake starting Jun 15 to allow anglers to more freely harvest fish before the lake is chemically renovated....

> Anglers with a valid fishing license may harvest any size or number of largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, crappie, channel catfish....

4. AR: Crappie getting out deep

> Lake Ouachita: Crappie are good around brush in 15-20', jigs and minnows producing well.

> Greers Ferry Lake: Crappie are scattered in deeper water – jigs and minnows around brushpiles.

> Lake Fayetteville: Slabs are slowing down but still biting on live worms in the deeper stuff.

Also:

> Cook's Lake: No crappie fishing due to high water – lake remains closed.

5. TX: Crappie are "excellent on"...

...Bob Sandlin, Bois d'Arc, Brownwood, Naconiche.

6. KS: Weekly fishing report and fish attractor locations

> Cedar Bluff, Kanopolis, Ottawa, and Jewell have lots of slabs. Find 'em in near deeper brushpiles using jigs and minnows.

Here's those fish attractor locations (pdf).

7. IA: Water temps is in the upper 60s to low 70s

> Rathbun Rez: Fair – use small jigs or jigs under a slip bobber with minnows for picky fish hanging around structure.

> Brushy Creek Lake: Fair – find fish near shore in 5-10' near submerged structure using jigs or minnows.

> 12 Mile Creek: Slow – use jigs or minnows along creek channels.

> 3 Mile Lake: Closed, lake is 10' low and boat ramps out of service.

8. WI: DNR criticized for failing to regulate...

…wake boats – which spread invasive species and damage lake ecosystems.

9. MN requiring a watercraft safety permit

Law goes into effect Jul 1. 

10. TN: License cost will increase on Jul 1 because...

...they need to fill 20 open law-enforcement spots. They says license sales fund 70% of their budget so: 

> Boating fees rise 22%, Sportsman License (fishing/hunting) goes from $165 to $185 (12% up), and Lifetime License also up 12%.

11. CA: SoCal freshwater fish contain infectious parasites

> More than 90% of popular freshwater game fish in southern California contain an introduced parasite capable of infecting humans....

> ...2 species of flatworms called trematodes – typically cause gastrointestinal problems, weight loss or lethargy when they infect humans.

12. Shimano has a new finesse spinning reel

The Exsence 2500XQB – available on Tackle Warehouse but it's spendy! 🤑 New tech includes friction-reducing line lay, stronger gears and other stuff for fewer wind knots. Could be good for casting small jigs in wind.

13. New Bait Pop Elite

If you recall Bait Pop is a gel-type scent that also helps your bait show up better on sonar. New deal is more (a bigger size) for the same price, and the new Ghost Series that is transparent.

14. Ever fish a crappie jig made with rubber skirt strands?

Some cool lookin' baits from Mississippi Jig Co. That color is called 'crappie catcher'. 'Nuff said! Find 'em here!

15. New slab candy from Luck-E Strike

That's the Mirror Image Darting Shad. Reflective mylar insert and sickle tail. Comes in 2'' (1/8-oz), 3'' (1/4-oz), and 5'' (1/2-oz) sizes.

16. Father's Day gift guide from B'n'M

17. Great read on knife sharpening

Because there's nothing worse than filleting a crappie with a dull knife.

18. Eagle Claw's 100th year of hooking fish

Congrats to 'em! Company is still in CO.

Clay Wilson: Sidescan for kicker black crappie

Good info from our interview with Clay. We asked him how he looks for kicker black crappie in tournaments. Here's his bet tip for finding 'em:

> "You need to sidescan and find brush tops that have fish on them.

> "From my experience on black crappie living up here around Pickwick and Wilson being a primarily black crappie lakes – you're gonna mark a bunch of brushpiles.

> "If you go on a brushpile that's got 700 fish on it, it's gonna be hard to pick out that big fish in there. It's not hard to pick the big fish out, but hard to get that big fish to bite by coming through all them little ones.

> "What you're going to do is scan a bunch of brushpiles and find a brushpile that's got a smaller number of fish on it – try to get an idea of where the bigger fish is hanging out.

> "You just got to sidescan a bunch of brushpiles and then go run them with your FFS. And see which ones you need to fish.

> "For the most part in the summertime, if you can catch 5 solid black crappie, they're going way outweigh the white [crappie]. That's real important to me in tournaments is if there's black crappie in the lake."

Ol' tubby ate the Finisher:

MN's Jake Caughey caught this mongo slab while chasing walleyes in NE SD on Hidden Hills Lake.

Water temps were in the low 60s and Jake saw a huge ''suspendo'' high in the water column on his Lowrance HDS PRO 12/ActiveTarget 2, pitched that #4 Berkley Finisher out there and this egg-wagon ate it.