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Anyone else's brushpiles get stacked with small crappie and bluegill this time of year?

Practiced this weekend for a multi-day guide trip and found a lot of my better brushpiles were occupied by bluegills and little crappie. Not all of 'em though!

Still found some better fish with the Z-Man Shad FryZ in 'purple death' on a black 1/8-oz Z-Man Micro Shad HeadZ. That floating ElaZtech keeps the bait level, which can help with finicky fish.

Also been doing more black crappie fishing since it warmed up and using the 7' Whitetal Kistler Big Game Crappie Pole a bunch. High-modulus carbon = no fiberglass, which means very light, sensitive, and has a sweet tip for casting jigs or dock-shooting: When they thump it, you know!


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How Chase Petty and Max Boone won at KY Lake 🏆

TN's Chase Petty and Max Boone took home the hardware at this weekend's Crappie Masters on Kentucky Lake with a 2-day total of 20.70 lbs, just a 0.4-lb wwining margin.

Got on the phone with Chase (R) and he dropped some knowledge on catching pressured fish – here's how the team got the W:

Going in

> "I've had a lot of experience on Kentucky Lake. I probably have as many waypoints as anybody on that lake because I love side-scanning it and finding little hidden gems.

> "On a lot of lakes around the country, there's usually history in certain areas where tournaments are won. Kentucky Lake isn't really like that – every tournament, you have to break the entire lake down again and progress through all the creeks.

> "I live closer to the south end around the I-40 bridge area. I'll start there and work all the way up toward Paris Landing. When I get to Paris Landing, I see where I'm at and decide if I need to go farther north."

Practice

> "Kentucky Lake has millions of stake beds – I'll go through an area and look at all the stake beds I know or already have marked.

> "...a known creek that always holds a lot of crappie. I went in there Monday afternoon during practice, looked around and saw some giant fish in it on stake beds.

> "I also look for open-water fish, but the fish in that particular creek were on stake beds.

> "That was about the only creek I really liked for size on the TN River side. On the Big Sandy, I found a bunch of fish on deeper flats, about 20' flats. They were there [in all 3 spawn phases].

> "It had stake beds and stumps, and even some roaming fish between them. Hardly anybody found them."

Tournament

> "The forecast was calling for bad wind both days. The creek fish I found Monday afternoon were in a protected area – the wind wasn't going to be a big deal there. 

> "[But] that deeper group of fish was right out in the middle of the lake. I didn't know if I'd even be able to fish them because of the wind.

> "On day 1, I started in the protected creek. 8 boats started in there, so obviously I wasn't the only one who found them.

> "Alex Cochran [who got 2nd] and I started within about 75 yards of each other [both fishing stake beds]."

Chase and Alex worked well together to stay out of each other's way. Around 11:00 on day 1, Chase left that creek and went practicing for day 2 and found a couple more protected bays with some good fish:

> "After day 1, he was in 1st, and I was in 3rd. 5 or 6 of the top 10 were fishing in that creek, so there were a lot of good fish in there.

> "After seeing everybody weigh in on day 1, I knew there had to be a lot of fish in that creek. I also had those other fish close by that I could run to. I told Max it was probably a good idea to go back in there, try to get 2-3 of our 5 and then go to those other bays to finish out the limit.

> "When we got there on day 2...18 boats that started in that creek.

> "[Day 2] the fish had definitely changed – they wouldn't bite. I ended up catching 2 weigh fish there, but Alex left, boats kept piling in, so we had to get out of there.

> "I went back to the smaller bays I had found the day before. In the first bay, I rolled up to the first stake bed and there was 1 of the fish – a 1.70. Now I had 3 of the 5.

> "Next bay, on the second or third stake bed, there was another one – a 1.70 too.

> "About 1:00, [with 1.5 hrs left]. I had a decent 5th fish, a 1.55, but I felt like we needed one more 1.70-1.80 type fish. 

> "[At the next spot] I looked in my livewell and saw 2 fish on one side that were about to die. It was my biggest and my smallest. I started panicking because I knew they weren't going to make it to weigh-in.

> "While I was going through the stake beds in that bay, I saw another fish floating. I cast to it and caught it, it was a 1.60. I upgraded by about 0.5 lbs and replaced the small fish that was struggling.

> "But my biggest fish, about a 2-lber, was still about to die. I knew I might be 0.2-0.3 lbs away from where I needed to be. If that fish died, I'd be about 1 lb away. So I pulled the plug and came in early. I figured I could get back to weigh-in and keep it alive.

> "I didn't know that decision was going to win me $10K. I thought we might still be short, but I knew we would probably stay in the top 3. I had to decide if I wanted to maybe lose a couple thousand dollars, or risk losing $10K by letting that fish die."

Baits and techniques

> "I had 3 deals going.

> "I was chasing open-water fish with a long pole or a casting rod. If I was in shallower water, I'd chase them with a long pole, like a 16' Huckabee rod.

> "If I was in deeper water, 12-20', I would cast to them with a 1/8-oz tungsten head from ATX and a new prototype bait we have coming out.

> "When I was dipping stake beds, I used a 14' rod with a minnow. I don't use a super-long rod for that. The lighter pole helps me set the hook quicker.

> "Those fish were barely biting in the beds because of the pressure and being post-spawn. They were just nipping at it, so I needed a lighter pole that let me snap quickly on the hookset.

> "I also downsized to a 1/2-oz weight with a 1/32-oz head. When those fish are in the beds, I don't know if they're more pressured or if they just feel safer, but they don't eat as well."

Chase's setups

> Casting: ATX prototype plastic, 1/8-oz ATX Tungsten Jighead, 6-lb K-9 clear fluoro, Abu Garcia Black Max Spin Reel, 6' 6" Power Fishing Ninja.

> Open water long pole: ATX prototype plastic, 1/8-oz ATX Tungsten Jighead, 3/4-oz tungsten weight, 10-lb K-9 Clear Fluoro, Abu Garcia Black Max Casting Reel, 14' Power Fishing Flip Stick Two.

> Stake-fishing: Minnow on a 1/32-oz ATX Tungsten Jighead, 1/2-oz tungsten weight, 10-lb K-9 Clear Fluoro, Abu Garcia Black Max Casting Reel, 14' Power Fishing K-Rod.

5 Qs with Chase on finding and catching tougher fish

The Kentucky Lake guys are always good with pressured fish, so I had to pick Chase's brain on how he's finding and catching 'em:

1. In a tournament where several people were fishing the same community holes, what did you do differently to catch the winning fish?

> "I was fishing very finesse.

> "A lot of people probably fish those beds the same way they fish other lakes – with heavier tackle: 3/4-oz weights, heavier jigheads and stuff like that.

> "With the lighter pole, when one comes up and nips at it, you have to have confidence and make sure you don't set the hook until the fish has it decently in its mouth. It was hard to get a hook in them. It's about that snapping motion [on the hookset].

> "You don't jerk the bait out of the water and act like it's over. You just snap your wrist, the bait comes up about 1-2' and the fish usually still sits there. Then you ease it back down and try to get it again."

2. How important was covering water and knowing when to leave fish?

> "Covering water was a big deal. I fish those stake beds so much, I'm confident when I see one in the bed and know whether it's going to bite or not.

> "Some people probably look at all the fish in there and stay too long, thinking one of them is a tournament-size fish. There might be 1 big fish down at the bottom of the bed, but you have to wait until the other fish clear a path before you drop.

> "If I drop in there and a smaller fish sees it while the big fish is looking at it, that smaller fish will get in the way. That can mess up the whole opportunity. 

> "There were times I had to sit there and wait 2-3 minutes, looking at that bed and those fish, until the big fish gave me a window to drop the bait perfectly between the other fish without them seeing it."

3. Do you think side-scanning is underrated in crappie fishing?

> "When you go to lakes where you're fishing brushpiles, stake beds and places you've never been before, you might have to spend 2-3 days of practice without dropping a hook in the water.

> "I've gone to a lot of lakes where I knew I needed to find stumps, deep stumps or brushpiles, and I had to scan for at least 2 days before I ever dropped a hook.

> "Scanning is one of my favorite things to do, so I don't mind it. I love finding little things that I think nobody else has."

4. How do you have your graphs set up to find targets?

> "I'm all Humminbird [for mapping and graphing]. I still think they have the best side imaging, in my opinion.

> "I'm using the new XPLORE units – 2 12s in the back, 1 for mapping and 1 for scanning.

> "In deeper water, more than 15', I'll run it out around 95' [on side-imaging] when I'm looking for structure.

> "If I'm coming back to look for fish in those beds or on a particular brushpile, I'll dial it back down to 50' and come back over the top of it.

> "When I'm trying to cover [less than] 10-15', I usually run it around 75-80'.

5. For the way you crappie-fish, what's the most important piece of equipment on your boat?

> "Obviously, LiveScope would be the easy answer, but I'm not going to say LiveScope. I'm going to say my brakes in the back.

> "I'm running the Performance Fishing Electronics Crappie Brakes.

> "Brakes have changed boat control and covering water. They give me confidence that I can pull up, move, cover water and if I see one, stop my boat in a hurry and get on that fish."

3 Qs with BaitFuel's Bailey Boutries

Talked to BaitFuel's product dev/marketing man – and ex-Bassmaster Opens pro – Bailey Boutries about the BaitFuel crappie baits. Been using them a ton and my guide buddy has been tearing crappie up with clients on 'em, so I wanted to get in touch with the brains behind these baits and see what's up!

Here's 3 with Bailey:

1. Why is BaitFuel-infused plastic so important for crappie baits?

> "When we initially came out with BaitFuel several years ago in the bottle and gel formula, a lot of our pros who loved crappie fishing started marinating other brands' crappie baits with BaitFuel Gel – we call it 'supercharging'.

> "They were seeing a ton of success with it and telling us how well it worked for crappie. 

> "They would roll up to a brushpile, see a school in the tree, know the fish were there, and catch 10 out of it. Then the bite would slow down or stop.

> "[Then] they would take BaitFuel Gel, add it to the bait, pitch back in there and catch another one. In some cases, they kept catching fish as long as they kept reapplying it.

> "With fish attractants, I've always said it can be hard to prove or disprove exactly when it is working. 

> "If you take a pack of baits, add BaitFuel and annihilate the crappie, how do you know for sure it was the BaitFuel? They might have just been biting really well that day.

> "But we were consistently having the same story of the continuation of the bites coming back to us."

2. What kind of feedback were they giving you?

> "We had 2 main types of feedback. One was guys seeing a consistently high catch ratio with BaitFuel day after day, probably in the same rotation of spots....

> "...the other was when they would fish a spot, the bite would slow down, they'd start adding BaitFuel and continue catching fish after the bite had already started slowing."

3. What's your favorite BaitFuel crappie bait you've used or helped design?

> "I'm going with the NanoSnak – the one with the little pintail.

> "That's the one I always seem to gravitate to. The body goes on a jighead really well, and I love the action of the tail. It just looks good to me.

> "The NanoSnak is the most appealing to my eye, so that's the one I usually go to."

But he also said:

> "...the NanoBug [right above] probably doesn't get enough recognition. We designed that one for shooting docks.

> "When you shoot it under a dock, the flat profile skips really well. The flanges on the side give it a spiraling, back-and-forth motion as it falls through the water.

> "It looks like a dying baitfish and has a slow fall that looks awesome. It just gets bit."

Do we fish craw-style baits enough?

Just thinkin'! Because it's pics like these ^ that make me think not! And btw, those shrimp aren't from the ocean – those are freshwater shrimp. 👀

If you're curious, I wrangled up some crappie-sized craw baits for you to check out – all of which can be fished on bottom OR fished like a normal crappie bait! Here's a quick rundown:

2" Great Lakes Finesse Micro Juvy Craw Tube

These baits have a lot going on – tough plastic so will last you a while, and GLF has some floating colors that'll sit perfectly horizontal on a jighead over a crappie's face! 👊

Also, all colors are matte – like a real craw is.

2.5" YUM Crawbug

Still very "crappie" at 2.5" – don't think you can't rig this on a jighead!

1.75" Z-Man Micro GOAT

The Micro GOAT is more "little critter with a motor" than straight craw bait, but cool profile since it mimics a little bit of anything. Can be rigged vertical or horizontal – bet crappie don't see a lot of double-tail grubs!

Sweet dock-shooting bait too...👀

2" Z-Man Llama Tubez

Not the archetype "craw" bait like some of the others but the LLama Tubez at 2" have a bigger/fatter profile than a typical crappie tube that gives it more of a craw shape.

2" Z-Man Crusteaz

Compact little claw-kicker that doesn’t need much speed to do its thing. Put it on a small jighead and hop, drag or slow-swim it when you want a crappie-sized meal with a bit of a different look.

1.75" Bonehead Tackle Stump Bug

Pull that middle tab out and you have a 1.75" craw/ bug profile!

2" BaitFuel Crappie NanoBug – with a split tail!

This bait's already made for a slow presentation, so if you give it some slower pops on a jighead you've got yourself a fleeing craw!

2.5" Z-Man Prawn Starz

Yes, literally a shrimp but another bait that's coming in with a 2.5" option. Lots a freshwater shrimp around, could be a deal in tidal fisheries and – guess what a crawfish without pincers looks like!

And if you think I'm crazy on the shrimp deal, here's a map from the USGS on where freshwater shrimp are prevalent (in orange and maroon) – just sayin'! 😁

What I've noticed from lithiums

Quick deal: I knew lithium batteries were taking over, but I didn’t fully understand the "why" until I put them in my own boat. Now I get it. They’ve been bad to the bone for my trolling motor and for keeping my graphs running all day.

Since Oct, I've been using Amped Outdoors Lithiums – noticed a huge difference in graph clarity and trolling motor power...only like the 2 biggest deals in crappie fishing. 😁

I switched to a 36v Minn Kota Ultrex QUEST running 2 Amped Outdoors 36V 50Ah batteries in parallel and it has made a WORLD of difference.

I can fish sunrise to sunset with full power all day. Those lithium batteries don't get below 50% power – I can see what they have on the Amped Outdoors Bluetooth Monitoring app. So I don't have to be stressed all day if I'm going to run out of battery or not.

I think the most I've run the batteries down to is 63% after a 12-hour day.

For my graphs, 2 Humminbird Helix 12's, 1 XPLORE 12, 1 APEX 13 w/ MEGA Live 2 and 1 10" Garmin ECHOMAP (yes, a lot, no, you don't need that many), I've been running those on an Amped Outdoors 130Ah 12.8V lithium.

Biggest deals: Super-clear forward-facing sonar and, surprisingly, the biggest upgrade was getting crystal clear 2D, DI, and SI. I love scanning so I'm all for it man!

I also got the Amped 3 Bank 12V/36V Charger. It's important to look into your battery brand's charger because they're made to charge those exact lithiums correctly. In other words, the exact charger you use is more important/critical with lithium batteries.

Hope that's all interesting to ya!

1. BoneHead's 'purple shad' looks 🔥🔥🔥

And it gives an optical illusion? Check out what BoneHead Tackle said in a Facebook post:

> The 2.5" Minnow in 'purple shad' is the ultimate optical illusion for pressured fish. By blending a natural baitfish silhouette with a subtle purple sheen, it mimics the exact iridescent flash of panicked young-of-year forage, making it an absolute necessity for clear water and technical grinds.

2. God and the Great Outdoors has a stacked lineup!

I've been going to these since I got to college, and our fishing team had a booth every year. I'll be able to catch the end of it this year! Looking forward to the 3 incredible fishing guys for the seminars!

Getcha some more info here on the GATGO site!

3. The Crappie Chronicles crew found giant white crappie

These guys are MN fishing wizards! 🧙‍♂️ Guess they caught all of the giant black crappie had to go find white crappie! 😆

4. AR: Millwood Lake the place to be for crappie?

> Millwood Lake: Crappies have greatly improved over the past few weeks and are biting well in 5-12' on jigs, with fish running 2-2.5 lbs. They're also showing up in planted brush in 10-12' near Cottonshed Campground, Okay Landing and Saline inflow.

5. WI: Free fishing weekend Jun 6-7

6. FL: St Johns River getting more fish habitat

The FWC is planting 350K+ native bulrush plants across several St Johns River lakes to rebuild shallow habitat after high water and storms knocked back vegetation.

Makin' the slabs happy, man! I've heard the St Johns is full of 'em. 👀

7. In-Fish spring crappie roadmap

In-Fisherman post with MN guide Matt Breuer breaks down the spring crappie cycle from ice-out to post-spawn by water-temp window.

8. Kistler Memorial Day spinning reel blowout!

9. The VMC Moon Fly Jig looks 🧃-y for pressured fish

Little aspirin-head 1/16-oz morsels built for max "quiver" with minimal rod work. Looks like a good fit when the bite gets tough. Check 'em out here at Scheels!

10. Gamakatsu Mr Crappie hooks now on Tackle Warehouse

2 new Wally Mr. Crappie hook options: the Stiletto Hook with a big-river bend for better holding power and the Sticker Hook for more finesse/ lighter line/ live bait.

11. B'n'M Original Buck's Graphite Jig Pole now in 18' and 20'

12. Simple knots that actually hold

In-Fisherman post with a knot breakdown says the Palomar and Trilene knots are 2 of the strongest/easiest options for mono and fluoro, with both testing around 95% of line break strength when tied correctly.

13. AL: IED found on Converse Reservoir dam??

You hear about that deal? IED = improvised explosive device, aka the things that the bad guys use in the Middle East.

Related: According to the Lewisville Police Dept, some people have been using pipe bombs recently to kill fish in the lake

Apparently, someone found an unexploded one washed up on a public beach, too – no good man. DFW area TX.

14. Suzuki Marine up in FY 2025

> The company's marine business posted revenues of $753.78 mil for the year, up 8.9% year-over-year. Operating profit decreased 13% year-over-year to $167.8 mil. According to the statement, the reduced profit was driven mainly by the impact of US tariffs.

15. West Marine did file for bankruptcy

Sounds like Garmin is owed the most: $8.57 mil.

Fish the cover that everyone else avoids

Cool tip from an Outdoor Life post with some old-school spawn tips:

> Another strategy that works when the fish are at the bank is fishing the heart of the thickest visible cover you can find.

> Many fishermen won't put their baits in spots where they're afraid of getting snagged. These places, however, are where the larger crappies hold. You must be willing to break lines, straighten hooks and possibly break a pole to catch crappies.

Not just in the spawn either. If you're fishing big trees, stake beds, laydowns in 5' or 20' – that biggun is probably in the thick of it!

"Lord, if You bless me, I'll thank You. If You don't, I'll be thankful for what I have. I have plenty, I'm in good shape."

- Outdoors legend Phil Robertson talking. I remember another thing from watching Duck Dynasty, which he talked about a lot and lived by, was 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12:

> "and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."

Sounds so contrary to what we're hearing/seeing now man!

Take a look at this northern FREAKAZOID black crappie caught by MN's Thorne Bros Marine Electronics GM Jared! 🤯

The Thorne Bros post said that fish went 17.25" x 15.5", coming in at 3.36 lbs and I assume it was caught in MN? Catch of a lifetime man congrats!

National Professional Anglers Assoc.

MN-FISH