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What's up y'all! If you're in the South, hope you've been getting out on the water in this warm weather!

Alright folks we have a GIVEAWAY! To enter, we're asking you to fill out this short 4-question survey about your line choices for crappie. If it takes you more than 2 minutes, you use a lot of line! 😁

Totally free to fill out and enter, no strings attached. As a thank you for filling it out, 1 person who completes the survey will be randomly chosen to get this Original Gen3 Turtlebox ($430 value)! 🤯

Catch that survey here! If you are the random winner, we will reach out to you directly. Thank you!

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Heavy vs light long poles

I had the pleasure of meeting east TX pro and guide Jerry Hancock at the Grizzly Jigs Show and got some intel on rod choice. Jerry has his name on a couple poles from Power Fishing – the Striker and the Patriot.

I asked him when he uses a super-stiff rod like the Power Fishing Trident vs a flimsier one like the Patriot:

> "[The Patriot] has a softer tip on it than Trident. I wanted the softer tip because at Lake Fork we do a lot of lifting. 

> "What'll happen – the fish starts following that bait [up], grabs it, and you go to load up the rod and that tip doesn't pull the bait away. ...the soft tip has a better catch ratio, especially for customers.

> "With a stiff-tip rod, you don't have any room for error [pulling the bait away from the fish].

> "[But] if I'm...chasing roaming fish, I'll go to that Trident rod. It's stiffer with a heavy brace [so the bait does not bob up and down] for trying to hit those fish between the eyes.

> "[In the spring, with guide clients] I run 20-lb braid on that Trident, fishing 8-10' of water using 1/4-oz jighead and a 1-oz weight above it.

> "...we shake our baits a lot. The flimsier the tip, the harder it is to shake it. It's way easier to shake a bait on a Trident [stiffer rod] than it is on [the Patriot].

> "You can do the shake with a flimsier rod, but it's a little harder to get a really aggressive shake with it."

Another deal with both of these rods is that since they are a little stiffer than many crappie rods, he's confident flipping big fish in the boat. He said with these rods, you don't lose 'em when you get stuck in that weird spot right before they come out of the water.

> "If I'm going fishing tomorrow on Fork, I'm running a 13' Patriot and 15-lb [straight] fluorocarbon line. 

> "I'm running Seaguar Red Label right now. A buddy of mine recommended it to me when I was switching from braid to fluoro, and I really like it.

> "It's strong, thicker and stiffer than most fluoros [important for bait control]."

Why Jerry went from running straight braid to fluoro:

> "I don't feel like crappie really see line. The whole reason for the straight fluoro for me – when you're running a 1/2-oz weight above a 1/16-oz jighead and you drop it down 20' – is the braid wants to tangle around your rod. 

> "[The jighead will also] tangle around the weight really bad. You're always fighting it, and when you shake it, it won't shake off. 

> "If you run 15-lb fluoro, even if it does tangle, usually you can bounce your rod tip and it'll untangle. 

> "Lots of guys fish braid to a fluoro leader – I've never understood that. If you run 20-lb braid and 12-lb fluoro leader, you're basically fishing with 12-lb line. You might as well be fishing with 12-lb all the way."

Have you fished the Nano Vibe?

I'm talkin' the 2" BaitFuel Nano Vibe! This dude is reminiscent of the NetBait Bopper Worm, so it's more of a swimming worm than it is a grub – just has that super quick little kick to it.

Here's BaitFuel's Bailey Boutries talkin' more on the Nano Vibe in this BaitFuel post:

> "You can use this bait on a cast retrieve or even trolling...it's a little bit different movement in the water than your traditional grub, or even a small boot-tail style swimbait.

> "You're showing those crappie something a little bit different than they've seen before. All of our Nano Crappie baits come supercharged with BaitFuel right out of the pack.

> "We've seen it time and time again on the water the difference BaitFuel makes on crappie."

If that's not enough for ya, I may have snuck out of the office on Monday to go do some "R&D" with east TX guide Kaden Proffitt catching some spawning crappie on Lake Bob Sandlin, TX. This pic is a pretty good summary of how the day went! 😁

We had the Nano Vibe in 'electric chicken' rigged on the new 1/32-oz size Bobby Garland Head Turn'R Underspins – no splitshot, just reeling it at a moderate speed and letting that little cut-tail kick!

Those fish were so close to the bank they were just reacting to that bait coming over their head. You had to cast to the bank, hit the retaining walls in this case, and reel it over them.

Kaden and I agreed that having the BaitFuel-infused baits was key that day because that scent/taste got the fish to really eat it good instead of slap at it.

Check out those Nano Vibes here on Tackle Warehouse!

High % crappie targets

MO multi-species pro Terry Blankenship ain't got time to mess around! 😁 He loves chasing big schools of crappie, but thinks that the key to finding and catching fish faster and more consistently isn't always the roaming schools deal.

Check this out from a Lurenet.com post – Terry talkin' what he looks for when he needs to find crappie fast:

> When brushpiles receive heavy fishing pressure, [Terry] searches for the hardest-to-find wood cover to locate crappie that will still bite: standing timber along dropoffs, or any totally-submerged timber to find less-pressured crappie.

> ...believes open-water crappie are more challenging than wood-cover crappie. [Open-water fish are] moody, and it becomes harder to stay on the school when it starts roaming.

> "There's a lot of surface acreage out there that the crappie can be in, so there's no way you will ever cover it all because the lake is so large. Those fish could be out in the middle of the channel following a school of shad around.

> "A lot of times if the crappie are in a brushpile [or other wood cover], it seems like they will react a little better to a lure than those big schools of open-water crappie."

> "The crappie in the brush are set up there for protection, and when they see a meal coming by, they can hardly resist that....

How he fishes it

> ...keeps his boat at least 20' away from the target...[and] casts a Bobby Garland Baby Shad on a 1/16-oz jighead past the brush and makes sure he keeps the lure above the cover throughout his retrieve.

> "It's always better to keep your bait right above the fish – crappie don’t like to go chase a bait down and eat it. They might follow it down and might catch up with it going down, but they don’t go down to hit the bait as much."

> "Once they come up and start committing to your bait, you are more apt to catch that fish than you are to set your bait down right in one’s face and go across it real close to where it can get a real good look at the bait."

Btw, have you utilized Humminbird MEGA 360 sonar for finding crappie targets? You can see Terry's 360 in the pic below, and it looks like you might even be able to see some crappie roaming around.

Also, if you have Humminbird MEGA Live 2, you absolutely can see crappie swimming around all along the water column – sick tool for finding fish fast! 👀

Some cool lookin' Bonehead colors 👀

Was perusing through the Bonehead Tackle website, checking out some baits, and came across a few colors that you don't see very often that look amazing!

The 3" Slim Stick has been a great bait for dropping on white crappie. Haven't cast at any black fish with the smaller ones yet but the time's coming! 😁 The Slim Stick comes in 1 3/4", 2 3/8" and a the 3".

Anyway, I came across some sick colors that used reds and purples, so here they are from L-R:

Top: 'bleeding shiner, 'blood moon', 'black cherry firetail'

Bottom: 'purple shad', 'grapevine', 'cotton candy'

I like the look of the top red-based baits a lot, especially that 'bleeding shiner'. Don't sleep on those colors that give off that red/purple distressed baitfish look!

Also, I was shooting some docks with a different minnow-style bait the other day, and was needing a flatter bait to slow that fall down without having to downsize my jighead.

I got out some Bonehead Brush Gliders. They're 2" but have a fatter body and a flat beaver tail that you can split or not. Here are some colors of the Glider that stood out to me:

(L-R): 'purple shad', 'thunderbird glow', 'Palestine special'

Check 'm out on the Bonehead website and get to work man!

Fish higher for big crappie

Target Walleye's Brett McComas has been dialed into some serious MN slabs under "hard water," and is picking off the biggest fish in roaming basin schools.

In a recent Target Walleye YouTube video, he’s LiveScoping crappies that are riding high and showing how he separates the giants from the pack. Here’s what he’s doing:

> "[I'm] fishing up above the school, getting the bigger, more aggressive fish to pop out of there.

> "The better, more-aggressive fish are not afraid to come out of that school and shoot up and get it.

> "You can get down in [the school], and they'll be fickle little ones. But when you're up above 'em, the one that's got the right attitude, they just come screaming out.

> "I'm using a VMC Tungsten Torpedo Spoon, which is just super heavy and compact. The whole point of it is just to get flying right back down there. I put a little feathered treble on there, and it's got a little kicker blade. 

> "[With that spoon] a lot of times you don't even have to put bait on...when they're really flying up and eating and chasing.

> "With that bigger profile and a little feathered treble on there – you got sort of a focal point kicking around, something for 'em to key in on.

> "My favorite jigging cadence for working these fish is just a slow wiggle and rising that bait slowly – just like you're walleye fishing.

> "Whatever you're doing, if you can keep that bait slowly rising to keep that fish moving up, it seems like your odds of actually getting them to bite are a lot better."

Brett's Setup:

> VMC Tungsten Torpedo Spoon, 4-lb Sufix Advance Mono, 13 Fishing Baitstriker Spinning Ice Fishing Reel, 36" ML Toxic Rods Finesse Spoon Rod

Check out the full YouTube video here!

1. TX: CRAPPIEFEST is coming up!

Big 'ol crappie tournament and expo going down on Lake Fork on Mar 27-29! Gonna be 2 1-day tournaments – Sat is 5-fish, Sun is hourly. Boat, bank and kayak divisions too! Check out all the info here!

2. Gussy is spooning crappie...

That's Bassmaster Elite Series pro Jeff 'Gussy' Gustafson, and when he's not running around chasing bass in the US, he's a CAN multi-species 🔨.

Looks like in that IG post he's catching those ice slabs on a Northland Glass Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon – check 'em out here at Scheels!

3. Have you fished the new Bobby Garland Itty Bit jigheads?

Bobby Garland added more sizes to the Itty Bit Jighead lineup. Used to be just 1/64-oz and 1/48-oz, now also 1/16, 1/8, and 1/4-oz with #8, #6, and #4 hooks – that’s small hardware! 😅

I’ve used the original sizes in the summer when the bite gets super light, and fish are pressured – they pair perfectly with the Bobby Garland Itty Bit baits.

Bobby Garland’s Skylar St. Yves also mentioned that those heavier head sizes are great for ice fishing when you need to get down fast to roaming schools.

Check 'em out here on Lurenet.com!

4. Would you fish the Baby JackHammer for crappie?

If there was a time if year for it, this is it! This is the smaller version of the #1 bladed jig on the planet (for bass), the Z-Man Evergreen JackHammer. The Baby Jack comes in 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2-oz. I've used the 1/4-oz, and it truly acts like a full-size JackHammer.

The Baby Jack is a little spendier at $19.99 on Tackle Warehouse but you also might also be hearing about a lot of folks catchin' slabs on bass lures up shallow right now.

Toss a Z-Man Baby Ballerz (sick crappie bait) on the back and get to chunkin'!

5. TX: 'Excelent' slabbin' on...

• Cedar Creek: Crappie bite improving around bridge pylons, brush, and docks in 7-12' on small jigs and minnows. Staying mobile has been key, with bigger crappie showing up more consistently.

• Cypress Springs: Crappie good on jigs or minnows in the mouths of coves and river channels. Fish are in pre-spawn patterns and should start moving shallow to spawn soon.

• Lake Waco: Crappie are staging on brush and structure in 15-18' along creek channel edges, with females full of eggs. Warm days and nights should push them to nests in the next few weeks.

6. AR: Crappie bite going down on...

• Greers Ferry Lake: Crappie being caught on brushtops in 20-25' on a 1/2-oz white or silver jighead with 'monkey milk' or threadfin shad-pattern jigs.

• Little Maumelle River: Crappie still biting well in 9-10' on Bobby Garland jigs and tube jigs, mostly shad colors.

• Bull Shoals Lake: Crappie bite has been pretty good overall, with fish on timber and brushpiles in 15-25' hitting minnows and 1/16-oz jigs.

• Lake Ouachita: Crappie very good on small minnow-colored jigs over brush in 30-50'.

7. A couple new high-end fluoros

Left is Berkley's new GinClear fluoro. Built with a smaller diameter for lower visibility, it’s designed to cast smooth with less memory while still offering strong knots and solid abrasion resistance. Their pros have been teasing this so far this season. Here's a little info about it.

• Superior manageability and casting performance without sacrificing durability
• Ultra-smooth, flexible construction with low memory to reduce coiling, overruns and dig-ins
• Smaller diameter for its break strength
• Level-wound construction for consistent handling and improved reel control
• Designed for versatility as both a mainline fluorocarbon or leader material

Comes in sizes from 4-20-lb and MSRP $17.99-23.99 on Tackle Warehouse, depending on size.

On the right, Seaguar's Tackle Warehouse exclusive Carbon Ultra Fluoro. Built with Seaguar’s Double Structure Fluorocarbon (DSF) tech – a dense core with a softer outer resin – it’s designed for thin diameter, low stretch, and high sensitivity with strong knot and abrasion resistance. MSRP runs $34.99–$50.99 on Tackle Warehouse, depending on size.

Yep mono works but GOOD fluoro – like those ones – is better!

8. NBT now selling a full setup

This bundle gives you everything you need to run the NBT x Garmin system. According to this NBT post, that reduced price is a limited-time deal! Seems cool, man! Check out the bundle here on the NBT website!

9. Has anyone tried this solar-powered bait cooler?

It's called the Whisker Seeker Solar-Powered Bait Cooler. I love the idea. And others did too 'cuz it won best of category for 'Fishing Accessory' at ICAST last summer.

> "Can run up to 10 days on a single charge when there’s no sun [!] and “under sufficient sunlight air pumps can run continuously." 

10. A couple new goodies from Millennium Marine

Millennium Marine rolled out a few new crappie-friendly pieces of gear including the Spyderlok rod holder series. The lineup includes the R-100 Gen 2 4-rod spider rig setup ($224.99), R-200 Single Spyderlok ($129.99), and R-500 pontoon rail mount rod holder ($66.99) – all built with anodized aluminum and Spyderlok locking teeth to keep rods set at the exact angle you want.

They also added a couple of new seating options: the D-100 Deck Chair ($306.99) and D-200 Sidekick Double Seat ($421.99). The D-100 is a portable swivel chair with breathable mesh for long days on the water, while the D-200 is a double-seat setup with a place for the taller butt/ biker seat in the middle – I've been needing one of those, man!

10. VT bill would allow towns to regulate some lake activities

> Under current law, the state manages fishing and recreation on VT's navigable waters. S.224 would allow municipalities to regulate surface water activities on reservoirs they own – but only in specific circumstances.

> The delegation authority applies exclusively to drinking water sources where the municipality already owns or controls all surrounding land.

Random

Potential new ND state record perch caught

Unofficial as of now because there's a 4-week period that the state has to verify everything. That tubby critter was caught by WI's Alan Hintz on Devil's Lake fishing with Perch Patrol guide Tyler Elshaug:

> ...measured 16.5" long and weighed 2.99 by ND game warden Jon Peterson on the scale at Woodland Resort. The scale measures in hundredths [of a lb], not oz.

> The current ND state record perch is 2-15 and was caught by Kyle Smith from Carrington, ND on Devils Lake on March 28, 1982.

According to ND Game & Fish rules, that fish might go down as 3-00 lbs?

Cover water to find spawning fish

That's what The Crappie Connection's Brad Chappell and Dustin McDaniel said on yesterday's Today's Bite Podcast to find those big groups on the bank.

Beds are few and far between, but once you find 'em, they're loaded. Here's what those guys do to find 'em:

> "Cover a lot of water this time of year. They're going to pull up and get on some type of structure – pea gravel, laydowns, any little stickup – the crappie will be around it for sure.

> "[It's about to be] a bank fishermen's paradise from now until the end of Apr, even into the beginning of May.

> "They'll be pretty shallow, 6' or less. When you find a hot spot this time of year, they're usually pretty thick in there."

"Since getting LiveScope I’ve caught more below 50' deep than above 50' deep. That certainly surprised me, especially when I saw how big many of them are."

- Retired Bassmaster Elite pro turned Table Rock, MO guide Chad Morgenthaler in an In-Fisherman post talkin' how he looks in wayyy off the wall areas for clear-water crappie.

50'? That's deep man! Have you caught 'em that deep??

Did Bassmaster pro Bryan New just find a new way to hold crappie? I've seen folks hold 'em by the tail, but this is a new one for me! 🤣

National Professional Anglers Assoc.

MN-FISH