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Hope you had a chance to hit the water last weekend and snatch a few!

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5 Qs with Crappie Masters champ Dan Langston

Dan (left) is the owner of River Bottom Boys Guide Service and 1/2 of the team – with partner Colby Barn – that won the recent Crappie Masters tourney on Lake Eufaula, OK. We got ahold of Dan and he dropped some serious crappie intel from his win! Let’s get into it:

1. How did you break down that giant lake in practice?

> "This is the 2nd year in a row we've won on that tournament – so we're back to back there off of black crappie. A couple years ago, we set out to locate the black fish in that lake.

> "We knew from the get go [this time] we wanted to target black fish. With Eufaula being so big, there's so many different aspects of the lake to consume. 

> "When you're looking for black fish, you're looking for cleaner water. That's what they're going to prefer.

> "For every fish I catch I ask myself, Where are they at in correlation to post-spawn, pre-spawn? I got up north and was catching fish extremely shallow that were spawning there, so I knew they were almost done on the south end. 

> "That kind of threw me for a loop because...black crappie typically spawn prior to white crappie. They're the first ones up. I was thinking, Are all the black fish going to be post-spawn? I've got to find pre-spawn fish to win this tournament. 

> "And so we started running all of our typical locations, Duchess, Longtown – we caught good fish and saw good fish on FFS. It seemed like it was 60/40 [or] 70/30 pre-spawn/post-spawn....

> "[Crappie] migrate off length of a day. So we were trying to pattern out based on the length of day. Where would these fish be, you know, in correlation to the spawn? ...mouths of coves, just outside of channels, secondary channels, that type of thing."

2. How did you know you had found the winning fish?

> "My goal then was to find the coldest water temp.... We were able to find an area of the lake that had 54-degree water, and it was cleaner water. So it fit the pattern. 

> "Went there scouting...scanning out 70, 80, 90, 100' you see a giant. I stuck a 2.70 and it had a great belly on it. Then I had to go another 500 yards to see another fish, another 500 yards to see another fish.

> "The fish I was seeing were the right ones. ...5 a day [and] there's no doubt we're gonna win."

3. How did y'all adjust to the rough weather for the comeback? [They were 2-lb behind 1st after day 1.]

> "The 1st day of the tournament, the team in 1st were the only other team that was in the same area as us. We only fished for 2.5 hours the 1st day...lightning hit right next to us. I was like, Dude, screw this, I'm going!"

[Dan said his rods were buzzing and his Apple Watch shocked him. Dang!]

> We were really upset just for the fact that we knew we were on the biggest fish.

> "The next day we were only able to fish about 5.5 hours, but we got out there and and did our thing, and were able to to pull out a bag that was that was big enough [to win].

> "Water was just pouring into that lake. I think it came up like 4 or 5'. We went up to the mouth of this cove, and it was clean water and it was just like pre-fishing. But I pushed into the mudline where the logs and everything were floating down.

[He said he got a little freaked out by the sudden change in water color and debris, but knew those crappie were in there for a reason.]

> "...all that sediment coming in drove all those fish that were on the bottom, up...bass and crappie, I'm talking giants everywhere.

> "You had to put the bait on their nose and run them down. The wind was blowing like 40 mph but we still chased them down and caught them."

4. What did y'all do to adjust baits and presentations on day 2?

> "I base my bait selection off water density and clarity. That's the only 2 things you need to know....

> "Ice is more dense, steam is less dense. When you have colder temps it's going to create a more-dense environment. When you have a more-dense environment, fish have a lot harder time seeing.

> "...with the cold temps, with the blown-out mud lines that were coming through, I wanted a bait that was going to produce a lot more movement. I went to a [heavy] plastic, a G-Daddy bait.

> "The 1st day we were using a 2" Crappie Shad – it has twin tails that come off the back. That was able to get their attention from about 2' away [in clearer water].

> "The 2nd day it wasn't [clear]. [G-Daddy] has a little crawfish bait – it's a smaller bait but it's got those craw paddles that come out. When I pop it, it's dispersing more water and putting more vibration. 

> "You can see those fish on FFS looking for it – swimming up and down, up and down, and they would finally hone in on it and then they were just choking it."

5. What kind of water were you focusing on for pre-spawners?

> We were fishing in anywhere from 20-40'. The main focus was mouths and coves, and then sometimes coves within coves, cutbacks within coves – little creek arms.

> "We were wanting to catch fish that were coming in, especially coming in off the main lake, meaning they hadn't got to their spawning grounds yet. 

> "We weren't fishing timber. We were fishing open-water fish that were that were trying to push back into timber. 

> "The reason we wanted to do that is you can fly in open water chasing fish. We put our we put our [Minn Kota] Quest on 10, we'll turn around, go with the wind. We fish at about 3.5 mph to cover water. 

> "We have Power Brakes. So when we find a fish we can drop the Brakes, make presentations, stick 'em and move."

Dan's and Colby's setups:

> 2" G-Daddy Baits Shiner DL, 1.5" Crawdad B, 1/4-oz Keitech Super Round Tungsten Jig Head (they pegged a 1/2-oz tungsten bullet weight 2' above the jig), 10-lb Seaguar InvizX Flouro, Abu Garcia Revo Winch LP Casting Reels, 16-18' 1039 Jigging Rods.

Bonus tip:

Regarding temp and length of day,

> "Same thing with chickens and laying eggs.... This is crazy, but earlier in the year – early Feb – my chickens, I got 250 and they were already laying like crazy. So I knew the [crappie] migration was happening like, now."

Crazy is right! Wonder what else checkens can tell us?? 🐔 Thank you Dan and congrats to you both!

The 4.5-lb IL slabosaurus story...

We heard whisperin's of a state record 4-lb 8.8-oz black crappie caught in southern IL. Supposedly it was recent but we checked into it and it was caught in 2017 – but get this: It was caught on a bass jig!

> ...so they eventually meandered down the bank roughly 30 yards from their crappie hole and [Ryan] Povolish decided to make a few casts with a bluegill-colored 1/2-oz Strike King Pure Poison Bladed Jig (discontinued) with a green pumpkin-colored Rage Craw.

> 15 or 20 years ago [the IL DNR] introduced muskies…[which] helped control the population, which provides more forage for the surviving crappie….

> Kinkaid is not the type of lake where you can go catch a bunch of 2 and 3-lb crappie…but the ones you catch will likely be the right ones. Essentially, only the strong survive."

From INHS conservation biologist Mark Davis:

> "The fish had the appearance of a black crappie, but that's why we do the genetic testing.... Using DNA from a fin clip, we looked at 3 pieces of DNA from this fish…

> "...compared it with both a pure white and a black crappie from Kinkaid Lake. The genetics show that the mother of the record fish was a black crappie while the father was either a white or a hybrid crappie."

Get your 2D scanning right!

Dr. Jason Halfen – "the Technological Angler" – focuses on teaching anglers how to leverage tools like Humminbird fishfinders/sonar and other electronics to find and catch more fish. Here's some info from a post on his FB page about the importance of 2D sonar alignment for better returns:

> One of the best ways to get feedback on the position/orientation of your 2D sonar transducer is to look at the shape and symmetry of your fish arches.

> If this arch is symmetrical...its front and back tail extend approximately equally below the top of the arch – then the operating face of the transducer is approximately parallel to the bottom, and the beam is pointing basically straight down. This is optimal for most applications.

> If the arch is not symmetrical, then the relative lengths of the two tails will tell you how to adjust the transducer to make it level. If the leading tail (the one on the left side of the arch) is lower than the trailing tail (the one on the right side of the arch), then the back of the transducer is lower than the front of the transducer.

> If the trailing tail is lower than the leading tail, this means the front of the transducer is lower than the back. This is a situation that should be addressed as a transducer tipped this way can generate a lot of turbulence and bubbly water beneath the transducer, making it very hard to maintain a bottom lock at speed.

Interesting!

Planer boards for crappies!

Good tip from Mossy Oak Gamekeeper for chasin' open-water suspended fish with planer boards. It's a legit way to nail big females when they bail from nests and hang in open water.

From the late Tommy Skarlis on winning the 2013 Crappie Masters Championship on Grenada, MS by pulling planer boards:

> "We pulled big crankbaits, walleye-size #5 and #6 Berkley Flicker Shads, and size #4 and #5 Salmo Hornets at 0.8-1.2 mph to rack up a total of 27.83 lbs of slabs in 2 days for the win. The average size was about 2 lbs."

Tommy's set up: line-counter reels,10-lb mono, St. Croix Eyecon trolling rods:

> "…we pulled 6 boards – 3 off each side of the boat. The lures were placed 56-77' behind the boards. When it was overcast, fluorescent or solid colors worked best...when it was bright, chrome patterns excelled.

> "The crappies were [on the outside of standing] submerged timber on big sand flats about 14-16' deep. [They were] very wary – a situation that screams for boards."

Getting lures way away from the boat was key:

> "Boards offer precise depth control. The distance behind the board determines depth, whether it's a jig or a crankbait. Tether it with a short 10' lead to get over shallow brush piles and weedbeds. ...use different jigs, from 1/32- up to 3/8-oz.

> "A 3/8-oz jig going 0.7-1 mph is getting down about 5' on a 10' lead – double it to get down 10', and so on."

Why mono vs braid:

> "...mono provided a crucial advantage in the tournament. ...when crappies touch baits trolled on braid, they immediately spit it. The stretch in mono seems to encourage fish to hang on until it's too late."

Way before FFS but still relevant:

> "Crappies might be suspended 10-20' down...or even near the bottom over 40' flats.... That's when I hunt for those classic "Christmas tree" shapes with my sonar."

If they're hugging bottom:

> "...let out line until the jig ticks bottom, clip it to the board and send it...look at the angle of the line behind the board and you can gauge the running depth with fair accuracy as you change speeds.

> "Run 4 boards and let the fish tell you which bait hits the strike zone, anywhere between 20' deep and the surface."

On deeper flats: 

> "I find the effective range of line length by holding onto the rod and [let out] line a little at a time. When it starts clicking the bottom across the tops of deep structure...or right on the floor along basin transitions (from soft-to-hard bottom), I note the numbers on the line counter and start clipping those lines to boards to spread my coverage and zero in.

> "Knowing how much line you have out before attaching the board is crucial; this is why line-counter reels are important."

Watch your speed:

> "Speed is critical so pay attention and keep adjusting.... With lures down 12', over 14-16' deep flats, if that board wasn't 100' away from the boat we were not getting bites. The outside boards were 200' out and produced most of the action."

Tommy also said crappies ignored lures at 70-80' unless they ran high, hitting surface baits within 30' of the boat but shunning deeper ones that close.

Check out this new float! 👀

Called the Thill Sharp Shooter Float, here's a few details from their FB, no videos yet:

> Crafted with premium balsa woods for maximum sensitivity...this bobber flies horizontally like a dart, providing unparalleled accuracy and double the casting distance compared to any other float on the market.

> ...its aerodynamic shape transforms every cast into a precision strike in any wind conditions. Whether you're fishing from shore, or sharp-shooting using live sonar, the Thill Sharp Shooter will revolutionize your fishing game!

Will be available in 3 sizes to support weights up to 1/8, 1/4 and 3/8. No word yet on WHEN they will be available though.

1. FL: Okeechobee slabs on fire

Look for crappie around submerged brush piles and other structures in deeper water. Minnows and small jigs are your best bet.

2. IA: Crappies moving to deeper water...

...with colder weather – won't spawn for a month or so.

> Big Hollow Lake: Fish inner edge of flooded timber.

> Belva Deer: Black crappie, slow. Drift minnows along tree edges from beach to dam.

> Lake Darling: Black crappie, fair. Target rock piles in 4–6' or by dam.

> Lake Geode: Black crappie, fair. Check tree falls and fish habitat in 3–4', then habitat tops in 8–10'.

> Lake Rathbun: Water too cool for crappies to move shallow.

3. MS: Crappies are shallow on Ross Barnett rez...

Catching numbers of fish and they're big too. It's fixing to be 100% on if it's not already:

> "...there's a ton of them. There's more fish in the reservoir than I have seen in several years..."

They're catching quality fish with 1/16-oz Crappie Magnet jigheads in "orange" and "chartreuse".

4. CA: The bite is on on at Isabella

> Lake Isabella/Bakersfield – ...the spring crappie bite has arrived, and the slabs are are being found in as little as 1' with most in the 1-5' zone around trees and brush. Anglers have been scoring stringers of slabs with a wide variety of minijigs in various colors or live minnows.

5. New Z-Man Guppy GrubZ

Built with Z-Man's tough plastic so way less tail bite-offs and:

> "...paper-thin curly tail...and expanded tail surface area empower it to activate and corkscrew at even the slowest retrieve speeds.

> "To bolster its soft, razor-thin tail, we implemented a slightly thicker, semi-rigid ‘spine’.... You may not even notice it’s there, but [it] helps prevent the tail from fouling during faster retrieves....

> "...also reinforces and strengthens the tail section, preventing it from being prematurely cut or sliced, allowing you to deploy a single bait for hours of fish-catching action. That’s a huge bonus when you’re catching and sorting through dozens of panfish in short order."

Quick YT vid here shows 'em underwater – they look good! Get 'em here.

6. New 6' 6" ACC Crappie Super Grip Spinnin' Stix

Only available at Scheels ^.

7. CA closes Woodward because...

...of golden mussels that rapidly reproduce in large clusters and could clog critical water pipelines. No boats are allowed in the water for now.

8. MN: MN-FISH launches new muskie study

Due to perceived effects of catching them with FFS. Will be interesting to see if this trickles down to other species?

9. OK: Bibb County lake reopening Apr 26

Note the new $5 fee to accessit.

10. MO: Snakeheads… kill 'em all!

First one was caught in a burrow ditch on the St. Francis River, 2019:

> "Northern snakehead fish are highly invasive and could reduce populations of [native species]."

Not the same as a native bowfin, so know the difference.

11. NY: Chautauqua Lake crappies on the chew

Use a bobber with splitshot and thin-wire hook, 1/64-1/8 oz jig with 1.5-2" tube tails, or a tiny bobber with weighted fly.

12. OKUMA limited edition Chroma 2 reel

Only 350 available, 2nd time they've done this with an '80s/loud painted reel:

> "Following the immense success of its predecessor, which was inspired by contemporary art, the Chroma 2 takes a bold step into the world of retro aesthetics, blending nostalgic artistry with cutting-edge engineering. Every exterior part is hand-sanded and painted in-house for the perfect tone and finish..."

Can only get them on the Okuma site.

13. Johnny Morris plant-based BioBait

...a formula containing natural ingredients that are safe for the environment and break down faster than traditional soft-plastic baits.

> "It never dries out...combination of plant-based formula and fish oil infusion...Immediately after touching the water, molecules disperse from the bait along with high-quality and pure (menhaden) fish oil..."

14. MO: Fishing for Disabled Program

MDC's ADA-accessible fishing event for ages 7+ with disabilities, offers free gear and support May 3 at Lake 15 in St. Charles.

15. New report says recreational fishing supports...

…$230.5 bil annual revenue, 1.1 mil jobs, $70 bil in wages. FL, CA, and TX lead the way.

16. Yamaha Marine appoints new VP of biz development

Includes G3 and Skeeter Boats too.

Making strafe runs for slabs

Post-spawn tip from MS crappie guide Brad Chappell on In-Fisherman, talking about long-lining around structure for post-spawners:

> "It's like a chess match to me. You have to get a pattern going in various dimensions with color, jig size, depth and speed.

> "After spawning, crappies do about everything they need to do in open water.... Long-lining for crappie shines when they're suspended [near heavy cover]....

> "I only target fish in the top...I want to strafe the cover – not run through it, but just over it or along it.

> "If I see the rod tips bobbing a little, it's time to speed up. If the tips never bob, or we never snag, it's time to slow down.

> "...they seem to prefer running down a jig that doesn't alter course much...you can't turn much with this program or you get a bird's nest of epic proportions."

Check out this sick mount from and FB post by Bill Muntz, owner of Fin and Bones Taxidermy! Makes us think we need to bring our glidebait game to crappie fishing! 😅

> Big crappie....big appetite!! Mr. Minnix 3.52# monsta!!!!!!!!



National Professional Anglers Assoc.

MN-FISH