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Hope getting ready to chase some slabs in this cooler weather! Those brushpiles are about to get LOADED and with FAT crappie! 🤑

Back with another Target Crappie loaded with juicy crappie content, hope you enjoy it!

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THE key to ultimate boat control – which = more crappie! 😃

If you’re constantly blowing over fish or the wind has you drifting all over the place, you’re gonna like this one. 💪 

Danny Rogers, owner of Performance Fishing Electronics (PFE) in Camden, TN, used his electrical experience at DuPont and his degree in electromechanical technology to build the first true "brakes" for crappie boats. They are now a staple on many boats.

And since then, he’s come up with a bunch of slick electronic tools keep your boat and graphs dialed. Here's some of the story:

How did this all start?

> "I got LiveScope 5 days after it came out. Right after they released that, people started to [long-pole]. When we started trying to learn the [long-pole], we kept blowing over fish. 

> "I remembered a guy from MS that had 2 [Minn Kota] Terrovas on the back of his boat instead of drift paddles...to fish with the wind. He didn't use them as brakes, he just used them instead of drift socks.

> "I called a sheet metal worker buddy of mine, got a picture of those Terrova brackets, and had him build 2 sets of brackets that I put up on the rear deck of my Ranger – and put 2 [Minn Kota] Edges on 'em.

> "Me and my tournament partner got checks in our next 14 tournaments and won 5 of them. That's how big of a difference it made. 

> "Then we had a guy make brackets, putting them between the Power Pole and the brackets. Then I had a guy call me one day and ask. 'Can you put them on my spikes?' [shallow-water anchors].

> "I took a TIG welder and a plasma cutter and made the first set that went on spikes that I had known of anywhere."

What do you say to folks who ask, Why do I need all that on my boat?

> "There's so many different reasons. First, you don't want to spook your fish. You go up to a stake bed, brushpile, open-water fish – you want to be able to stop or slow down and make decisions before you get to them. 

> "When I [see the the target], I instantly stand on the brakes and back up off that brushpile or stake bed. Then I Spot-Lock.... If you didn't have brakes, you couldn't do that. 

> "If you're spider-rigging and get hung, you just hit the brakes, back up and stop, instead of having to spin around and flush that whole stake bed out [or whatever you're fishing] with all that backwash.

> "...in the bass world, when baits get hung on the bank, you can pull the trolling motor up and glide up to the bank [with the dual motion] then hit the brakes – your brakes are out 20' behind you." 

Do you think being that stealthy helps you catch many more fish?

> "Oh my gosh yes. [Without brakes] people just can't control their boat like they need to. 

> "If you were to go back and look at tournament statistics – the people that win [now] that don't have some sort of braking system are almost non-existent.

> "I'd say your fish catching is gonna go up at least 40%. 

> "When you have the extra weight of the motors – especially on a 18, 19, 20' boat – it makes it even more stable because you got these weight ballasts out there. That's another advantage.

> "If the wind's blowing a little bit in the back end, your boat's getting squally, you can hit the brakes. Especially aluminum boats that get blown around bad, you can hit the brakes and it'll control that wind from whipping the back your boat around."

Every Crappie Masters winner this year has said that boat control was the most important factor. How do brakes make that kind of difference?

> "Boat control without them is almost not even boat control. Without them you have 1 point of control when you've got a 3-sided sided boat.

> "With brakes you have the availability of a control method on all 3 apex points – we triple our control capabilities. Control capability has gone up by 66% minimum. 

> "In the crappie tournament world there’s a saying – 'He who covers the most water wins.' The only way to cover enough water is to have brakes.

> "Instead of fishing and looking for fish with your trolling motor on 3 or 4, you're on 10."

What's the manual brake system your site mentions? They don’t attach to Power-Poles or Raptors?

> “For people that can't afford or don't want to buy Power-Poles or [Minn Kota] Raptors, we have brackets that are actually Power-Pole brackets now. The motors mount to those brackets. 

> "You get the same controlling mechanisms and everything. The only difference is you have to go to the back of the boat and push a button and let them down [vs the bow of the boat].

> "We're selling ‘em for $1,299 for the [30-lb thrust] and $1,399 for the [40-lb thrust]."

Follow up: How do those stow and deploy? 

> “It's literally using the thumb mechanism that comes on like a small trolling motor, only it's machined off. It doesn’t have the pinch mechanism with the big wing bolts and all that. They're bolted to the aluminum brackets. 

> “You just go back and grab it, push a button with your thumb, let it down. When you get ready to move, you go back there and push that thing with your thumb and pull it and fold it over."

What it you take off with your Poles down? How resistant is the trolling motor hardware to that? 😅

> "When you have brakes, you don't want to ever put your motor in gear with them because...it stretches the bolts, you'll get water in and your motors won’t go anywhere. 

> "I came out with a kit called Poles Up (MSRP $99.99). There's a sensor that goes into your Power Pole or your [Minn Kota] Raptor a light on your dash with a label that says 'retract poles'. 

> "It’s a red LED light on your dash that lights up when you turn your key to on. We respectfully call it the 'retina burner'. It’s a safe LED. It ain't gonna burn your retina, but it is so bright, you will not take off with your Poles down.

> "People are not used to having their poles down in 20, 25, 30' of water. It's just gonna save people from the trouble.  

> "There's people that don't even have brakes that buy the Poles Up because they've been guilty of going down the lake in the winter when they got a lot of clothes on – they put their life jacket on, it pushes one of their Power-Pole buttons, and the Poles are about halfway down when they take off."

How much weight are PFE brakes adding to the back of the boat? 

> "...even the heaviest set is less than 40 lbs. That's a [40-lb thrust ] set. The [30-lb thrust] set is...less than that, probably around 32 lbs."

Pretty darn cool! Here's a few extra deets on the Brakes:

1. Danny beefed up his brackets to handle rougher conditions – his bottom brackets are built from 1/2"-thick metal. He made those because bass anglers fishing northern places – like the St Lawrence River, St Clair and Lake Erie – needed something stronger for big-water runs.

2. PFE builds and coats its own motors in-house to keep tight control on quality, and every bracket comes with a lifetime warranty.

3. The brakes are currently selling for:

• 30-lb thrust single-motion – MSRP $1,299
• 40-lb thrust single-motion – MSRP $1,399
• 30-lb thrust dual-motion variable-speed – MSRP $1,599
• 40-lb thrust dual-motion variable-speed – MSRP $1,599

4. Here's a pic of those manual deploy/stow brakes:

More electronics 🧃 from PFE

Danny's out here inventing stuff like a dang mad scientist, it's awesome! Here's another deal from Performance Fishing Electronics that's helping anglers get their electronics game way up.

The PFE Visualizer

If you’ve ever stared at your screen wondering if that’s a rock or a fish hugging bottom, fish on a tree, etc... this one’s for you – the PFE Visualizer:

> "I developed the Visualizer because dominant people were catching fish off the bottom that other people couldn't see. That's what that product's made for.

> "It helps you get target separation between the bottom and the fish as much as possible."

The Visualizer only works with a Garmin GLS10 black box...for now. He also said it's not a "fix all of your clarity issues" device:

> "I'm going to draw all the people out there that have [turned their setting way up] and their LiveScope looks bad instead of getting somebody to go out with them and do a sonar session with them.

> "Another thing about the Visualizer – if you run a high color limit, it turns the Visualizer off. It will not help you."

What is the difference customers will see with the Visualizer?

> "A while ago now, I took an older gentleman to Arkabutla, MS.... What happened was when those crappie got pressured, they would start heading to the bottom and you'd lose them.

> "You'd have to take your Ultrex and [pan around] until they'd raise back up. Then you go try to catch them.

> "After I put the Visualizer on, I would intentionally spook fish to the bottom, trying to lose them [and] I never lost a fish on the bottom for 3 solid days. Caught 3 limits. That's where it shines.

> "...that 100' [forward FFS distance], like the bass guys looking really far out...if it helps with the bottom, it's going to help with target separation in piles and things.

> "We're doing that by basically speeding up the process at which we're collecting and and pushing data...to where we're getting more data back so we can get [a true picture].

> "That's the magic to it. What we finally figured out on that is to get it enough information quick enough [so the black box does] not fill it in with fuzz."

"Big mud" is the secret

That chill’s finally hittin’ the air – or may already be around in your parts! 🥶 Whether you’re about to get iced out or not, crappies are sliding off the weeds and stacking up in the “big mud.”

Captain Donnie O'Bert dropped some real good tips for JT Outdoor Products about how to stay with those migrating slabs. Here's a little of that 🧃:

> Schools of fish that spent summer near weed edges and shallow structures begin migrating toward deeper basin areas that many anglers call the "big mud."

> ...soft-bottom flats and adjacent dropoffs serve as staging areas where crappies feed aggressively before winter. 

> ...artificial presentations truly shine. Small glide baits, such as micro-sized jigging minnows, can also be deadly especially when crappies are suspended off bottom. The erratic darting motion of these baits mimics a wounded shiner or perch fry....

> A key factor in maximizing success this time of year is line choice. Using light line – typically 2-4-lb fluorocarbon or monofilament – not only maintains a natural presentation, but also allows your bait to fall faster through the water column. 

> The faster descent keeps your lure in the strike zone longer and helps you stay on active fish. Light line also enhances sensitivity, making it easier to detect those subtle "up bites" that fall crappies are notorious for.

For folks whose lakes don't ice over – these same tactics apply to those big schools of black crappie that chase bait out over those deep flats and river channels!

Why side scan is SO important

Side-scanning might be one of the most underrated ways to find crappies – and Brandon Lester would probably agree. When he’s not chasing bass on the Bassmaster Elite Series, he’s back home in TN chasing slabs and putting clients on ’em.

Check out how he’s side-scanning for loaded brushpiles most folks miss in this YouTube video. Here's some excerpts from it:

> "I think the biggest thing is people go to the lake, idle around 30-45 minutes, don’t find a new school of fish, so they revert back to what they know and that’s the wrong thing to do. The only way to find these schools of fish – you’ve got to put your time in.

> "So we’re out here idling this big flat. I’ve got side scan on the bottom shooting 100' on either side. If you have a smaller unit, like a 9" or 10", zoom that in a little so you get better detail. 

> "I play around with different palettes, but right now I like black and white because I can easily tell between hard and soft bottom. Most of your gamefish you’ll find on hard-bottom places. 

> "The way I do it, I find most of my brushpiles on side scan, mark them, drop an icon, and then run over the top on down scan to tell a lot more about that brushpile.

> "On down scan, one thing I’ve noticed...I can see 1, 2...probably a dozen fish sitting right there on that stump. I guarantee you if I get up there and put my [Lowrance] ActiveTarget in the water, there’s probably 25 or 30 fish sitting there."

He cuts down a lot of search time by knowing what depth range the fish are in depending on the time of year:

> "I know right now water temperature is 81 degrees, so most of these fish are going to be 12-20' deep. I know that’s a wide range, but when you’re searching just keep that in mind. 

> "You can cover a lot of water with side and down scan – stumps, brushpiles, rockpiles. I catch crappie off all that stuff. Just cover water and look for them. That’s all you got to do."

Check out Bobby Garland's 🔥 fall drops!

Today the crappie world has been gifted with these deals from Bobby Garland! 😃

1. 18 OG colors and new colors in the 2.25" May Fly 12 pack
2. An Itty Bit color extension in the Slab Slay’R
3. New Itty Bit Jig Head sizes
4. A new size Head Turn’R jighead

1. These new 2.25" May Fly colors look real good:

Top L down to top R down: 'pecan cream', 'black cricket', 'Grenada gold', 'sandfly', 'moon bug', 'junebug pearl chartreuse'. The 'black cricket' and 'Grenada gold' look 💰! And don't sleep on that all black!

2. The small Itty Bit Slab Slay'R has 10 new colors:

Going across from L to R: 'gumdrop', 'bone white pearl white', 'eclipse', 'chartreuse silver chartreuse', 'pink lemonade', 'keystone candy', 'sour milk', 'fried shad', 'hummingbird', 'moon bug'.

3-4. The Itty Bit Jig Heads now have 1/16, 1/8 and 1/4-oz options, and the Head Turn'R Jig Head you can now get in 1/32-oz! 👀

Those new sizes of the Itty Bit Jig Head don't have a bait keeper on 'em which might seem like a bad deal but – you're going to be able to use the same Itty Bit bait on that jighead just about all day!

____


Bobby Garland also introduced a handful of colors to the 1.25" Itty Bit Slab Hunt’R: 'double silver rainbow', 'gumdrop', 'sweet tea with lemon', 'blue chrome', 'wanted monkey', 'moon bug', 'thump'...

...and new colors to the 1.25" Itty Bit Mayfly: 'chartreuse red glitter', 'natural cricket', 'eclipse', 'glitter critter'.

Catch the full rundown of the fall release here and getcha some to catch up some slabs this fall!

1. The Crappie Machine is liking 'tequila sunrise'

Karl Kalonka is a Canadian angler and TV host behind Extreme Angler TV and is slaying those crazy lookin' Canadian black crappie on the HR Baits 2" Mini Fluke in 'tequila sunrise'.

That orange is a bright color for some clear water!

2. TX: Crappie bite is 'excellent' on...

...Bob Sandlin, Brownwood, Choke Canyon, Granbury, Nacogdoches, Naconiche

3. AR: Crappie are 'stacking up on brushpiles' on DeGray 

Guides are reporting that they're in 8-12' deep piles right now.

4: IA: Best crappie fishing right now can be found on:

• Spirit Lake – excellent (8-12' on jig/minnow or plastics)
• Mississippi River Pools 9-11 – good (snags in running sloughs near backwaters)
• Pool 17 (Muscatine) – good – Big Timber & Cleveland Slough
• Big Creek Lake (Polk) – good
• Greenfield Lake (Adair) – good
• Riepe Pond (Pottawattamie) – good

5. MIDNR grants $1.5 mil for fisheries habitat conservation

> Funding is available for activities that can improve MI's fisheries and aquatic resources, such as fish habitat conservation, dam removal and repair, and resource assessment studies.

6. Lurenet.com's 'Pumpkin Day Sale' gets you 40% off...

...a ton of stuff, but for us crappie folks, the Great Lakes Finesse Micro series baits (2" Juvy Craw and 2.25" Minnow) in their green pumpkin color variations – as well as the Micro Sneaky Underspin – look like 💵!

7. Fenwick launches new ice lineup

From their Eagle to World Class series the whole Fenwick Ice series got a full redesign – built for top-end sensitivity, balance, and feel no matter what you’re chasing through the ice. MSRP varies by model. Check 'em out here.

8. Ugly Stik has new ice rods and combos!

> At the core of the GX2 Ice series is the signature Ugly Stik blank, ensuring maximum sensitivity and the legendary toughness anglers have trusted for generations.

> Each rod features Ugly Tuff one-piece stainless-steel guides with a proprietary PVD coating that reduces line fray – eliminating insert pop-outs even in frigid, rugged conditions.

> The GX2 Ice combo pairs this durable rod with a size 20 spinning reel featuring a ported aluminum spool, creating a lightweight, balanced setup ready to perform on the ice.

> Ergonomic EVA handles and an upgraded reel seat deliver comfort and control during long days on the frozen lake, backed by Ugly Stik’s industry-leading 10-year rod warranty.

MSRPs are rods $36.95 and combos $46.95. Should be available now.

> For those seeking ultimate sensitivity and refinement, the new Ugly Stik Carbon Ice series takes performance to another level with 100% 24-ton graphite construction and a solid graphite tip for crisp action and dependable strength.

Carbons are $59.95 and $79.95.

9. All ACC Crappie Stix rods are back in stock...

...including their new stuff: the Kid Stix and Trout/ Panfishin' Stix.

10. Think you could crappie-ify this?

That's Berkley's new Triple Minnow Rig, 3 minnows working in sync for a realistic mid-stroll presentation – looks like a mini bait ball. Made for bass but imagine throwing some crappie jigs on that thing! MSRP $9.99

11. Diawa has another budget-friendly combo

The new Crossfire LT has Daiwa’s Airdrive design into a value reel and built with the same Digigear system found in higher-end models. Comes in 6', 6' 6" and 7'. MSRP for the combo starts at $54.99.

12. 10 catfish recipes for your back pocket.

Cool deal from In-Fisherman. Guess there's more than 1 way to skin a cat(fish)! 😅

Always wear a belt when you're wading...

...especially if your waders don't have some kind of cinch system. That's something Wally Marshall does every time he's out wading for slabs:

> "Always wear a belt if you're wading without a float tube. Wear a belt around your waist...in case you did slip down or trip. Water won't get down in your waders near as fast and send you packing."

Keep that tip in your mind too when you're duck hunting this season! 😃

😅 But hey... fishing is an "investment," right? 🤔😁

Check out this funky lookin' dude caught on a trip with Grenada Lake Crappie Guides. Dude looks like he got a good 'ol cartoon style BONK! to the forehead!🤣 Not a small fish either!

National Professional Anglers Assoc.

MN-FISH