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Hey y’all – hope you’ve been whackin’ a bunch of slabs! We’re back with another Target Crappie loaded with juicy crappie content.

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How 'bout WANTING line bow! 🤯

Here's some good stuff from a cool video from Jim Crowley Outdoors. He shares the juice on catchin' slabs old school – with a simple black hair jig!

It's one of those tactics that's easy to do but hard to master, and Jim tells exactly what he does and why. Here's some of the good stuff:

> "When you're faced with really clear water conditions...sometimes your best bet is to downsize and go old-school....

> "...a 1/16-oz black VMC hair jig...it's deadly effective for panfish."

Jim says you gotta KNOW what your bait is doing below:

> "There's a reason that 10% of the anglers catch 90% of the fish, and one of those reasons is that they always know what their lure is doing....

> "The key behind the hair jig is to reel it as slow as you possibly can. Don't jerk it, don't hop it, don't do anything with it. You want to reel it slow enough to keep a bow in your line...as slow as I possibly can to keep that bow in the line [so] that hair jig is just going [to glide through the water]....

> "And all of a sudden...the crappie just came up behind it, sucked it in, was swimming toward me. As soon as I pulled up on the rod, I saw the rod tip go down a little bit.

> "The slower you reel that hair jig, the more successful you will be."

Cold front? Find deep brush

Real good info from a post on In-Fisherman.com:

> "During cold fronts the fish don't move far,. They might slip out just a little deeper, maybe from a couple feet of water to 6 or 10'. Sometimes they move out over even deeper water too. Look around with your electronics....

> This past spring...the temperature dropped 20 degrees overnight and that lasted for days. We returned to the bay to find our shallow spots vacant of fish. ...I turned on my side-imaging and idled around the bay searching for fish.

> We found 2 sunken brushpiles, likely the result of beaver activity. The piles ran from 8 to 15'...along a break, just off a bed of pencil reeds. They were loaded with crappies – the same fish that had been in 2-4' of water only a few days prior.

> "...during cold fronts...they hold to whatever the deepest cover is: vegetation, wood, a steep break, rock. That's a form of security for them until the weather stabilizes and they can move back shallow."

> He uses a slipfloat rig 90% of the time in cold-front conditions. "I typically start with a slipbobber, Northland Fire-Fly Jig and a small crappie minnow. A micro-Kahle or Aberdeen-style hook may be the way to go if they're tight-lipped.... But a Fire-Fly Jig with a waxworm or little crappie minnow is my favorite finesse bite approach."

> "Some bait shops have a tank of tiny minnows for cold-front situations. These sorts of bait shops now are rare. When you find one, spend money there to support them."

> ...when fish are in a negative feeding mood..."I pinch a crappie minnow in half and use just the tail end. Just past the dorsal fin before it gets too thick."

“When you’re vertical jigging, don’t put your hand on the reel.”

Slabmaster Terry Blankenship talkin' on LouisianaSportsman.com a little while back about a deal we bet all of us have done and lots of us still do:

> "When you miss a fish and you reel in line, you pull the lure away from the fish. But if you don’t reel, you can just let that bait go right back down in front of them."

Sounds simple but in the moment? 🤔 Here's a little more juice from that post:

> "Crappie tend to come up behind a bait and suck it up. A lot of times you won’t feel the hit, but you can see it with a hi-vis line. Always be ready if your line goes slack. Set the hook."

> When the bite really gets tough..."get the jig in front of a fish’s face and hold it there, you can get him to bite. ...as still as possible above the fish – if possible, within a few feet...if they see it they will eat it."

Tandem jig it this summer?

The post-spawn transition can be as tricky as it can be insanely good. When it's tricky but they're all grouped up, giving 'em a couple different presentations can definitely speed up the learning curve – and may even get you a bonus fish or 2.

Here's a post from Lurenet with OK angler Gary Rowe talkin' why you should give em the tandem rig (and how Gary does it a little differently):

> [Gary] puts his lightweight Itty Bit jig at the end of the line and a heavier jighead above. "By doing this, the bigger jig – usually a 1/6-oz Crappie Pro jighead – provides the necessary 'weight' for line control and also lets me use something totally different in bait size, style and color from my Itty Bit below. I use a loop knot to attach both jigheads."

Gary likes a a 2" Slab Slay’R on top and a 1.25" Itty Bit Swim'R below:

> "The combo gives me 2 very different bait profiles and sizes, and lets me vary colors too. I’m always paying attention to which it is the crappie are hitting best so I can fine-tune my selections even more.

> "I use this tandem rig a lot when fishing vertical timber in summer for crappie suspended at different depths....

Gary said that nearly 90% of his catches with this rig come on the slower-falling Itty Bit.

It's also a cool though possibly somewhat-risky tactic 😁 around docks:

> Tandem rigs...2 jigs tied a foot and a half or so apart, provide significant advantages for many dock-fishing situations.

> Beyond simply doubling the number of baits in the water [it] facilitates faster patterning by letting you fish different colors or jig styles at the same time – and allows you to work slightly different zones with vertical presentations.

> Tandem rigs also make it easier to manage extra small offerings because they increase the total amount of weight.

> That said, a tandem rig is more apt to get hung than a single jig....

> ...a 1/16-oz head and a body that’s around 2" long tends to work well. Fishing one jig of this size with a micro jig behind it works wonderfully some days for appealing to fish in different moods.

Never guess what fish species (or zie) you're fishing for 👀

Aqua-Vu has been THE folks for angler-friendly underwater cameras for a while now, and semi-recently came out with their Micro Revolution 5.0 HD which has a couple key uses in the current era of fishing.

Other than it being fun to see fish "down there" (for kids too!) and see that piece of structure you always fish (and thought it was this way but it's really that way!), the big deal with the cam is the ability to quickly ID the fish species you're seeing on your electronics.

Here's more from an Aqua-Vu YT video:

> Think you’re on crappie but can’t get bit? Drop the camera to see if it’s bluegill, bass or something else. No more wasting time on the wrong fish.

> Watching the screen shows you what sonar signals actually represent. Helps build confidence and speeds up your ability to read your electronics.

> Bass and panfish often come right up to the camera – some even try to eat it! Curious fish behavior gives you a better look without spooking them.

Brett on the TC team uses Aqua-Vu a bunch on Sam Rayburn, TX to see what kind of species are hanging around brushpiles out there for his guide trips. Here's and IG vid from him showing you what these things can do for you

The Micro Revolution is compact, has a 5" screen that you can see fine in daylight, and 60' of rugged cable that delivers HD video. The unit also has a built-in spool with a handle for quick drops and retrievals. Plug and play – no complex setup needed. Right now it's $350 on TackleWarehouse.com.

1. Alex Hall and Cassidy box got the Crappie Masters W

The duo took the W on Rend Lake, IL with a 2 day total of 14.22-lbs. More on their win in next week's Top 5!

2. TX: Bob Sandlin is still 🔥 along with...

Bois d'Arc, Nacogdoches, Naconiche.

3. FL: Lake Isokpoga is FL’s best fishing lake?

> "...you may not catch as many numbers as you would in a lake that was putting forth a lot of 9-10 inch fish, however when you do catch them they are a really nice-size crappie."

4. IA: Lake Rathbun is on fire?

'Nuff said 🤷‍♂️.

5. AR: Crappie are getting out deeper on...

> Greers Ferry: Some on the bank, others are deep. Jigs/minnows working for all depths. Also Troll cranks 12-18' (mid-depth) or 40'....

> Lake Overcup: Good, fish are in 6-8'. Spawn is over.

> Peckerwood Lake: Biting minnows/jigs. Chartreuse is good for dingy water.

> Bull Shoals Lake: Some on structure 15-20' but gotta search for 'em. Minnows working well. 

> Lake Fayetteville: crappie bite is good and fish are shallow Minnows/crappie jigs.

Also sounds like it's on at Ouachita:

> ...crappie are stacking up on the brushpiles now that the spawn is over. “We have been catching crappie as shallow as 8' and as deep as 18'...."

6. AR: W Central AR fertilized these lakes.. 

> Fisheries biologists in west central AR recently completed fertilizations at Atkins, Hinkle, Sugarloaf and Jack Nolen lakes. 

Biologists will fertilize all 4 lakes again in June-July. This jump-starts the food chain....

7. OH: DNR Installs life jacket loaner stations

> ...life jacket loaner stations at 32 OH state parks across the state...in a wide range of sizes – from infant to adult – making it simple for visitors to gear up before heading out on the water.

Find that list of parks here.

8. Railblaza's new static 'ducer mount

Made for kayaks and other small vessels – could see this being real good on jonboats. Here's some specifics from The Fishing Wire post:

> Compatible with Humminbird’s MEGA 360 and other static transducers, this robust mount features a hybrid construction of aluminum and glass-reinforced plastic, ensuring durability and quick installation on any kayak or small craft.

9. Another electric outboard company comes to the US

Check that thing out! Weighs 26-lbs and only goes up to 3 hp right now. Maybe could be a tiller for a jonboat? 🤣

10. Gamakatsu has a 6" filet knife... 

> ...is the smallest size in the lineup and is designed for precise handling in smaller fish.

11. Norsk Lithium new heated deep cycle

Called the 105AH LiFePO4 Deep Cycle:

> This feature automatically warms the battery cells when charging at temps below freezing, ensuring a safe charge once the optimal temperature is reached.

Quick trolling spread tips

Short deal from a good post on gameandfishmag.com:

> Years ago, the late Jim Duckworth, a renowned TN crappie guide, shared some valuable post-spawn tips with me. We were on Kentucky Lake...more specifically on Birdsong Creek, which feeds the massive lake. Duckworth was fond of trolling 1/4-oz jigheads with curly-tail grubs and 100-, 200- and 300-series Bandit crankbaits, a post-spawn tactic that works great with spider rigs.

> Multiple rods on the front deck and both sides of the boat cover different depths and allow for a variety of baits, live or artificial.

> I've fished this way for post-spawn crappies with veteran Reelfoot Lake guide Billy Blakely, too. He sticks with live minnows because "it's hard to beat the real thing"....

That's Canadian Bassmaster pro Jeff "Gussy" Gustafson gettin' on some slabs WAY up North...and he's sight-fishing 'em!

> "See the reeds behind me in this photo...that is where you’ll find the crappies for the next couple of weeks in the north. All you need to find them is a good pair of shades!

> I was wearing some Costa Jose Pro frames (my favorite the past couple of years) with some copper/silver mirror lenses.

> They are spawning so try and let most of them go!"

National Professional Anglers Assoc.

MN-FISH