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No Target Crappie last week – spent the week in Orlando at ICAST checking out the new stuff. Love getting to see the great folks in the fishing world every year!
Crappie's been creeping up at ICAST, but this year, wow man, tons of cool stuff came out. Went to my first one in 2024 and don't remember much crappie presence, a bit more last year, but this year was a different story!
A few quick things before we get into it:
1. Impossible to see everything at these shows, but I did my best on the crappie side.
2. ICAST mostly draws the bigger crappie companies, or bigger companies with crappie brands.
3. Most of these baits hit shelves this fall or spring 2027 – if something's already out, I'll link it.
If you want to see all of the vid coverage we did and keep up between emails, catch us here on Facebook and Instagram!
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If your email program cuts off the bottom of the email click "View this email in your browser" up top to see the whole thing. Sorry about that – email programs keep changing stuff!
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If you followed ICAST any on social media, you know the bassin' side was overtaken by all of the urchins.
I know some folks have been making hand-poured versions for a while now, but I've been waiting on a crappie company to jump in and start mass-producing these things! Looks like BaitFuel did it.
BaitFuel NanoSpike
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2 biggest factors here are:
- They're supercharged with BaitFuel scent and have BaitFuel powder in the bag.
- You might be wondering how it gets any action being that small, but it sounds like they were getting more bites on 'em just letting the baits pendulum or sitting still. Check out this vid from BaitFuel's Bailey Boutries with more deets!
Z-Man Micro Finnesse ChatterBait
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This guy is replacing Z-Man's Flashback Mini and is available on Tackle Warehouse. They've brought one of the best baits in the bassin' world to crappie, which IMO = awesome.
I've had the opportunity to throw this Micro Finesse ChatterBait for a while and am impressed with how much that blade thumps. Got it just late enough to miss the spawning fish but have been dock-shooting with it – skips incredibly well and the fish go nuts for it.
Also, it does come with a Z-Man Baby BallerZ on the bait, which is a great bait for it, but you can change it to whichever bait you're confident in.
Bobby Garland Slab Stalk'R and Head Lock'R jighead
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Covered this in last week's Target Crappie but got to see them in person at the show. A few quick deets:
- Can be fished like a Baby Shad – minimal working – and still get that tail to move well.
- On top of FFS pro-staff guys doing real good with it long-poling and casting, it's been pretty killer for dock-shooting since it's got a slower straight fall and not an unnatural "death spiral".
- The heads now have 2 screw rotations and only 4-5 turns to get the bait on. Heads come in 1/8, 1/16 and 1/24-oz.
Stalk'R and Lock'R are both availible on Tackle Warehouse.
BoneHead Tackle Swim Stick
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Another good little swimbait with that small tail membrane to give it good action on a slow retrieve or pendulum. BoneHead just released 4 sweet new colors along with this bait. Check 'em out here on Tackle Warehouse!
Rapala CrushCity "Lil' Crusher" baits
Rapala is going from 0 to 100 in the crappie baits category, and these juicy morsels look just as good as their full-sized CrushCity brothers.
Shapes already out on the bass side just smaller are the Lil' Freeloader (2.25"), Lil' Mooch Minnow (1.75") and Lil' Mayor (1.75").
Here's 3 new shapes:
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Top to bottom that's the Fry Ball (2"), Sizzle Shad (2.25") and Trident (2").
The Fry Ball is the one I'm probably the most excited to throw – with the detail in the mold, definitely going to look like 2 baitfish hanging around.
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2 main things that surprised me and got me excited for the crappie world:
1. A SWEET looking BFS (bait finesse system) setup and learning about how it can be used in crappie fishing.
2. A new company starting to make crappie rods, which indicates that more and more folks are getting into crappie fishing = awesome.
B'n'M Bucks Graphite Bait Finesse System combo
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Real quick, if you're unfamiliar with BFS, it's basically a small baitcasting setup built to cast real light lures down to 1/32-oz, depending on the gear, without backlashing your reel. Same idea as finesse spinning but lets you fish those little baits on a baitcaster instead, which a lot of guys prefer for accuracy and feel.
Anyways, some deets on this deal:
- 6' 6" 1-piece split-grip rod. Exposed blank so your hand stays on the blank = more sensitivity.
- Can be bought separately or together. Going to be around $100 for just the rod, $180-ish for the combo.
- Reel is 6.3:1 gear ratio. A shallow spool (as are most/all BFS setups). Makes for easier casting and decreases backlashes.
If you're wondering "why a baitcaster for crappie?" Check out the vid of it on Target Crappie's Facebook here.
Fitzgerald Vursa Crappie & Panfish Series
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New line of rods from the folks at Fitzgerald in the Vursa Series. FL-based company, so lots of St Johns River, Okeechobee, Kissimmee Chain influence from guys spider-rigging and catching giant shellcracker.
Series spans from 6' all the way to 16'. Got to hold them at the show and I will say they are pretty dang light, even the 16-footer.
Check 'em out here on the Fitzgerald site!
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Like I said, didn't get to see everything at the show – tons of lines that came out, but wanted to keep this to the lines that a) I actually got to spend some time with and b) lines that screamed "crappie" to me. Here we go:
Seaguar Brawlr Mono
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Had the opportunity to be in a great presentation on this – was tested from catching big redfish in the salt marsh to big 'ol bluegills up in WI. A few deets on it:
- WI guide Mr. Bluegill said it had less line twist and less memory than other mono. When big bluegills go crazy and spin when you're reeling them in, the line does a good job of not twisting up. FWIW he also said it had considerably less memory when ice fishing
- Believe it comes in w colors: low-vis green and clear. The clear is UV responsive – will glow blue when it's charged by the sun or a UV light, so my first thought was it will be sweet for night fishing whether open water or ice. It apparently will not glow as much as the old Stren does.
- 13% thinner diameter than, 10% less stretch, 8% more tensile strength (vs other monos).
Check it out here on Tackle Warehouse.
KastKing TriPolymer Crappie Line
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Ok, ya got me. This was not new to ICAST, but we did get to see it there for the first time and it seemed pretty sweet.
That 3-layer makeup is supposed to give it lower light refraction and a lower stretch than mono. MSRP $8.99 on the KastKing site for 300yds – pretty sweet deal there. Going to have to grab me a spool, man!
Check out this vid with KastKing's Jose "Bait n Boujee" Cinco with some more deets and uses.
Sufix Calibr8
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Not a "crappie line", but if you're a braid guy – thinner, smoother 8-strand braid for casting distance. I'm a braid-fluoro guy on my casting setups – castability is a huge deal for distance but also accuracy.
8-strand braid tends to come off the spool easier to help you put your bait where you want it, so I'll have to give this stuff a try! Check it out here on Tackle Warehouse.
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More info about the new Garmin LVS 44 and 42HD
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Had a bunch of technical details in the last Target Crappie, but got to actually get on the water with the Garmin LVS42 HD at ICAST. More details on the 42HD in a sec but a couple things on the 44:
- It’s pretty much the next step up from the 34 and is what Garmin is saying is their 'ducer for clear water/long range casting style of fishing.
- The LVS 44 runs on a lower frequency – better range but less detailed than the 42HD. The 42 has a higher frequency and slightly different cone angle – way more detail with shorter range.
Anyways, here's more info and observations from the 42HD.
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Unfortunately, I don't have any incredible shots because we were on the water at 11 AM and it was a bright, sunny sky, but initial impression – very cool. I also won't go into Perspective mode right now, but FWIW it was the best Perspective picture I've seen up to this point.
Some points from the Garmin folks at the demo:
> "If you're a crappie angler who does not need to reach out to 120', the 42HD is probably the one."
> 50% more detail and "at that distance, it can separate targets that are less than 4" apart."
> "Fish do not disappear into the bottom as much because of the improved target separation and resolution. Resolution affects how objects look as they move across the sonar beam, so a fish should continue to look like the same-sized fish."
Range spec on 42 is up to 125'.
My biggest takeaway was how crisp the bottom looked. There was little to no false bottom, even though the pond was lined with hydrilla.
I was pretty dang impressed by how clearly you could pick out individual fish, schools of bluegill and baitfish sitting along those grass edges.
No wood in the pond, but based on what I saw, I think fish hugging timber or other cover are going to show up really well.
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Just a few noteworthy baits and gear to getcha a look at.
1. Z-Man Octane MinnowZ
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Comes in 2.8", 3.3", and 3.8". Biggest deal is their Swag Tail – made to not blow out when you're reeling it fast. A little big for crappie (kinda) but will be a sweet deal when they're on the bigger baits!
2. New Northland Tackle Baits
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The Forage Fleck (L) and Tungsten Bling Jig (R). Marketed for Ice guys but don't tell me some open-water slabs won't destroy those when they're keyed in on something flashy!
They also have a new ice hub house.
3. Bubba Gen 2 Filet Knife
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Slimmer handle and different trigger to make it more comfortable in your hand. Check it on Tackle Warehouse.
4. Millennium Marine Big Daddy Boat Seat
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Gives you an extra 4" of width (was 20" now 24"). I'm all about it!
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Getcha one of the new-ish Big Game Crappie Poles and boom ya got a reel for it!
2. LA: New Atchafalaya Basin crappie regs in effect Aug 1
Will now be an 8" minimum and 25 fish/angler/day.
3. AR: Crappie bite going down on...
> Lake Maumelle: Crappie are reportedly stacked at 8', 10' and 12' chasing shad. There are also reports of crappie stacked on brush in 17-20'. Jigs, swimbaits and minnows are all working.
> Arkansas River (Little Rock area pools): Crappie were active around wood. Your best bet is a black/chartreuse jig.
> Millwood Lake: Crappie improved drastically over the past week or so with the reduction in current and improving water clarity. The best action was on minnows and jigs in 8-14' around brush, stake beds, planted bamboo limbs and cypress tops.
4. Diawa has a new "Unbreakable Glass" rod
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Slow the fall before changing colors
Here's how Bassmaster pro and crappie fanatic Brandon Lester uses lighter weights to help his pester power in the summer from a recent YouTube video of his:
> "If you're looking for consistent bites, err on the side of light rather than heavy.
> "Rate of fall is something not many people talk about. Speed and rate of fall are just as important – and some days more important – than color, presentation and all of the above.
> "On days when I can tell the fish are lethargic and not really fired up about biting, I want a slow presentation that holds the bait right in front of their faces for a longer period of time.
> "A #7 [splitshot above a jighead] is a really good size. I catch a lot of fish on a #5, too. It stays in front of those fish's faces longer, and eventually one of them is going to get tired of looking at it and eat it."
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How about this pile of big 'ol Okeechobee bluegills from Hood Fishing Legend. Heard they might still be scaling all of them! 😂
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