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Hey y’all – hope you were able to spend plenty of time on the water this weekend with your folks and catch some crappie!

I got to get out and put a hurting on some for the freezer this weekend – been using the Dobyns E. C. Special a lot since I got it a couple of weeks ago. It's such a sensitive rod – more on that in #5. 👀

Also went bass fishing with my dad and tied on one of the Bandit 300 colors that were designed for crappie (blue thunder) – locked up with a big 'ol bass! Don't let the bass guys know about all the cool colors us crappie folks have man! 🤣

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What's the deal with the urchin???

I've been seeing the urchin deal creep its way into the crappie world, as I'm sure you have too.

It's proven itself in the bass world, but I'm pretty stoked to see it coming in hot for the crappie world. I've had one question: How are you supposed to fish this thing?

To answer that Q and get a bit more info on the idea behind the panfish version of urchins, I gave Bobby Garland's Skylar St. Ives a call since Bobby Garland's 1" total length Fry Ball is coming out in Nov. 😃


What was the idea behind the Fry Ball?

> "We saw an opportunity to build something specifically around crappie fishing and fix a couple of the problems we were seeing with the first versions of these baits.

> "One of the biggest things was vertical jigging. A lot of the existing urchin-style baits are designed so that bass guys can stick a specialty hook or nail weight through them however they want. 

> "But when you put one on a normal crappie jighead, the orientation of those tentacles isn't necessarily right for fishing the bait straight up and down.

> "On the Fry Ball, we removed 1 leg on each side of the center axis, basically creating a cross through the middle of the bait. That gives you a natural place to run a standard jighead through it and positions the tentacles horizontally when you're fishing vertically.

[AI used to enhance the image to see the bait better. Check the full video out here.]

> "That's important because the feedback we've gotten from crappie anglers fishing them on LiveScope has been the same thing we see with a lot of crappie plastics: less is more. You want the bait itself vibrating and moving rather than constantly hopping it up and down."

What is that bait actually supposed to imitate?

> "That's one of the cool things about it – it doesn't necessarily have to imitate one specific thing.

> "At that really small size, it can look like a tiny ball of freshly hatched fry, plankton, nymphs, little aquatic bugs or other microscopic forage that's naturally moving around in the water. 

> "Especially on heavily pressured trophy-crappie lakes, simply showing fish a different shape and vibration can sometimes get you a few extra bites when they're being finicky.

> "It's also a really un-intimidating presentation. Outside of certain cold-water situations where [crappie] are looking for a bigger meal, smaller is usually better. So you're putting something tiny in front of them that has a bunch of natural movement without having to do much to it."

Where do you think the Fry Ball will shine most for crappie?

> "Definitely vertically.

> "Based on the size of the bait and how crappie react to presentations, I think that's going to be its best application. Rather than popping it like some bass guys fish these baits, you're just shaking or tapping the rod tip enough to keep all those little appendages vibrating.

> "That's especially interesting for LiveScope fishing and long-pole jigging because you can get a lot of life out of the bait while barely moving it in the water.

> "You can also turn the bait and rig it horizontally. Then the tentacles pulse backward as you move it through the water, almost like a tiny skirted jig. 

> "It'll be interesting to see how that works casting over brushpiles or shooting docks compared with more traditional little swimmers and minnow-shaped plastics."

Do you need a special setup to fish it?

> "That's actually one of the main things we wanted to avoid. You can put it right on a normal jighead instead of needing a specialty hook, nail weight or some homemade rigging system.

> "A size 6 or size 8 hook is probably ideal, and because of the extra clearance built into the bait, you can also put it on heavier jigheads when you need the weight without having all those little tentacles immediately getting stuck against the head.

> "The actual center ball is barely around a half-inch across – most of the bait is those appendages – so you're getting a really small profile with a surprising amount of movement."

ETX summer fishing intel

ETX literally, and I guess...also literally. 😅 That's Lake o' the Pines (LOP), East TX guide and owner of ETX Outdoors, James Chesnut.

I always love to hear from crappie hammers all around the country on how they're catching these finicky crappie this time of year so I gave James a shout to see what's going on in his neck of the woods

Here he is on how he's tackling the LOP crappie bite:

> "I think once you get into these summer months, they're mostly just trying to survive the heat. They're not being driven by the spawn or post-spawn movement anymore. You've got to find where they're holding and then figure out where that active bite is.

> "It's always a mix of things. For white crappie, I've been targeting about 15-18' of water and looking for fish sitting roughly 8-15' down. Anything higher than that hasn't been very active for me, and anything lower hasn't been very active either.

> "Normally I...do a lot of pendulum swings with my jigs around timber. I'm not doing that at all in this heat. I'm getting right over them, dropping straight down and holding the bait still.

> "I'll downsize to a 1/16-oz jig, and if that's not working, I'll go all the way down to a 1/32-oz.

> "For the last couple of weeks, the black crappie we've found have mostly been roaming. They'll pick up and move as soon as we get close to them. 

> "The white crappie that were actually willing to bite have been right off the creek channel or even sitting in timber inside the creek channel."

How long will you stay on a brushpile before deciding those fish aren't going to cooperate?

> "About 10 minutes.

> "Guiding taught me to keep moving. If I can't get a bite or 2 within about 5-10 minutes, I'm gone.

> "If somebody goes out wanting to catch a limit right now, they should be prepared to fish 10-plus spots. If you're fishing standing timber, you've got to steadily keep moving because it might be one fish here and another fish over there."

Are you mostly casting or long-poling those fish?

> "Mostly long-poling.

> "We're using 10, 12- and 14' Outlaw Crappie Poles and I use 7' rods for slip corks.

> "Normally I do a lot of pendulum fishing – basically an underhand cast that swings the bait back through the target. But when it's this hot, I'm not pendulum fishing nearly as much. I'm getting right over the fish, dropping straight down to them and figuring out what combination of jig size and fall rate they want."

Why does downsizing seem to matter so much when the water gets hot?

> "I couldn't give you a scientific reason, but they just don't seem to want something big when they're this hot. The best way I can describe it is they're not looking for a full meal – they're looking for a little snack.

> "They aren't aggressive and they aren't very inactive. But sometimes if you get that bait small enough, it almost seems like the fish says, 'Ah what the heck, I'll eat that.'

> "They're also not going to chase very far away from that timber. You've got to stay right there with them. Give the bait a couple little shakes, hold it still and wait on them."

Besides downsizing the jig, are you changing anything else with your presentation?

> "One of the biggest things I change is my fall rate.

> "During more aggressive times, I might fish an 1/8-oz weight above an 1/8-oz jig and get the bait down there quickly. This summer I've gone as light as a 1/32-oz jig with no additional weight. 

> "It takes forever to fall 15', which can be annoying, but I was getting so many bites on the fall that it became a game changer.

> "So if they're not eating your normal setup, don't just start changing colors. Start changing your fall rate and jig size until you figure out what they'll react to. There's usually something they'll eat.

Are you primarily using jigs or minnows?

> "If I'm fishing by myself, I'm probably going to be using jigs. But I always bring at least 1/4 lb of minnows because I'm not going home empty-handed.

[Haha, no kidding! 😅]

> "If I'm tipping a jig with a minnow specifically to trigger a bite, I really like those little orange rosies.

> "If I'm fishing just a minnow on a jighead or underneath a slip cork, I'll normally use a standard small minnow. Occasionally I'll use mediums, but mostly I stick with small minnows."

When you do use a jig, are certain colors big producers right now?

> "We use Thermocline Hex Wege Head Jigheads, and I'll usually start with their 'black emerald shiner'. It's a natural minnow-looking color.

> "Another good one is 'phantom', which is their 'monkey milk'-style variation. That color represents newly-hatched shad really well.

> "Probably 75-80% of the time I'm sticking with natural colors. I think people overcomplicate crappie fishing. Most of the year, they want to eat whatever is sitting in front of their face."

What's one thing you think crappie anglers overcomplicate the most?

> "Jig color. People will have a million packages of plastics in the boat and swap colors every 5 seconds. To me it just doesn't matter that much.

> "My mentor Marty Thomas used to say, 'My favorite color of jig is any color tipped with a minnow.' That's a philosophy I've kind of stuck with.

> "I'll play around with colors for a little while, but if they're not working I'm not too proud to put a minnow on there – especially when I have customers in the boat."

Use your boat shade to catch fussy crappie

James also said that he fishes out of a big pontoon and that a lot of crappie will see that shade and leave a brushpile to hang out in the shadow of the boat.

So, I just straight tup asked him:

Have you ever purposely used the shade from your pontoon to catch crappie?

> "Absolutely. 

> "We were fishing about 10' off a brushpile, and the fish sitting inside the brush weren't active at all. But I started noticing fish coming out of that brushpile and moving toward the shade underneath my boat. 

> "During that little 10' stretch while they were moving, they were extremely active. They would absolutely smash the bait.

Then as soon as they got back into the brushpile, they wouldn't do anything.

> "I couldn't tell you exactly why they were doing it. That's where you have to pay attention to those weird little patterns. You don't necessarily have to know why something is happening. If you recognize that it is happening, you can use it to have a pretty successful day.

> "I had a trip last summer with 6 people, and there was an older gentleman sitting in the back who told me, 'I don't use LiveScope. I'm not going to fish LiveScope.' I told him that was fine and he could fish however he wanted. 

> "He rigged a weight on the bottom with his hook about 6-inches above it and started catching more fish than everybody else in the boat.

> "Eventually I figured out what was happening – he was fishing underneath the shade of the boat while everybody else was fishing out in the sunshine. He absolutely outfished us that day.

> "I've carried that with me ever since. When it gets really hot and I see fish running underneath the boat, I'll put slip corks right beside the boat."

BFS = better line control

It kinda sounds crazy to use a baitcaster for crappie, but what if it really can help you catch more?

I'm all about trying new things, and the BFS deal has been very intriguing to me – seeing what else we can throw at big crappie to get those XL filets in the boat!

Fishing media man Jason Sealock has been on the BFS deal for a while and made a cool Facebook post about why that setup should be on your deck:

> "People ask me all the time about using BFS gear to crappie-fish, and the reason I tell them is that it's for line control. 

> "A spinning rod's great for getting a bait down quick, getting to the bottom quick in deep water. I definitely use spinning rods, but when the crappie are finicky, [BFS] is all about suspending your bait and feathering the bait down to them, and barely taking it away from them. 

> "I just feel like I can do that a lot better on a casting setup. So now, when they're real aggressive and light and fast and furious, I'm gonna pick up my 6' spinning rod and go work on them with that."

Some observations on the

E. C. Special

We've had AL/MS guide Eric Cagle on TC a few times, talking about his rod, the Dobyn's E. C. Special. This is what Eric said about the rod before I share my own observations:


> "It's a M-, ML-action rod with a double-fast action tip. The tip is very important on this rod for catching those finicky black fish. 

> "The reason for that double-fast action tip is when that fish bites it, he will pull the tip down before you ever feel it. 

> "...if you haven't tried this Dobyns rod, the E.C. 600 or 700, paired with a 1000-[size] spinning reel and 6-lb K9 High-Vis Fluoro – if you're casting crappie, you need to give that combination a try. You will not regret it, I promise you."

Eric is big on line-watching and designed that rod to really let the crappie take the bait and let the tip do the work. But I've noticed it's also really sensitive and lets you feel when to set the hook.

Personal preference: I'm not a huge line watcher. It's probably the bass background coming out, but I like to feel how the crappie bite – does that fish actually have it or not – and this rod pairs that sensitivity with the right action really well.

Even this past weekend on Sam Rayburn, the crappie were ultra finicky. With the E. C. Special, I could feel when they had the bait good vs just nipping at it, which saved me a bunch of minnows and time.

Once they do get it good, that softer tip and good backbone let you pretty much reel-set the hook without losing many fish.

FWIW, my setup:


> 1/32-oz unpainted BoneHead Tackle BX jighead, #5 splitshot, 10-lb Seaguar InvizX fluoro leader, 8-lb Berkley Forward Braid, 2500-size Kistler Feather Chromium Spin Reel, 7' Dobyn's E. C. Special.

If you're hunting for a new rod, check that one out here on Tackle Warehouse!

1. Why Eric Cagle likes the 2 3/8" BoneHead Slim Stick

> "...because of all the colors...and all the sizes...it's very durable – I can catch a lot of fish on one bait."

That particular color in the vid is 'black cherry firetail'. 👀 Check 'em out here on Tackle Warehouse.

2. AR: Lake Monticello lining up for 🔥 crappie bite

> The renovated lake is continuing to trend upward, and AGFC says its forage base is booming, with high numbers of threadfin shad, redear sunfish and bluegill providing more food for sportfish including crappie. Regulations were also eased for 2026: anglers can now keep 15 crappie per day, but only 7 can be longer than 12".

3. CA: Crappie bite going down on...

> Santa Margarita Lake, crappie are moving out to 15-22' and setting up on humps, islands and over willows. Guide Doug Rice says a heavier 3/32-oz jig makes it easier to fish them at those depths, and he isn’t too concerned about color.

4. OK: Wister Lake crappie are setup on brushpiles

5. AR DNR to draw down Lakes Jack and Nolen to grow big crappie

> AGFC fisheries biologist Matthew Schroeder says lowering the lake concentrates baitfish so crappie and other sportfish can feed more efficiently and increase their growth rates. The drawdown also exposes lake-bottom soil, making nutrients available to the water when the lake refills and helping increase productivity.

6. Urchins are now coming to you as...brushpiles?

They're everywhere! 🤣

That's the Anglers 3D Outpost Fishing structure. You buy that centerpiece and add the weight and PVC yourself. Neat deal!

7. In Fisherman: Top 10 fish batters and seasonings

For you cooking nerds (i'm right there with ya) that like to go deeper than the 'ol rest in grease method! 😁

8. ME: Lead jigs and jigheads less than 1 oz now banned

New reg effective Sept 1 to protect loons (allegedly!).

9. LA planting coontail in Saline-Larto Complex

Try a sandworm to imitate mayfly larvae

Here's a unique on from this The Old Fisherman vid on YouTube:


> "They're not taking [my plastic]. They’re looking at it, but they ain’t taking it.


> "I've seen it when they wouldn't hit nothing else but a [Berkley] sandworm...[and] they're hitting sandworms. That tells me they’re probably starting to hit mayfly larvae."

Btw, here's what that Berkley Sandworm looks like next to a mayfly larva:

Looks about right!

"Typically, the bigger crappie know where the smorgasbords are at. That is kind of the key – the fact that this creek's water cools the quickest and the crappie start migrating to it."

– MO Guide Terry Blankenship on the summer-fall transition for crappie in this Lurenet post.

Something to keep in mind! I know it's still blazing, but football is back, which means we have to start talking about fall fishing at some point! 😁

Captain Marc of Good Times Crappie Charters says the Cagle Mills Lake, IN, are schooled up and hungry...but I think he needs to look in a mirror to find the hungry one! 🤣

National Professional Anglers Assoc.

MN-FISH