Damn you guys should actually read the original question every now and then.

cephusjoe - I've done it on two occasions. Both times it wasn't the initial plan, it just kinda happened.

We were crappie fishing on Fork of course, under 515. We started losing almost every other fish to bass attacks. I had never seen anything like it. My buddy who fishes out there a lot more than I do said he sees it all the time. So the wheels started turning, I fished my swimbait rod out and started combing a little crappie looking bait thru there. I hammered the bass for about 30 mins. A fish on almost every cast, and they were big. Nothing under 3 lbs, the big one was about 7.5.

The next morning we decided to graph some crappie and run a swim bait thru them. We found a few schools but never got bit on the swimbait. After lunch we went back to 515 and did the same thing, we caught 4 fish over 7lbs in less than an hour. No overs but NICE fish. We tried it a few more times and never could reproduce the bite that we found under the bridge.

I think it's too hit and miss to consider doing very often. You have to find the right size crappie, in the right place, with the right sized bass feeding nearby. But no doubt it can be done.

People troll the bridges with crappie imitations all day during big bass tournaments. I would think it has to be the exact right timing. Yes, they target schools of all kinds of panfish.

Tim, you are right, it is a hit or miss deal. but when they are on, its ON and m you need one of those Black Crappie Spinnerbaits

Of coarse! Crappie are delicious! like some other already said.. many bass are caught crappie fishing. Have seen BIG bass chase crappie to the top of the water in the winter time.

On Sam Rayburn in the summertime, offshore anglers target the crappie for bass whether they realize it or not. Usually the bass don't really start showing up on brush piles until the crappie move out there. I'm not saying that you won't catch bass out of the brush without crappie being present but typically the best piles have active crappie stacked on them. I don't go by set times of the year or temperatures to put the bass there, it all relates to when the buffet is open for business. This year the bass didn't really get in the piles good until later in the summer because most of the brush was too deep with the high water and the crappie didn't show up until the water went down. An easy way to monitor when the brush pile bite is on at Rayburn is to follow some of the crappie guides on Facebook. I know Roger Bacon is smashing the crappie right now and caught a 10+ lb bass the other day on a trip.

https://www.facebook.com/roger.bacon.988

I was just looking at that color you have the other day. . .hell of a nice job on that bait. I'm going to be getting some for fall. . .

A long time bass guide on Fork told me that the biggest bass on Fork live under the bridges...where the crappie live.

Tim, thanks yeah i hear ya. I crappie fish and bass fish a lot. But when I struggle bass fishing I pick up a crappie stick and go catch crappie, and occasionally a bass. I was just thinking that maybe a vertical jig presentation with heavier tackle for a bass might work "deadsticking". Ive never done it but may give it a try.

I believe they do. I have had some huge bass come after smaller crappie that I have hooked under the bridges on Fork. Once for the heck of it I let one have the crappie. I fought the bass for quite a while until he spit the crappie out. The crappie fins were partially dissolved. There have been times when I targeted blue gills and rigged them up on one of my live bait rigs that I use for stripers. It kinda of breaks the monotony of crappie fishing when that clicker goes off.

it think the bass know the good crappie spots are where short stunned ones are released for an easy meal. LL fishing barge is another example.

I have done very well with the crappie patter that I paint.

Or flood the BPS tank and watch what happens!! Lol! I still laugh about him feeding the bass all those black nose!

Crappie Lives Matter!!!!

that's an awesome pattern. reminds me of an old school Norman color (the one with the diamond shape lateral line) that has always worked well for me on DD-22's at Fork, but better.

#141- Smokey Joe?