Mine either really. I see all the time guys come on here that are new to crappie fishing and wanting tips. Myself and a few more guys have an on going PM that we have kept going for a while. There was talk on it about drifting flats. I typed this for them and then I decided I would share it with anybody new to crappie fishing that has not tried it or wants to do something other than bridge fishing. Also I would like to say that I prefer fishing piles above anything else, I just have not been able to find them on my piles. I am not a crappie guide or a crappie guru at all, but this what I do.
The ones I have been catching I have been holding a rod in each hand, one on each side of the boat and moving very slow against the wind, try to move so slow that your line is hanging straight down. It almost feels like you aren't moving at all, I look at the bank every once in a while just to make sure I am moving. In the area I'm fishing the best depth has been 19ft. I fish it one crank off the bottom, which is about 20 inches off the bottom. I'm catching a few scattered out but most of the time if you catch one you can drop back down in the same place and catch another, then after a bit drift back over that same spot and get bit again. Watch your graph the entire time. When you see that you have drifted into fish or shad holding close to the bottom you will get bit allot of the time. Those little special spots have something down there real small that will a hold a fish or two at a time, maybe a rock or a an old stump or limb that is real hard to see on the graph. But what you will see is the fish or shad holding around it. I think when you catch the couple off the spot and wait a few minutes a couple of more just move in and hold there. It can be slow at times, but in my mind it beats the heck out of sitting under the bridge and listening to cars bump over your head and having to fight the wind and the concrete and the crowd. My last trip to Palestine I had 21 keepers and a few shorts by myself. It can be slow, but sometimes you can wear em out. I guess you could call it 2 legged spider rigging. I have been doing it with a either a ThumpIt Jig that I had special made that is Chart/Blue or a JigUm Jig that is Chart/Black/Blue on one pole and the other I will have a soft plastic, either a Bobby Garland Baby Shad or a Slab Bandit. If you are new to Crappie fishing give it a try sometime when you don't want to fight the crowd at the bridge. You will also find some nice brush piles at times. This is how I found most of the piles I have marked on my GPS. Also when you see those straight lines start moving in on your graph those are whites and hybrids. When they move in the crappie move out or quit biting for some reason. At that time you can try another area or go home and clean your crappie, unless you want to catch those silly things. I caught a hybrid the other day that weighed 4.8 heck of a fight on a crappie rig, but he did tear a good jig.

Nice read. Thanks for sharing it.

Nice report Bluetick. Thanks

Bluetick, we would fish well together. That is exactly what I've been doing. It works! Another thing that I do is fish in a grid in tracks about 20 yards apart. I pick a line to drift and do it until the depth is wrong. Then motor or drift back to my starting point and start a new track parallel to the one I just fished. Or, if the fishing was awesome on a particular track, I'll go and fish that same track again.

Nice tip,
Blue tick the GURU, sounds good to me...
Jigum

Very good advice Bluetick.

Interesting Bluetick, how do u choose an area to start in?

the crappie version of a tell all book, thanks for sharing.

My home lake is Palestine. On Palestine I find areas that have deep water as close to the bank as possible. As shallow of a lake as it is there are still plenty to choose from. On most lakes the dam would be a great place to start.

+1 it's hard to do if you don't have patience.....I have seen sac-a-lat Pat wear them out just as you described!

Yes at times it does take patience. But heck if your a Crappie fisherman you have patience don't ya? Like allot of guys I was a bass fisherman for many years, and still do some bass fishing. But when I Crappie fish I go to relax and have fun. If someone is in the boat with me I can carry on a great conversation. If I'm by myself, which I don't mind at all, I still can carry on a great conversation. I promise that you will have the entire area to yourself if you talk to yourself loud enough.

Great info blue !!!!


When we cant find them on our piles or structure we do the same.We call it poor boy spider rigging.....

I should have tried it this afternoon. The bridge didn't pay off, but it was a super great day to be out. Just enough breeze to drift one at .1 MPH.

good read

Good read indeed. Thanks for sharing. I learned this technique from Pat. He called me today and said I need to get over there and clear out those hybrids. I may have to do that for him and then catch some of them crappie too.
cheers,
anton

Good post .

+1 on this Bluetick,I find it kind of amusing that people with the newer tech fishfinders will still sit at the bridge and not use their electronics to any capacity,if they do they tend to give up and right back to a bridge or tree that was sucessful in the past,Crappie move due to seasonal changes and baitfish movements.

Great description, Bluetick. Sending you a PM.