Texas Fishing Forum

How do you find Crappie w/o a fish finder?

Posted By: Rhino68W

How do you find Crappie w/o a fish finder? - 06/16/15 08:33 PM

I kayak fish and want to keep a crappie rig on board for those tough days bass fishing. I have little experience crappie fishing with jigs or roadrunners. I know one guy told me to just hang around docks near deeper water and throw under/around them. Any tips would be greatly appreciated guys.
Posted By: Bobcat1

Re: How do you find Crappie w/o a fish finder? - 06/16/15 08:35 PM

Fish Timber
Posted By: Rhino68W

Re: How do you find Crappie w/o a fish finder? - 06/16/15 08:41 PM

Originally Posted By: Bobcat1
Fish Timber

Are there any factors I should look at when doing so?
Like weather, ways to fish the jigs, water clarity, ect..?
Posted By: RangerBass21

Re: How do you find Crappie w/o a fish finder? - 06/16/15 08:42 PM

bridge pillars, timber, not every tree holds crappie, most of the trees hold big school of crappie are pecan trees or cedar trees or plum trees.
Posted By: bush hog

Re: How do you find Crappie w/o a fish finder? - 06/16/15 09:25 PM

Crappie are predators that related to structure as an ambush point. They like shade and will group together around structure. Like most fish this time of year they will suspend at a certain depth over deeper water and once again it's normally over structure such as a brush pile or next to a tree. You just have to experiment to find the right depth by pitching the jig and counting down until you get a thump or dropping it to the bottom and counting reels as you slowly bring the jig to the surface. There are many ways remember the depths. Sometimes the fish want the jig moving and sometimes not. There are just a lot of variables and that's what makes it so challenging. Most lakes I'm fishing now, the crappie are in about 25 foot of water and suspended around 12 ft. but that can change at any moment. Look around the structure for any sign of baitfish activity. The fish will be where the food is close by. Lots of folks on this site can help you more so than I. Good luck, hope this helps some.
Posted By: jiggin el

Re: How do you find Crappie w/o a fish finder? - 06/16/15 09:36 PM

I've never used a fish Finder,Most importantly I try to learn what the crappie are doing at the time while I'm fishin...Learn your local lake and follow the crappie as they move thru the waters..
Posted By: Bobcat1

Re: How do you find Crappie w/o a fish finder? - 06/17/15 12:10 PM

Originally Posted By: RangerBass21
bridge pillars, timber, not every tree holds crappie, most of the trees hold big school of crappie are pecan trees or cedar trees or plum trees.
I would add Bois D'Arc trees to that list. Find Isolated trees at the end of a point or beside a creek channel. The more limbs under water the better I think. Try different depths on the tree and different presentations such as falling jig, slow elevator rise or pitch out and swing back to the tree at different depths. After 5 minutes move to another tree if you don't get bit. That's how I would do it but I'm no pro. Lots better advice should come soon.
Posted By: geebass

Re: How do you find Crappie w/o a fish finder? - 06/18/15 01:51 AM

Wood or weeds close to deep holes always hold crappie!! Another tip is to follow the shad crappie tend to be close like any predictor fish. As the lake warms they will move a little deeper but I find that they will always school along weed lines to feed though out the day. One good tip for summer crappie is long line trolling or with a kayak just get a good drift going along a weed line or a ledge. Do to not having electronics drifting is always a great way to start. Once you land on some lock down and use a slip bobber rig. A great bait to start with is gulp minnows 1inch or crappie will even hit 2.5inch. Put them on a jig just heavy enough to get down by the weeds while drifting. If your limited on space you can pre rig your poles with slip stops and mr crappie makes a twist on slip float when you land on some fish simply twist on the floats! Good luck and tight lines!
Posted By: Fooshman

Re: How do you find Crappie w/o a fish finder? - 06/18/15 02:09 AM

I go to crappie looking spots or to known spots where I've caught them before.
Posted By: Jig Man

Re: How do you find Crappie w/o a fish finder? - 06/18/15 02:10 AM

Leave your bass gear at home and go crappie fishing... You wont regret it!
Posted By: Jacob

Re: How do you find Crappie w/o a fish finder? - 06/18/15 02:30 AM

Get a real good pair of binoculars and potlick your butt off!

banana
Posted By: Ruffneck2000

Re: How do you find Crappie w/o a fish finder? - 06/18/15 04:19 AM

Originally Posted By: Jacob
Get a real good pair of binoculars and potlick your butt off!

banana
Originally Posted By: Jacob
Get a real good pair of binoculars and potlick your butt off!

banana
LMAO...but so true hahahaha
Posted By: Fishbonz

Re: How do you find Crappie w/o a fish finder? - 06/18/15 02:30 PM

Originally Posted By: Jacob
Get a real good pair of binoculars and potlick your butt off!

banana
roflmao roflmao
Posted By: Fishbonz

Re: How do you find Crappie w/o a fish finder? - 06/18/15 03:10 PM

Originally Posted By: Rhino68W
I kayak fish and want to keep a crappie rig on board for those tough days bass fishing. I have little experience crappie fishing with jigs or roadrunners. I know one guy told me to just hang around docks near deeper water and throw under/around them. Any tips would be greatly appreciated guys.
If you don`t have a fish finder on board and don`t have a specific spot that you regularly catch them ,you are fishing blind,yep I said it I`m not going to sugar coat it.Underwater Creeks,Under water Ledges,Underwater stump fields blah blah blah.....YOU CAN`T FISH THEM EFFECTIVELY IF YOU DON`T KNOW WHERE THEY ARE.And if you don`t know where they are you won`t be able to harvest fish from them unless by accident.You are fishing blind so the only options you have are ,if you have no electronics is,hire a guide to put you on them or use your vision and fish structure you can see such as shaded boat docks, Shaded Bridge Collums,Rip Rap,Tree Tops the ones you can see protruding from the water and any other structure YOU CAN SEE!!There it is plain and simple in the meanwhile save up a little $$ and invest in an affordable FF and get in the game.People that are catching them now without electronics are catching them in places where they have caught them before & although they are fishing blind , they know the pattern of the fish at a time of year.If you really want to increase your chances of catching this species learn as much as you can about their environment and the lake you choose to pursue them on. 2cents
Posted By: Jacob

Re: How do you find Crappie w/o a fish finder? - 06/18/15 03:24 PM

At least get a string with a weight tied on with marks every foot. You can drop it down to find your depth if you see a spot that looks fishy.
Posted By: hub_cap

Re: How do you find Crappie w/o a fish finder? - 06/19/15 04:56 PM

Long-term I agree with what Fishbonz said about the FF..in the meantime in addition to what he said -- get a lake map, study the structure, and make friends with the locals near the lake.
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