Been fishing most all my 65 years. Did a lot of Crappie fishing in my teens and twenties but have since been focused on Stripers and Whites. I want to get back to Crappie fishing and I prefer using live minnows. I fish from a boat and need advise on what a good rod/pole would be for fishing minnows. Any help would be appreciated.

For minnows any rod will do. If you want to "drop" your line from a distance and not disturb the crappie then a long pole will suffice. It's best to have a rod of each kind in your boat depending on your situation to use.

Thanks kickingback.

A five foot ultra-light spinning rod, like the Shimano Clarus and a reel of your choice. They do make reels with a depth locator that you lock in and your bait goes back to the same depth everytime.

I would personally use a 6-7 foot medium action fast tip I have used ultralights they are or but you will honestly lose more fish 8 pound line or 6 your preference under a fixed float or slip float

Look at Pro Angler Rods...a lot of rod for the money. If you like a little better rod, look at Bonehead Tackle. Both are local companies.

For crappie fishing with minnows, you can't do better than Matzuo Aberdeen sickle hooks. Sharpest hooks on the planet.

Gman

All you really need for crappie is a 10 foot collapsible rod. Some braided line and the proper hook for minnows. No reel needed. I really like the Jimmy Houston model at Walmart for 10 bucks. Fish it like the old timers used a Cain pole. Most crappie fishing is on structure straight down.

back to crappie fishing/catchiing!



I agree with this. But, if you are fishing brush piles, my personal go to 99% of the time would be a 6.5 ft, medium action fast tip with 6lb hi-vis Mr. Crappie line. Use a small swivel and tie a clear leader about 18 in long for your hooks/jig; use sickle hooks ALWAYS. You would be ready for most situations.

Don't get me wrong, the ProAngler long rods are nice - when you need the reach. But trade weight for the "feel" of the bite.

welcome to the forum!

what Gman said....if you'd like to meet somewhere in between,if interested,i'll let you try out one of my 8' pro angler rods....

an added note,this will be like previous posts,ford vs chevy....its going to come down to what you like and what you're most comfortable with for you particular style of fishing.....wish you the best of luck.just prepare yourself for some more great info to come your way....i'm still learning....

Thanks everyone. The last time I did any serious Crappie fishing I was using cane poles.

A funny story about my first attempt in Texas. I'm from north Carolina and migrated to Texas in 1993 with a job transfer. I went into that little store on the north side of Grapevine lake dam one day and asked the guy how much his Crappie minnows were. That's when I got educated... ya'll don't pronounce Crappie the same way we do in N.C. He got a little peeved at me a corrected my pronunciation. I got to say that trying to make the "A" in Crappie drawn out like is done here is very foreign to me. I guess I will just point and ask from now on...lol.

A cane pole and minnows are still the best, but some of us have not done it in 40 years and the rest have never done it. Fish how ever its fun to you.