TE something that I like doing is going the opposite of a lot I hear/read just to see if it'll work....
I've always heard dark baits in/on dark days/murky water conditions but I catch plenty going bright, white/chart or straight chart....
I'm no constant 2lb wacker but those pound & aahhh halvers sure are fun flipping in tha boat...
Juss something to think about

Exactly, that's why we have the forum. To learn. No one person will ever have it completely figured out. There are rules of thump that should work but when all else fails a good angler better have an imagination to think out of the box.

And yup I can't recall the last time I used black/char. Salt n Pepper is my first choice in dark conditions. I'm really not hung up on color though. Profile and presentation is the key imho.

Exactly, this and fast moving baits is all you need to know on certain days and conditions.

I remember hearing an old man that always seemed to catch crappie say that on a rise the fish get silt and mud across their gills and it makes them sick.

Great feed back. Thank you

I thought about the fish filtering that water and discussed it with my tournament partner.

This is a fantastic thread! I am always trying to learn something, even when I can't get on the water. For everyone who contributed so far, THANKS! This has been a great read. My next question is for Tommy Ezell. The lake that you are fishing that is 13' high (I suspect is right down the road from me), have you had good or mixed results? I have made one trip and it was just not good. Winds were a little rough, but not unfishable. Water was still 56 degrees, but could not find anything on my electronics other than empty brush. That is why I tried Fork, but caught fish there. What do you think on that one? Every one else? They are similar sized lakes.

What you failed to mention RS, is that when the bite got good for you, you were soaking your bait in Slab Slobber. Although we had been using scent that day, RS got on a roll in the later afternoon, and made the statement, that he was soaking his bait before each redeployment. I soaked my bait and instantly caught a fish.
This topic was brought up previously in this thread, and I'm a firm believer that scent can make a TON of difference when the fish are not in a major feeding mode & lethargic.

You are correct. I suspect the bite will be on this weekend. The bite had been off imho due to small particles in the water. There was stuff floating all through out the water column. This happens on Lavon as well immediately after a flood and the bite is slim to none. I can always manage a taco or two though.

There is only so much you can learn fishing the same fisheries. Nothing wrong with that depending on one's goals. I prefer to learn and the more lakes I've fished the more I've learned. For example I've truly avoided spider rigging. You get me on a lake like Grenada and I'll get my butt handed to me. It's not my thing just like jigs isn't other folks thing. We all should respect one another's styles and goals.

There are tid bits I get from the CAT meetings and various legends I know. In all reality there is some epic fishing to be done in Texas but it'll take research and TOW to accomplish it. I guess again that depends on your idea of epic. Is it finding lakes that aren't spoken of and finding how the fish relate to that lake or is it going to the spots that are well known every season and smashing the fish? Either way I can respect that.

Good catch Tboxfish! I wasn't even thinking about the fact that I actually used the Slab Slobber. Like Tommy Ezell said, learn from everyone you can and time on the water. I was one who never, ever used attractants on my jigs, but after joining this forum I have learned that a lot of really good crappie fisherman do! So about two months ago I finally got a bottle of the stuff because so many here on the forum used it. It took me that long to finally try it, and I think I need to field trial the stuff a couple hundred more times to make sure I give it a chance! Seriously though, that might be what the difference in the bite was!