I switched from bass to Crappie about 10 years ago. Bass fishing is a lot more expensive than fishing for crappie. Different rods and reels for different lures and techniques. With crappie once you find the right jig color/size your set for weeks at times.

Bass move a lot more than crappie so there was more looking in different areas than catching.

I still Fish a few private lakes for really big bass from time to time, but catching Crappie & frying them is pretty rewarding!

My wife and I had at least 20 bass in 2019 that weighed over 6 pounds with 2 over ten pounds while crappie fishing. She had a 12 pound catfish and
a 9 pound drum, catfish snapped the pole at the boat. So yeah, Crappie fishing can get pretty exciting...


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Yep, I've caught more big bass while crappie fishing then I ever did as a bass fisherman....makes me think I was really lousy at bass fishing.

I've always done both....my whole life...don't know why you'd pick either or

I like to do both. But it seems any more bass fishing is just pounding the grass line in fairly shallow water. And I love to do that in the spring. Crappie fishing is fun in the winter because you can id them with electronics and it doesn't seem to matter whether it is very cold or not, they will bite when you find them stacked up. Some days are better than others and it amazes me how much some of the spots I fish change day to day. One day there are swarms of fish on the Humminbird and two days later they are gone and somewhere else.

On a related note I'm going to attempt to get TPWD to put out brush piles on my lake to improve the habitat. We need help on these old lakes. So far they've seemed receptive.

I fished for bass a lot ... I just recently in the last 6 months fished for crappie. I bought more stuff in the past 6 months than I probably have my whole life to fish for both, but I cannot get over the fun of crappie fishing. Making my own jigs that for the first time caught fish yesterday (was my first time taking them out since I just started). I love to crappie fish, yeah, that thump is addictive. Congrats Tommy! Well done!

Congrats Tommy!

wtg EZ!

Tommy, glad you are becoming a statesman for crappie fishermen in the area. I tend to agree with your assessment on fishing for the different species. Crappie is my target species, due to the table fare aspect. If we had any walleye around, I would likely target them as well. I grew up running trot lines and yo-yos, as a child. Once I got big enough to handle the large bass in our private lake I targeted them, daily. Over time, the thrill of bass fishing (and offshore) faded, as did the exhaustion associated with the endeavor.

Like Bushhog, my wife, Sandra likes to eat crappie, and never complains about my fishing, well, as long as I am bringing crappie home. At any rate, keep up the good work on the crappie representative front.

Welcome to crappie fishing...so you finally see the light!

I used to fish for nothing but LM Bass up till 2001 or so, but got burned out, sold the boat, all the fishing gear & just stopped fishing altogether until a few years ago when the bug hIt me again....lol. Went & bought another boat, all new fishing gear, which included most everything I'd need to catch crappie, sandies & catfish too...... Now I find myself fishing for crappie more than anything....:) Loving every minute of it too....

Crappie, challenging to catch, easy to clean, taste great, freeze well, and loved by wives the world over...enough said!

"I’ve heard countless times crappie fishing will never be bass fishing"

Thank Goodness!!!!