Sorry for the long read but I thought some people might be able to relate to the connection between fishing and family and the process of learning to catch crappie.

We purchased a lake house at Cedar Creek 3 years ago. I've mostly fished for largemouth, sand bass and hybrids until this year and switched mainly for my parents. My Dad, who is now in his early 80s, taught me to fish. He and my Mom used to crappie fish together all the time -- until they were in their 60s. Due to my Mom's difficulty getting around, they sold their boat and haven't been able to fish in over 12 years. This was my incentive to learn to crappie fish. We hadn't seen them in almost 2 years due to the pandemic and fear for their health, but I was determined to find a way to bring them out here and catch some crappie. I have never caught crappie other than on a minnow in the spring in 3 ft of water. I started trying to learn to consistently catch crappie back in April. I started by just trying to mark brush piles on side/down scan and throwing out a buoy. Using minnows, I was able to catch a few but my boat was always moving around and with small brush piles it was difficult to really know where the pile was. So, like many others, I broke down and bought a livescope. My Dad always loved to use jigs while my Mom used minnows. So I was determined to learn the best ways to use both. I had no idea what size, color or profile of jig to use but luckily Laner posts really detailed info about Cedar Creek lake and I followed his advice. I really didn't think I would enjoy it much compared to sand bass, hybrids and black bass. Boy was I wrong. I'm hooked now and I'm not even sure why. I've heard guys like SK talk about the thump and I guess that's it.

Long story short, I was finally able to bring my parents out here and also get my 2 college age kids out here at the same time for 4 days to catch some fish. It wasn't easy -- my Mom has never fished with anything other than a cork in shallow water, so I had to figure out how to setup a slip cork for a brush pile in 20 ft of water. I had to teach my Dad how to read livescope, and to my surprise, he was able to pick it up fairly quickly and catch fish on a jig. I had to find positions in the boat that allowed my Mom to sit and still see her cork while my Dad was able to either sit or stand and see livescope.

I really didn't fish, just played the role of a fairly poor guide. I worried about all the things that could go wrong but in the end I got what might, unfortunately be, a once in a lifetime experience to have my parents and their grand kids both go out and catch fish. We had a nice fish fry and my parents were both able to catch some nice crappie up to 13.5". Most importantly, I got to connect 3 generations together for a few days while enjoying each other's company and the outdoors.

And THAT'S what its all about! Great job Ron

Awesome post! That's what's fishing's all about. Making life time memories, having fun, and catching a few for the table.

Awesome post! That's what's fishing's all about. Making life time memories, having fun, and catching a few for the table.

The smiles say it all! Great memories being made.

Awesome post and great memories!

Great times! Congrats on the memories! very well done.

Great story and absolutely priceless for you and your family.

It just don't get any better! Awesome post.

Kudos on a great trip and knowing what matters is the experience with friends and family. Awesome post and thanks. I enjoyed reading the whole thing.