Just getting into crappie fishing. Been out several times in the past few months. I've been able to find crappie on stumps and brush piles but can't seem to get more then a few each time.
Been using hair jigs, bobby garland swim baits with 1/32 and 1/16 jig heads various colors. Haven't tried live bait yet.
Went to Granger yesterday, got into the lake around 7 am and the first brush pile I was on had some good numbers but couldn't get a bite going. Seen lots of bait balls and the fish looked active.
Any advice that will put a few more in the cooler would be appreciated.

hard to learn the tips and tricks by yourself. First watch a bunch of videos, beginner how to's etc.
read up on rods and reels, lines, and jigs, and baits. if possible go with a experienced crappie fisherman,..even try a guide if possible. Also good electronics is almost a must.
My first tip is lighter tackle works best for me. 8-10 foot crappie rod with a small spinning reel, with 6-8 pound hi-vis
crappie line. Small jigs with two colors,...blue/white, green/black, blue/chartreuse, ....I always fish down toward the
fish. If the top of pile is at 16 feet,....drop down to 14 feet and move the jig down slowly about 6" at a time...to about
a foot into the pile. Then repeat...slowly. Crappie feed up. If you see them on the bottom, then go down slowly..and raise up slowly,...stopping for a few seconds. I'm sure you'll get some more help on here....good luck... jim

Book a trip with a local guide and you’ll learn more in a day that you would on your own in a year. Let them know you want to learn how to catch crappie on your own and see if they’ll show you different patterns and techniques to help you become successful.

Best advice right there. That's what I did and got my confidence in jig fishing.

Red

Crappie are finicky. Was out this morning. First BP caught 16 keepers, very small pile. Next big pile 2 keepers then nothing. Several piles had 8-15 fish but after the first bite, the rest were not interested. Some piles had fish and not one would bite. Two piles, caught one fish; dropped back in the middle of 5+ fish and they didn't look at the jig. Twitched the jig very slightly and they all swam off as if the jig hit them. That's crappie fishing.
You're doing the right thing switching size presentation and colors. Some days nothing will get them fired up. If there's no bite in the first few minutes, move to find more active fish. If you drop the jig in the middle of fish and they move away from the jig; head to the next spot. Watched one nice fish approach the jig fairly fast. Got within a few inches and swam off like he'd been hit with a cattle prod.

Great advice! Call Tommy Tidwell- he knows granger crappie like no other. A 1/2 day with Tommy will take a lot off that learning curve!
Granger is a tuff lake to learn on- if you are pulling one or two legal fish each pile, you are doing pretty good for a new guy. You’re getting there- enjoy your time on the water.

If you can afford it, going out with a guide is definitely the quickest way to learn.

I've fished for 30 years but mostly for largemouth and sandbass until last year ... since then I've become hooked on crappie fishing. I live on Cedar Creek lake and fish 2 to 3 times per week. What I've learned while using livescope is presentation (assuming you've found crappie) might be the single most important piece of the recipe. Most people that I take out to crappie fish for the first time put WAY too much action on their jig. They think because it's called a jig that you should jig it up and down rapidly. Your aren't going to get bit a lot with that type of abrupt action. For the most part, I use 3 different presentations based on what the fish want that day or that time of year:

• Swim over the top -- I first drop my jig down to determine the right amount of line to get just above the fish. I'll then grab my line several eyes up from the reel, pull it up the slack and pitch it out and let it drift over the top.
• Hold it as still as you can just above the pile.
• After holding it as still as you can, slowly pull it straight up as if the jig is swimming toward the surface -- this often triggers a reflex strike.

In the deep part of the summer (except maybe for the early morning time), you have to hold your jig super still and just wait. You'll catch a max of 3 - 5 fish per pile (even if it looks loaded) and then have to move to the next. For the last few weeks, however, the fish have been loving the swim presentation and I can catch 10 - 15 per pile when there are a lot of fish.

Nothing at all. That is summer time crappie fishing in a nutshell. Run and gun is the name of the game. Catch a few here and move and repeat. Minnows will help get more fish to bite per spot even though some look down on minnows. A minnow is hard to beat from now till September IMO.

wow, thanks everyone
that's some good advice. I went on a guided trip with Kevin Kubiak several years ago. I think he fishes Sommerville now.
I'll look into the guided trip.

This time of year the best advice I can give is downsize. Don’t use any baits bigger than 1.25”.

Have you thought about that maybe you are getting bites but don't feel it? Many times I drop my jig, set the hook when I do not even feel a bite, and amazing how many times I catch one like that. Especially with livescope, when you drop it fast, and can stop it right in front of their face, most of the time, the crappie will suck it into their mouth out of reflex but you do not feel it, and if you don't immediately set the hook, they will spit it out.

this time of year we still have mild northern fronts coming in that can affect barometric pressure , cause frequent wind shifts, ect, crappie fishing is always a game of first recognizing present conditions and adapting to them
fishing can vary greatly from lake to lake as well.. from posts here on the forum, I have read that in the heat of mid summer in some lakes, such as cedar creek, navarro mills, ect, the fishing slows down alot.
here in central texas, the hotter it gets, the better they seem to bite.
my advice would be to get to know what ever bodies of water you fish with great intimacy. it alot of time on the water.
for instance, one lake I fish, after a bright full moon night, I know that fishing will be very difficult the next day, so I tend to go elsewhere,.
also if rains muddy the waters in the northern part of the lake, I dont fish in the soup, I will drive the boat the where there is a transition from muddy to clean water. all of this came from years of trial and error.
Pattern recognition and establishment,, usually the bulk of the crappie in the lake tend to behave similar from day to day, but it can change rapidly. just a switch of wind direction can affect thier behavior, . sometimes they are mostly hanging suspended above brush or timber, sometimes tight to the cover, sometimes near the bottom. sometimes just roaming in open water.
Attention to detail is paramount.
I pay attention to moon phases, barometric pressure, UV light index, bird activity, and water color.
, look for the best looking water you can find on the lake,, it should have kind of a slightly stained, emerald green tinge to it,, this is plankton, daphnia, and other life organisms that attract baitfish and gamefish.,
crappie fishing is challenging, so dont be discouraged.. when you put the puzzle together and start filling the livewell, and the freezer, its a great rewarding feeling,.
do some research on DAPHNIA.., most folks have never heard of them, but they play a key role of where baitfish and gamefish will be on a lake,.

thanks so much for sharing your information.

I am kinda new to crappie fishing myself and I will say deadsticking the jig is the key to getting bit.

recently I have been experimenting with sound rattles that I attach above a sinker, pegged 12 to 14 inches above a jig., to try and get inactive crappie riled up and bite. so far the experiments have been very promising,. I have seen crappie dart out of a brushpile and hammer the jig and have seen them come out, and nail the rattles. they definitely respond to sounds. seeing in live time how the fish respond on livescope is fascinating and I always keep an open mind and willingness to try new things.