Say, okiebob...word has it that your boat buddy could provide that info!!!!

Is it ok to mark a brush pile with a buoy? and how do you keep from catching catfish and carp and sand bass when all I really want are some slabs?

Say, huh? don't think he uses braid at all....unless you are talking about someone else?????

Good post. Like Ernest said, always learning.

Personally, I like the top down approach. Crappie see upward and strike upward. Bigger fish are typically higher in the water column.

I learned to use jigs when I finally left without buying minnows.

I still prefer mono. 6 lb on my little kid poles and 10 lb on my 8 and 10 ft rods. I tried braid last spring and didn't like it. I may try it again on a day I am catching a lot. The max depth I have ever fished for crappie was 39 ft deep in dead of winter. Most of tome 10-15 ft down. On 10lb mono there's not that much line stretch at that depth to me, but do what works for you.

I no longer use shakespear bait casters for my 8 ft jig poles. The side of that reel opens up. No big deal. A lot of brands do. For God knows what reason, sometimes on. Hook set, my other hand would hit the side of that reel and knock the cover off sending the spool flying out across the boat. I did this 5 times and lost the fish. I know this is my issue and example of do what works for you.

I think my biggest hurdle as a beginner was real estate - location, location,location. Over 10 years I now have 200 waypoints on my home lake and know what time of year to go to which ones, but I still learn and not always 100% right so I continue to learn. I love it. When I fish, I am not stressed about work, home, or anything. I'm thankful to have a passion for something that gets me away from it all.

Me too. Dock shooting is best done with 6# mono. Also when casting a jig around rocks or hydrilla I prefer mono.

The only thing that i think needs to be added to the list is...the right equipment. For the life of me, I will never understand why a person that is just getting into crappie fishing will go out and buy the shortest, lightest, most "buggy whip" rod that they can find. I watched a guy fishing last weekend with one of the aforementioned rods, and also watched him loose three really good crappie, back to back to back, because his rod wasn't strong enough to keep the bigger fish out of the brush. Another 'list' favorite is the bad habit of buying very light line, thinking that you have to have 4# test to catch crappie. For years now I have used nothing but 10# braid with a 12# leader, and somehow I still manage to catch about all the crappie I want to catch.

Just my .02 cents..........