no stranger to fishing, been doing it for almost 50 years. I am turning my attention to crappie mainly for table fare and tired of the grind of bass fishing. I've seen, read, and watched everything especially on this site, but I continue to get skunked and pick up the bait casters. Minnows, jigs, road runners it doesn't seem to matter. I have a place on Houston County Lake and although it may not be the best lake for crappie, I know people are catching them here. I think my best bet is to find a guide and learn from him/her. Anyone know a reputable guide in this area or is the lake not specific to learning the tricks?

Just keep going. Most of the battle is finding them. Once found, you can usually persuade some to bite. Then keep find more areas that hold crappie. Once you have several areas that hold crappie, you can usually find 1 that they will be willing to bite at.
I'm not an expert by any means, but also converted from bass fishing. My love of finesse fishing and the ability to be patience has paid off for me
to TFF

don't know that area or lake sir ,
and to be sure I am not an expert ...
but to be sure ...find them and you will ketch them
they are typically in bunches and once you are on em its ...KABOOM time
if you have a local guide ....they can certainly give you specifics in your area
if not just keep watchin that graph and look for cover/structure and fish loaded up on it
depth on crappie ketchn is critical btw ...just under em and nada
to far above them more nada


to the forum and good luck

As a former Bass fisherman myself I found when beginning to Crappie fish the hardest part was believing that they could be caught on jigs easier than with minnows. It's a fact. I haven't bought a minnow in 20 years.

Mostly it's just a matter of learning their habits. Learn where they hang out and you can usually catch them. I'm not familliar with your lake but all lakes have Crappie and someone knows how and where to find them.

A trip or two with a guide would help shorten the learning considerably. Let the guide know in advance that you are more interested in learning than in filling the livewell.

I don't know what kind of electronics you use but good equipment and knowing how to locate brushpiles is very important. Build some brushpiles yourself if possible.

If you need more help call me. I don't mind helping get new people started.

Once you get going you find it's more fun than Bass fishing.

stick with it friend, you'll love it when it all starts coming together. it's not all that different from bass fishing. crappie are predatory fish too and have some of the same habits and hangouts. I still bass fish but i'll drop the bait caster back in the rod box if there's crappie around. i've also noticed since I started crappie fishing the gas in my boat seems to last a lot longer and I can buy several crappie jigs for the price of a crankbait.

Listen to Ernest and take him up on that call. The man has years of wisdom and has always been willing to help anyone.

I feel you man. I'm having the same struggles.

The easiest way to be successful is to make your own bp's and then fish them.

Also starting the ERNEST PATY's Crappie 101 video will help a lot too!

are there any other larger lakes in the area? having this info could help us point you in the right direction.i would definitely listen to what mr paty and others are saying about building your piles,and good electronics as well.i'm still learning,and presently working on both.good luck to you.

I don't recognize the lake you mentioned but, if you don't mind coming up to Cedar Creek Lake, contact bigcrappie.com and do like Ernest said. Ernest is the 'guru' of crappie fishing and always willing to help. Chuck and the guys with bigcrappie.com are great teachers and you'll learn more in a 1/2 day trip than you'll figure out on your own in months!

Ron Canaster is a Guide who lives in Trinity TX, he is also the President of a Crappie Club that fish on Houston County Lake. If you are interested send a PM and I will give his phone number.

Thanks for all your advice and support. Gonna try to talk my wife into an early Father's Day present and get up to see MR. Paty.

I would call Mr. Paty for sure. I have his Crappie 101 DVD and I watched it with my family and went out my back door to the lake and my daughter caught crappie. LOL Well we all started catching em, she is a great student. And I only fished in the cove next to my house. I was surprised as all get out the crappie were even there. We are all learning, the more experience you get the better.

Like Todd said, just keep going. I was also a bass fisherman for many years. The only time I caught crappie was during a couple of family trips in the spring, or when I accidentally ran across them while scouting for a tournament.

I started out reading about crappie here and other places, but really, I ended up doing a lot of stuff differently than lots of people do, once I learned crappie better. Just like bass, not everyone fishes the same. Don't be afraid to experiment and do your own thing to find out what you like best. You just need to learn the fish better first. Good luck and I'll look forward to some reports.

to the forum and good luck