New Crappie club forming

Is it time for another Crappie club in the area?

CAT is a great organization and I am proud to be a founding member. This survey is not an attempt to compete with it in any way.

Several old current and former members have asked me to see if there is enough interest in another club, possibly affiliated with CAT or not. This club would not be a tournament oriented group like CAT has become. It would be all about education and camaraderie. Run by the members not a board and have programs more interesting that sitting thru 2 hours of tournament and sponsor talk. Meetings held in Carrollton, possibly at the library or a local restaurant with a meeting room such as Marshalls BBQ.
Programs like jig tying, plastic bait pouring, video making, fishing techniques, whatever the members ask for.

Meetings would not be held at the same time as CAT meetings. If the club is formed I would be a member of both clubs for sure. I would still attend CAT meetings if they were
still being held locally. I have trouble with night vision so Garland is out.

This is just a survey, post any interest here.

You have my attention...

It would be nice if the meetings could change locations periodically.

I might be interested; like the closer to home idea, and not so much tournament pressure.

Yes Sir definitely interested!!!...I can always learn more about crappie and making baits!!

Great idea, I'm in

If I am in town I will attend. Great idea.

I’d be interested as well. I’m fairly close to Carrollton.

Interested....

Me too.

I'm in!!

If meetings are posted online, I'm in.

About twenty people have shown interest so far so we are going ahead with the idea. Tentative first meeting will be on Tuesday, April 23, at Marshalls BBQ in Carrollton. Corner of Rosemeade Pky and Josey ln. The meeting room there will hold 40 people. 7-9 PM. I plan on being there around 6:00 PM to eat and meet .

We will get the club organized, find out what the members want to do for the meetings and what kind of programs they desire. Will also share some fishing tips as time allows.

Things that have been requested so far are:
1. Program on sonar use, particularly the new Garmin Livescope.
2. Jig tying instructions.
3. How to make plastic baits.
4 How to make fishing video's with Gopro's. and cameras.

Start thinking of a name for the club.

Please text , PM, or e-mail if you plan on attending (if possible) so I can get an idea of how many to expect.

All meetings will be open to anyone wanting to attend.

What about using "Go To Meeting" for any out of towners like myself.

Good Idea. Someone may have to help me learn how.

You can start a Facebook group for the club and use Facebook Live to post the meetings as they happen.
You can also take questions through Facebook Live and answer them live during the meeting.


Ernest,
I will try my hardest to attend this on the 23rd. Been a long time since these gatherings were held at Marshalls.

Other topics might include:
how to locate fish during specific seasons - have a meeting on the next upcoming season as we get closer to it. For instance, now would be a good time to talk about post spawn.
how to fish specific cover

Getting back to the basics of crappie fishing through education and growing the sport is what I am thrilled to see with this group. Looking forward to being a part of it.

I'll throw out a name for the club...Texas Crappie Anglers. "TCA"

Thanks for coming up with this idea and putting this together Ernest!

Thanks Jeff!

And I completely agree with you on focusing on the coming season so we can "try" and be prepared.

Thanks Ernest for spear-heading this effort, again.

Yea - this one!

I know it is unreasonable to ask you guys to do it, but I wish there were a club in the Waco to Austin area.

I'm interested if the club is located somewhere near Lewisville. I'd like to learn new tricks from some of the older guys and meet some of the great crappie fishermen on this forum. Only real reason I'm not involved with CAT is because it sounded more geared towards tournament fishing. I don't really care to tournament fish for crappie; I'd rather save that for bass fishing. Crappie fishing for me is therapeutic from a stressful job. Also depends on the cost of any club fees too.

I like your reasoning. Yes, this group/club will be focused on sharing information, learning, teaching, comradery/fellowship oh and did I mention sharing information. It "will not" be a tournament based club. I'm sure a small annual membership fee may apply as some of the meeting rooms such as the library charge for space/time. Carrollton most likely will be the general location for the club to meet which isn't far from Lewisville. Hope to see ya there...

Looking forward to it...I will email you as well

This is exactly the kind of suggestions and response that I was hoping for. Looks like we will have a good turn out
on the 23 rd.

That name doesn't sound bad. Anymore suggestions?

Carrollton will be where the meetings will be held.

Just a suggestion, but you may want to rename this thread, New Crappie Fishing Club, or something like that. There might be guys passing it by that might be interested too. I usually always read what Ernest posts is really the reason why I stopped by here.

I would be thrilled to get together with crappie fishermen and listen to everyone help each other out!! Unfortunately, I live in Sherman and I’m a high school football coach with three kids...so I’m usually pretty strapped for time.

But I’m gonna try my hardest to make it anyways.

I’ll know for sure when the time gets closer...and if so I’ll RSVP.

(Btw, my screen named changed from Yetiguy to TexY3TI)

I'm new to the forum, how do you PM on as I would like to attend the meeting

Ernest, I would like to participate, but I live 2 hours away and will not be able to attend a lot of the meetings. if you guys figure out a way for some of us to "attend" online, I would definitely be interested. I would really like to hear the programs on the Panoptix and the suggested topics of seasonal patterns. Let us know. I am always looking for more education on crappie. Thanks.

Hi Ernest, I am in the same boat as Lake Life, 2 hours away, but would sure join and like to be able to attend online and in person when I can. Maybe Facebook live is the answer? I think this is a great idea, nothing wrong with tournment fishing just not my thing, but I truly love crappie fishing.
Thanks again Ernest.

Sounds like something I might be interested in.....

I may be interested. I want to get back into Crappie fishing - haven't targeted Crappie in years but love to catch them!

I'm in Van Alstyne so my closest lakes are Texoma, Lavon, and Ray Roberts.

From what I gather, Ray Roberts is probably the best Crappie lake of the three. Could someone recommend a guide?

Alternatively, does anyone know of any similar Crappie clubs near McKinney/Van Alstyne?

Thanks!

Very much interested. I too have difficulty at night. Why I miss the CAT meetings. I can see fine on the lake at night, but headlight glare blinds me.

TY Ernest.

This is in line with what I was hoping initial CAT was going to be like . Helping newbies learn , taking people out for on the water experience, not high priced tournaments but maybe a few free or $5 to cover food or a small plaque .i also have trouble driving at night and live in east Tx so difficult to get to metroness in the evenings . But this is a great idea Ernest . I’d like to get people out east to start something like this .

Couldn't help myself, can't wait!

Not bad at all. Something to consider. Room at Marshall's reserved on April 23. Will hold about 40 or so. Looks like we can expect a good turnout.

More name suggestions:

Carrollton Crappie Club
Lone Star Crappie Club
Lewsiville Crappie Club
Bluebonnet Crappie Club
Carrollton Crappie Anglers
Lone Star Crappie Anglers
Lewisville Crappie Anglers
Bluebonnet Crappie Anglers

I don't like meetings so I guess I'm the oddball here, but I don't live in the city either! I cuss driving to the city to fish much less driving there for a meeting!

Time I spend at a meeting I could be fishing!

Maybe I'm a grumpy old fart?

You’re not the only one

I like the idea of the old timers getting together to talk about whatever. Let me know how your survey goes.

It would be interesting to have another club in the area to see what added value it provides. Personally, I could see myself participating in both. Tournament fishing isn't for everyone but I do differ with some opinions about CAT being only about tournaments. Yes, there are an over abundance of tournaments IMO. It seems CAT is tournament centric, but CAT has been in the past, and is today, teaching a lot of newbies the ins and outs of crappie fishing, including a trick or two for old timers. How does one account for the record breaking year for membership numbers? I don't think it is all about tournaments when only 20% or so of the total club competes in tournaments but it sure seems this way. The other 80% or so must see other club value. So to address the OP's original question I would hope some members from CAT's formative years who have dropped out for whatever reason join the new club.

Subjects to cover:
- Product reviews. Members could be brutally honest about product and services if there are not sponsors. This is not to rule out sponsors; that would be up to the members.
- Non-boater coverage. How to locate places to fish for crappie, how to gain access, how to fish these spots, etc., general rules to follow when land bound
- Actual area lake fishing reports by members who fished since the last meeting.
- ABCs for beginner crappie anglers (the basics)

Meetings:
- No overlap with CAT as Ernest commented earlier
- Perhaps hold meetings every other month or quarterly
- Using social media; remember someone has to coordinate, manage, and produce
- A semi-organized meeting with a different moderator each meeting

Club name(s):
- ETC. {Etcetera} Ernest's Thumpers Club (everything you wanted to know about sex crappie but were afraid to ask, etc.)
- TTC - The Thump(er) Club or Texas Thump(er) Club
- CFFD - Crappie fishing for Dummies
- TD - Thumpers Delight or TDC, Thumpers Delight Club

Hold the meeting, listen to attendees interest and go from there.

I like this first one. Nice work!

Some interesting points Jimmy. I'm aware that CAT is not all about tournaments, It just seems like the meetings lean
that way. As far as the other 80% goes maybe CAT has been their only alternative.. Not to say that anyone has to choose between the groups. I expect a lot of members to participate in both groups. That's what I plan to do when I can.

I urge all my friends in CAT currently and formerly to check out the new group (I hate the word club) and maybe join up.

As with CAT you don't have to be a member to attend. Come all Crappie enthusiasts, lets learn from each other and grow the sport of Crappie fishing. I have received over 40 positive reply's in favor of the new group. Very encouraging.

Should be a good turnout. If you need no other reason to attend, come eat with us and since it's on a Tuesday each diner gets a FREE fried pie with any purchase.

I would also be interested as long as the meetings are after 5pm during the week.

Just down the street, so I don't see why I wouldn't make it.
Always looking to learn more about crappie fishing.

That logo is not bad. Thanks for the work.

I'm all in.

I'm tired of Ray Bob beating me. I need someone to show me the way.

Ernest, I like the idea of another "informative" group of crappie fisher people. I live on Lake Palestine and rarely go to the "metromess". I like the idea that was posted to attend the meeting via computer to input a questions and listen to the response. Thanks for your effort !!

I like the idea and would love to be involved, but I'm in West TX on Tuesdays. A video/ computer interface would be greatly appreciated. Never have been a tournament fisherman. It seams to bring out the ego in all the bass guys and takes a lot of the simple joy out of fishing. That's one of the main reasons I fish for Crappie and Catfish. Jerseys and fishing just don't go together for me.

Would love to join but would never be able to make it daw area for meetings. Would be awesome if there was a south central/southeast chapter.

Ernest, if I still lived in the Metroplex I would be all over this new concept.
Sorry I’m going to have to miss out. That format you described sounds just about perfect.
I’m going to tell Dr. Bill about it and I bet he starts coming.

I would definitely be interested. I learned more fishing with you when you took my brother in law and I out to Lewisville 2 years ago, then I have in years about crappie fishing.

Additional topics could be best tactics for creeks, lakes, and ponds.
How to determine jig sizes and color for water variations.
Typical crappie holding patterns based on water temp and season - where to look.
Networking for fisherman who have open seats for guests who may not have boats or just would like a fishing partner.

Name suggestions:
“Crappie-Holics”
“CCC - Crappie Catchin’ Club” or “Crappie Catchin’ Crew”
“Texas Crappie Addicts - TCA”

Thanks, Ernest!

Gunn

https://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/13115253#Post13115253

I see that there are 2 or 3 others in the East Texas area that have shown interest but aren't comfortable with the night driving. While I won't be able able to attend all of the meetings, I plan on attending when I can. I have a Tahoe and will have 3 empty seats if any of you guys would like to ride together. Hopefully, we will be able to find a way to view the other meetings on line.

Texas Crappie Club ... The TCC!

Texas Crappie Anglers is silly, you are just rearranging the name of CAT. If you want to have a separate identity it absolutely cannot be the same 3 names as CAT just rearranged.

What about Masters Crappie

It's called spite Big Skippy!!

on line posting would be great

I would be interested, but like others I live to far away to make meetings (East Texas). But love the idea of Facebook Live. I'd be willing to join if there was some way for me to participate.

Keith

Skippy big fish?

no really.,. the answer to the problem is just like bikers do.. you have CHAPTERS..

Hi, I'd love to join TCA I have only caught one legal size crappie at Gravepine (at the bubbles near dam) but I was targeting white bass; I'd love to learn all about crappie fishing, by the way if anyone is interested tomorrow morning (06:00-09:00?) is going to be the best wind conditions for quite a while, I'd love to take the boat to Lewisville lake (Lakepark) maybe hit the I35 piles for crappie, if anyone wants to join me let me know.
Carlos@Coppell

While if seems to not be a problem for me to not be confused by the names I feel due to the responses that it may be confusing to some. Maybe our name is to similar to CAT. What would be an acceptable name. I don't want a city name or the word club in the name. Would North Texas Crappie Anglers work?

I will start a new post for suggestions.

Its about as confusing as THF and TFF....

Hey Carlos, I also live in Coppell. I know my location shows Lewisville but that is where our shop is. Hope to see you at the 1st meeting.

Lone Star Crappie Association.
Lone Star Crappie Anglers
Texas Crappie Club
Texas Crappie Association
Lone Star Crappie Crew

Texas Crappie 24/7 is already taken lol