I need some Crappie help

[Donald Fruge]

In a couple of weeks I will be taking my wife and kids on a 5 day camping trip to our favorite campground/lake. I will have the boat with me and it will stay in the water the entire time. I will be free to fish whenever I feel like it. My son and I always do well with the bream. This time I want to set up a crappie hole and try to catch a few for the freezer.



What is the best way to set a crappie hot spot without sinking brush piles in advance. I guess what I am getting at is what methods of baiting a spot work best. What should I consider in picking the location? The lake is fairly large and easy to get away from the jet fleas and skiiers. There is just about any type of structure or depth you might want to fish. Road beds, creeks, flooded timber, bridges, humps etc etc. I can find depths of up to 35/40 feet.



Any suggestions from the experts will be greatly appreciated. It would be nice to sink some type of baitable container that I could leave in the water and rebait every day if needed. I am just not familiar with the methods that or simple and affective, short of punching holes in a dog food can and dropping them overboard...LOL Is that illegal?



Let me know what I can try,

Wolf

 

[Staci Matheis]

Wolfie -



I don't know nuthin' about baitin' no crappie.....



But I like to run a white body/red head Roadrunner near rip rap.



There is one lake a bit south of St. Louis that sounds similar to the one you'r egoing to. There, the locals like to put minnows on jig heads and fish them on the edges of the sunken roadbeds approximately 25 to 35 feet deep.



me!

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Never buy stock in a company named Enron.

Never play catch with lawn darts.

Never play catch with horseshoes.

When flying, don't get up and head for the exit, telling the flight attendant "you just need to get out and get some fresh air!"



Hey, you wanted crappy advice.

 

[Steve Rizza]

Thats good advice Rob.



As soon as you turn 18,find a girl who doesn't like fishing,and get married.



That's crappy advice.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Ouch, no that's a life sentence!

 

[James D.]

crappies should be shallow right now. you will need an area next to some deeper water also. might try some cattle cubes or hog pellets in a bucket or a burlap sack suspended a day b4 you fish. I think academy outdoors sells some chum that should work also. problem with crappies is that they are a schooling fish and tend to move around a bit. i usually just tight line some minnows and try different brush piles or rocks till i find them. hope this helps.



jd

 

[Donald Fruge]

James,

How do you rig up the bucket. I guess you would have to drill a bunch of holes in it and add some weight to it somehow.



I guess the burlap sack would work the same way, just stick a brick in to sink it down?



Wolf

 

[James D.]

that is what I was thinking wolfcount. I saw a show on tv where they were crappie fishing and using some premade chum. the show was sponsored by academy sporting goods. it was a bag with a rope on it that you submerged. they say it takes about an hour for it to start working. i know the cattle cubes would work out also and i would do them the same way as the chum bag from academy except in a burlap type sack. i've never chum'd for crappie b4 but don't see why it wouldn't work. i think I would try to weight the bag and maybe suspend it 1/2 way down in the water column at whatever depth. crappie always feed up. the trick is finding a good location at the right depth of water with adequate cover. crappie are biters but sometimes hard to locate. let us know how it works out. crappie are a LOT of fun when you locate them.



jd