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Crappie fishing question

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Laserman1

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I want to try crappie fishing this spring. Is there any good YouTube channels to watch. Will fish mostly Chickamauga and Nickajack. I know how to bass and catfish but never tried crappie. Don't even know how to find them.
 
I am possibly the world's worst crappie fisherman, but from everything I hear almost all of the docks across from Chesterfrost are loaded in the spring. The Wolftever area is another one that is supposed to great. I have literally stood there catching bream after bream while my buddy was beside me catching one crappie after the next.
 
Despite my screen name, life has really limited my fishing. That being said, this time of year can bring pretty good crappie fishing. They should be grouped up so when you find them, you'll find a bunch.
 
If you don't mind colder weather, I wouldn't wait for spring. I'd get after the next couple months.

How would you like to fish? Trolling? Spider rigging? Single pole? I assume you have a boat.. what electronics/graphs/sonar do you have?
 
I would get a basic depth finder if you don't have one and start out in 10-14 ft of water. I would troll around in that depth and try to find drop offs and creek channels. I would then try to follow that depth change and try to locate structure (stumps, brush piles, stake beds). Fish those structures 10-15 minutes changing baits if you don't get any bites then move along and find another.
 
With your set up, I would learn to long line. Try to find up lake creek channels and specifically look for drop offs in about 14' +/-. I generally troll about 1 mph with grub/tube/swim bait of your choice. It's nice when you can find some straight stretches that are out of the wind. Good luck.
 
I strongly recommend letting Rsimms hook you up with a guide. 1/2 day is very affordable and you'll learn more in 4 hours from an expert than you can figure out in 100 hours in your own. Captain Mike absolutely loaded our boat and took the time to show us how to use the electronics to find and catch fish, bait presentation tactics, etc.
 
Crow Terminator said:
Right now is when you need to be going.

Goodfield creek on Chickamauga is always a crappie hotspot but it gets fished a lot. Hiwassee River is where I normally go, and fish the creek mouths on it.
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I'll not forget going duck hunting one cold, cold morning years ago on Normandy Lake and seeing a car & trailer in the parking lot with frost on the windshield. Obviously, it had been parked there overnight. My buddy & I were concerned that someone had gotten themselves in trouble. We went on our hunt and when we got back to the ramp, the car was still there. We loaded up and were going to go call 911 when the person came motoring up to the ramp. After he got loaded up, we started talking to him and asked if he'd been on the water all night. He said yes, he'd read an article in one of the outdoor magazines about night fishing for crappie during the winter. We asked if he got cold and he said it wasn't too bad. He had a horse blanket wrapped around his shoulders with a kerosene heater between his legs. Asked if he caught any and he was right proud that he'd caught 3 but said they were dinks.
 
GUNNERX2 said:
I'll not forget going duck hunting one cold, cold morning years ago on Normandy Lake and seeing a car & trailer in the parking lot with frost on the windshield. Obviously, it had been parked there overnight. My buddy & I were concerned that someone had gotten themselves in trouble. We went on our hunt and when we got back to the ramp, the car was still there. We loaded up and were going to go call 911 when the person came motoring up to the ramp. After he got loaded up, we started talking to him and asked if he'd been on the water all night. He said yes, he'd read an article in one of the outdoor magazines about night fishing for crappie during the winter. We asked if he got cold and he said it wasn't too bad. He had a horse blanket wrapped around his shoulders with a kerosene heater between his legs. Asked if he caught any and he was right proud that he'd caught 3 but said they were dinks.
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This time of year at Goodfield, you can tell when they are catching them. They'll be a dozen or more Mexicans out there wading up to their waist in the water and mud. Some of the smarter ones will be on kayaks. Either way...there's no getting up or down the creek in a boat because they have it blocked. I have sat there at the mouth of it and catch fish on every cast. Never tried it at night though. But winter is my favorite time to fish for them.
 

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