CN Tip of the Month Magnet Organizer Crappie Dan talks about organizing his jig with a magnet attached to his double seat. Check out more fishing resources at crappienow.com! CrappieNOW is an unequaled online-only crappie fishing magazine aimed at passionate crappie anglers from all skill levels. Readers can search for information on new crappie fishing tips, techniques, destinations, equipment, tackle, tournaments, and the latest news from industry-leading professionals. The post CN How To Magnet Organizer April 2024 appeared first on Crappie Now ..read more

CN Tip of the Month Replace Worn Line Crappie Dan talks about keeping you line fresh and you won’t loose fish do to line breaks. Check out more fishing resources at crappienow.com! CrappieNOW is an unequaled online-only crappie fishing magazine aimed at passionate crappie anglers from all skill levels. Readers can search for information on new crappie fishing tips, techniques, destinations, equipment, tackle, tournaments, and the latest news from industry-leading professionals. The post CN How To Replace Line April 2024 appeared first on Crappie Now ..read more

WHAT WILL YOU LEAVE BEHIND YOU WHEN YOU GO? I was driving to the lake to meet a friend to go crappie fishing. A song called Three Wooden Crosses came on the radio. It describes four passengers riding on a bus in the dark of night on the way to their destination. There was a farmer, a teacher, a hooker, and a preacher. The bus driver doesn’t see a stop sign. An 18-wheeler hits the bus. Three of the four passengers die in the wreck. The song says the farmer leaves behind a harvest and a son who would follow in his footsteps. The teacher left behind knowledge in the children she taught. The preac ..read more

Nowadays professional crappie angler and guide Steve Coleman outfits the front of his boat with a Garmin Livescope and a Humminbird 360 unit. (Photo: Steve McCadams)   Navigating the Challenge of Selecting Sonar by Steve McCadams It doesn’t matter if you are a professional fisherman or if you are a first-time boater. A sonar unit – also called a fish finder or a depth finder – is an essential piece of equipment these days. Even if you don’t fish, just knowing exactly how deep the water is beneath your boat can protect your vessel, and maybe even your life. But if you’re reading this, chan ..read more

More and more boats have a forward-facing sonar on the vow these days, but exactly how many? CrappieNOW Editor Richard Simms set out to find some answers himself but it seems some researchers are finding different results. (Photo: Richard Simms) Forward-Facing Sonar Survey Follow-up by Richard Simms   Last month I (CrappieNOW Editor Richard Simms) shared information about forward-facing sonar. Unable to find reliable information about the market penetration of FFS, I conducted my own survey using the well-known SurveyMonkey.com platform in an effort to create a snapshot of how many people ..read more

Garmin’s Perspective View radial grids look like this without a sonar image. (Photo by Brad Wiegmann) Electronics: Catch More Fish with Radial Grid Lines by Brad Wiegmann   Everyone goes on and on about catching fish using forward facing sonar (FFS), but it’s almost always about the forward-facing mode. What about the other two modes? Down-mode can be a valuable tool for seeing behind and forward, but it’s the last mode with a wide, flat beam angle with radial grid lines that can help you catch more fish. Garmin Perspective View, Lowrance Scout mode and Humminbird Landscape Mode are all s ..read more

Lure of the Month: TTI Blakemore Crappie X Tractor by Terry Madewell If you’re searching for a lure that catches more and bigger crappie, but snags less on heavy cover, you’ve got to read this right now! A crappie lure initially released in 2022 that proved to be a crappie-catching machine in pre-release testing, has become a ‘go-to’ lure for many crappie anglers throughout 2023 and into 2024. The TTI Blakemore Crappie X Tractor has continued to make outstanding crappie catches, while consistently catching bigger crappie. The Crappie X Tractor is available in multiple color patterns to enable ..read more

Les Smith power trolling rig is outfitted with a 36-volt Minn Kota that can handle long hours of high-speed trolling for crappie.   Power trolling resembles slow trolling or spider rigging, except speeds are much faster and usually the baits are bigger. It uses 14-18-foot poles to push crankbaits, spinners and heavy jigs. Moving between 1.5 and 2 mph, the method covers a lot of water fast while offering multiple lures. Fast baits trigger reaction bites from fish that might ignore a slow-trolled lure. Les Smith, a Mississippi power trolling expert, said, “To run fast with 3-ounce weights y ..read more

Crappie actually cannot see any better than you can in muddy water. However, they have highly developed sensory organs you don’t have. And those organs lead them to food, or to your lures or bait. (Photo: Ron Wong)   Muddy Water Won’t Stop Your Crappie-Catching by Ron Wong   It is true – April showers bring May flowers. But those rains also mean your favorite crappie fishing water might turn to chocolate milk. Lots of lakes experience lower water levels in the winter, exposing a lot of mud banks. That means when it rains, they muddy up quickly. Or the muddy water will flow from the c ..read more

Spawning crappie often move to shallow water deep within dense vegetation. Pulling a small boat beyond the edge allows fishing these seldom-touched honeyholes. (Photo: Keith Sutton) Beating the Bushes by Keith Sutton Folks who enjoy crappie fishing usually love springtime. It’s during this season, when our favorite panfish move to shallow shoreline waters to spawn, that we are most likely to fill a stringer or cooler with fish we can take home to eat. Finding them is usually as easy as fishing around cover near shore until we locate their beds. Unfortunately, on many waters – oxbow lakes, for ..read more