What Are Crappies?

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What are Crappie? Besides being one of the best tasting and fun to fish for they are a member of the sunfish family. The sunfish family includes bass, bluegill and redear sunfish. They can be found throughout North America and due to the fight they give on light tackle have become increasingly popular.

There are two species of Crappie the Black Crappie and the White Crappie. They are most easily identified by the number of spiny dorsal fin rays. The black crappie has 7 or 8 spiny dorsal fin rays, while the white crappie only has 5 or 6. The black crappie is distinguished by irregularly spaced black blotches or spots. On the White Crappie these spots tend to form vertical bars.

Black Crappie like clear water and can usually be found in ponds, reservoirs and slow moving rivers. White Crappie are more tolerant of the water conditions and can be found in muddier waters. Both crappie like structure and will congregate around areas with abundant aquatic vegetation, brush piles or other types of cover.

The world record Black Crappie is 6 lbs – 0 oz. The world record White Crappie is 5 lbs – 3 oz. You are much more likely to catch them in the ¼ to 1 lb size but because they are a school fish once you have found one there are many more where that one came from.

The spring spawning period is when a lot of anglers like to focus on crappie but in truth they can be caught all year long. The spawning period for both is when the water temperature is between 58-68 degrees. Black crappie nests are frequently found in gravel or in soft, muddy river or lake bottoms. White crappie nests are often located near structures such as brush piles, stumps or rock outcrops.

Homemade Bait for Catfish Fishermen

People have used homemade bait for catfish fishing for centuries. Why? Because catfish, particularly channel catfish, will eat just about anything. Soap, lard and WD-40 have all been proven to work. Not necessarily what I would recommend but others swear by them. With the knowledge in mind that catfish will eat anything. The idea that you can make your own baits is much easier to comprehend.

The easiest type of homemade bait for catfish, in my opinion, is dough bait. To make a dough bait you can either use flour or cereal to create a base that holds together. I generally use cereal, any corn flakes will do, but I like to use Wheaties. Add a little water and crush it up until it has good sticky consistency and it works very well by itself.

Here is homemade bait for catfish that uses something everyone that has fished for catfish has used at one time or another. Some never go near the water without it, chicken liver. But I am going to give you a way to may it into dough balls that will stay on your hook and provide sent for much longer than just baiting your hook with it.

Take a large bowl and pour in about half a box a Wheaties. Crush it up good. Take a pint of chicken livers that you bought at the store and pour them into your blender. Use fresh livers if possible, not frozen. Blend until liquid. No take another bowl and pour the liver from the blender into it. Add Wheaties from the first bowl, constantly kneading, until a paste forms that you can easily separate and mold. Put the mixture into plastic bags and store in your fridge. It won’t matter if you don’t use it right away. Catfish like smelly food.
 

With a little trial and error you will find the best catfish bait for your waters. Good luck on your next outing. Visit Catfish Bait Recipes to get more great baits. For catfish fishing tips visit CatfishAngling.com.

The Top Four Biggest Bass Fishing Disasters

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There are numerous things that can go wrong make when bass fishing, but I'll keep it short, for times sake! So here they are "The Four Biggest Bass Fishing Disasters"…

Bass Disaster # 1: *Fishing without patience*

This has gotta be the biggest mistake I see people. Fishing can't be rushed, especially bass fishing. Toss your line out and let it sit there where it lands and wait 30 seconds and more!

Bass Disaster # 2: *Letting your bait sit*

When you toss your bait into the water stir up some commotion! JERK , SNAP, and WAVE your fishing pole, make some vibrations in the water….whatever you do don't just let it sit there!

Bass Disaster # 3: *Losing your focus*

This ones obvious, but it's very easy to forget about… Fishing IS supposed to be a relaxing sport and hobby but you still need to focus on what your doing some what. I tend to fish best when I first start the day, because I'm excited to be out on the water fishing!

….But after a few hours I'll get relaxed maybe even tired. Either way I'll then lose my FOCUS if I don't constantly remind myself. If you can remember to 1. fish where bass hangout, 2. jiggle your bait, and 3. every 15 minutes with no luck change your lure and try moving to to different spot after a while too!

Bass Disaster # 4: *Fishing a dead spot for too long*

If you have no luck…Keep it movin!

I doesn't matter how many fish you caught or what you heard about any given spot.

Good Rule: No luck within 15 – 20 minutes… Move to a diifferent spot, there's nothing there, not today at least.

These are just a few of the smaller mistakes I see people make when fishing for bass… If you'd like more FREE bass fishing tips, tricks techniques, and secrets along with news and more… check out my site below!