crappie Archives - Page 25 of 25 - Mississippi Sportsman

Roger and Bill Gant, the 2011 Crappie Master National Champions, say finding the appropriate depth is the key to catching crappie during winter drawdowns.

Dam Good Fishing

December 1, 2011 Phillip Gentry

Kent Driscoll kept his head down as he slowly motored across the face of the Sardis dam. It wasn’t because the weather was all that cold. It also wasn’t because wind was whipping in his face. […]

As the waters get cooler, crappie will make their annual migration out of the deep water of many lakes.

The fall fishing season is officially here. This is my favorite time of the year to crappie fish, and I continue to discover that I don’t know it all when it comes to figuring out crappie’s fall patterns. It seems to me that they change from year to year and from lake to lake. […]

It’s no surprise that trolling crank baits catches crappie, but during the winter, in an oxbow? What are these guys thinking?

Cold Crankin’

November 1, 2011 Phillip Gentry

Have you ever stayed up late and watched one of those high-pressure infomercials on cable TV? The guy with the big teeth and the slick hair and the fast talk tries to convince you that this contraption right … HEEERRE … can do everything from grow hair on your bald head to save you money on your car insurance. […]

While the thermocline establishes the proper depth, it’s a combination of structure and cover that the team uses to locate fish.

Thermoclines drive late-summer crappie action

August 30, 2011 Phillip Gentry

Staring directly into the sun on the last day of August is enough to drive you insane. However, flip the calendar, and you begin to notice some tiny cracks in the heat wave that beams down on the water beginning the first day of September. Though it may seem far away, the approach of fall is imminent. […]

With recreational boaters concentrating on one section of the waterway, Tenn-Tom crappie anglers can have a summer fishing hole all to themselves.

Swim baits for crappie

August 16, 2011 Phillip Gentry

Emory, Texas-based Lake Fork Trophy Lures has been making top-of-the-line, tournament-winning bass baits for many years. One of the company’s top producers is their “Live” Magic Shad, a swim bait that has accounted for countless trophy largemouth bass in big-money tournaments. […]

Specks often prefer deeper pools in the main river, while white crappie are often found in oxbows off the river.

Current and crappie fishing

July 21, 2011 Phillip Gentry

Whether chasing crappie in a 100,000-acre reservoir or a slow-moving river, one of the prime keys is finding current breaks, according to crappie pro Kent Driscoll. […]

Crappie get to big sizes in lakes that aren’t overloaded with the notoriously cyclic fish.

Building better crappie fisheries, part III

April 29, 2011 Hal Schramm

Crappie are notoriously cyclic. A lake is producing fair to good numbers of slabs for a couple years and then, mysteriously, the big fish disappear and are replaced with abundant but small fish. […]

A larger mouth structure and affinity for suspending up in the water column make white crappie an easier target for crankbait-trolling anglers.

Cranked Crappie

May 27, 2010 Phillip Gentry

It no longer comes as a surprise to crappie anglers in Mississippi that many who chase this popular game fish around the calendar have a third alternative when it comes to choices of bait. […]

Fly to Eagle

October 29, 2009 Phillip Gentry

Few lakes in the state stir the hearts of crappie fishermen like Eagle. An old oxbow, now locked out from the constant fluctuations of Muddy Bayou and the Yazoo River beyond, Eagle Lake is co-managed by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks and the Eagle Lake Management Board. […]