master angler crappie

[FlyBoy]

went to wixom the other day with no luck catching any crappie(1 small rock bass) so we packed up and headed toward home. on the ride home i was thinking of all the small ponds and lakes i used to fish for bass when i was younger and i thought of one specific pond. i talked my buddy into stopping and i drilled 8 or so holes and within 2-3 minutes my bud hooks something that i guessed to be a pike or bass by the way the pole was doubled over, he fought it for a minute or so and got it to the hole, pulled it out of the hole and it was a 17 3/8" black crappie. i have never seen anything even near that big. 2.16 lbs. we did get pics. but i dont have one yet. i will post it when i get it. the pond is only 1.5 maybe 2 acres. i wouldnt imagine a pond that small could hold many fish like that. i did have a fish on also but didnt get it through the hole. i was marking fish in almost every hole i drilled but couldnt get much of anything to bite. 6 FOW. any ideas on how to get these fish to bite.

[mallardtone-man]

Wow! Sounds like a hawg! Is he planning on mounting it? If so, tell him to remember DZ's panfish special. Only $100 I believe.

[FlyBoy]

he is getting it mounted but his father is going to spring for the bill since he is getting a stringer of perch done also. i will tell him about DZ but i think his dad has his mind set on captured memories.

[Fishfoote]

Some in the office told me her husband caught a 17+" crappie a couple weeks ago - didn't think they got that big. This was also in a small private pond/lake.

[scottyhoover]

that's the fish I've been hunting for several years....they always seem to be in small ponds. great job ...did you get any good pictures....that's one fish where the camera better be ready when I pull it out of the hole.

[youngbuck26]

I caught a crappie just under 17 quite a few years ago and that was on a very small private pond as well..and it was the only crappie i ever caught out of there...hmmmm

[Michigan Mike]

Awsome!
Calicos are my favorite fish to catch in the winter.
As far as getting them to bite and if you are only in 6 ft I would set up a shanty to see what is exactly down there. It also allows you to see how the fish are reacting to your bait. Crappies like the chase and one of my simple rigs is a using a #8 truturn hook and a small split shot 8 in. above.
I hook the minnow lightly thru the lips. This allows the minnow to swim freely and calico's can't seem to resist.
But with all fish, timing is everything and the best time for me is at dusk
until I go home.

Last week there preference was for waxworms, and once I cleaned them
I found that they had been feeding on wigglers, no minnows were in there stomachs.

Good luck

[Jigawhat]

My roommate (frozenfish) and I have been on top of some crappie for a few days now. We landed three good size last night (biggest 15") and lost about 5 others. They are tricky and have a very soft mouth. We are using walleye minnows with small (pearl and chartruse) jigheads (not sure of the hook #). I'm no expert on landing these suckers either. We're averaging just below .500 right now. Any other advice/tactics would be great.

BTW, nice fish! Can't wait to see the pics. You musta had at least an 8" auger to get that saucepan outta the water! :lol: :lol:

[Garret]

Try the very small tri-hooks with a glow bead just above it and a minnow. Also try using a ice fishing bobber and let the Crappie take the bobber under for about 2-3 seconds before you use a "slowly" pull the fish in. No real need to set the hook very hard just a slow pull will hook the fish. It's worth trying two minnow presentations as well…

1. Minnow hooked thru the mouth
2. Hooked thru the back of the minnow.

Good luck and keep up posted!

Garret

[thedude]

great catch - i'm jealous!
i caught a 17.5 on the soft water some years back on a small pond. It was very skinny though, very dissapointing. had it been normal weight it would be on the wall.

[tedshunter]

Cant wait to see the pic of that hog,best Crappie for me was a 14.5 incher caught near the Raft in Fair Haven a few years back.My buddy said I should mount it,I told him if I catch a 15 incher i will.Well to make a long story short never got him yet.Then to make things worse I filleted it with the rest of them,then found out I could of gotten a master angler award for it while reading the rule book a few days later.:bash: I thought they had to be 15"

[gvsufishin]

That is a monster crappie. I caught a 17" crappie on houghton lake two summers ago casting a rapala for pike. The fish hit the bait like a shark and I thought for sure it was a pike. My friend and I measured it just a hair under 17 inches, but the sad part about it was that I had never fished for crappies before and did'nt realize how big it was. Ever since then I've started fishing for them and havent caught anything even close to the size.

[bgoodenow]

Sounds like a beast! Can't wait to see a picture of that one!

[koby]

Try the very small tri-hooks with a glow bead just above it and a minnow. Also try using a ice fishing bobber and let the Crappie take the bobber under for about 2-3 seconds before you use a "slowly" pull the fish in. No real need to set the hook very hard just a slow pull will hook the fish. It's worth trying two minnow presentations as well…

1. Minnow hooked thru the mouth
2. Hooked thru the back of the minnow.

Good luck and keep up posted!

Garret

i agree completely...just make sure that the hook is RED

[Chuck1]

I also caught a 17 3/8" out of Houghton lake, it weighed 2 1/4 pound. This was twenty years ago . Man does time fly or what?

[tommy-n]

Flyboy, the smaller lakes and ponds are most affected by weater,heavy snow,thick ice, fishing pressure ect. Go there and fish after some of the ice has melted and all the snow and you will probally be pleasantly suyprised, last ice is kick butt on the smaller waters :)