Fishing For Crappie

drift fishing crappies

Equipment You Will Need

Boat

Trolling motor

Marker buoys

Light Spinning Tackle

Crappie rigs

Marker buoys

Jigs

Good Location To Drift Fish For Crappie
The Hardest part about catching crappie while drift fishing is locating the schools. You will need a topographical map of the area, and should have a good depth, fish finder. You can pick the topographical map up at the local bait store. (It's advisable to go there to get the latest fishing report anyway.) Crappie school in open water and if you can find the schools you can catch a good batch of crappie. Also it has been my experience , the crappie you catch in open water while drift fishing seem to be bigger. The first step you should before you get out on the water is locate the deepest part of body of water you are fishing on from your topographical map, this will be your starting point. You will be
fishing the break area's on the bottom surface. To Locate a break area look for changes in depth on your depth finder. Any break deep to shallow, or shallow to deep are good spots to drift. Try to avoid any flat dead pan bottom surface areas. You will just waist your time in these areas.

How to Set Your Drift for Crappie Fishing
Locate the winds direction and set you boat in position to drift along the break. (change in bottom depth) Make sure your boat drifts along the deeper side of the break. You will use your trolling motor to keep your drift in position along the deep side of the break. If you don't have a trolling motor your have to use you boat motor to get back in position. (this can spook the fish, thats why a trolling motor is recommended. The Depth finder will be your guide to stay along the deep side of the break, and to locate the fish. Set up a weighted crappie rig to just touch bottom with sinker position your baits about 18 to 24 inches off the bottom. As you drift, watch the rod tip, it will bounce up and down slightly as the weight drags along the bottom. If the tip of the rod remains still the sinker is not in contact with the bottom. When you catch the first fish drop one of your marker buoys to mark the spot. Continue to drift until another fish is caught or about 75 yards, then drop another buoy. This marks your drift location for a return drift or anchor position. Drift about 50 more yards past the second buoy then start up your boat motor and go around the buoys approximately 75yards away. Know move your boat back in position for another drift. Normally the school will be concentrated in one area. Keep working the spot until you get no more bites. If your lucky you can catch your limit and a short time.

You can use this technique on any body of water so have fun! And good luck

Mark Fleagle
Crappie fishing tips and information

Source: http://www.therealarticles.com/Article/Fishing-For-Crappie/143554

Hunting and Fishing; Led Lights Up the Best Gear

If you're packing up your gear to go fishing - whether your venue is a mountain stream, a quiet Midwestern lake or the deep sea - there are a few things you should make a point to pack along besides your rods and reels. Here's a quick list of some very important - and a few very fun - gadgets that should make it into your tackle box.

In Case of Emergency
No one likes to think that bad things will happen, but sometimes they do. When the worst happens, you can minimize the damage by being prepared. What should you have in your tackle box (or on board your boat) to deal with emergencies?

An all-in-one survival kit that includes matches in a waterproof tin, a cutting tool with a sawed edge, a folding knife, aerial flares, a metal whistle and a large plastic garbage bag/tarp. You'll find some excellent compact survival kits that include all that you need to get you through the 72 hours that most matter if you're lost or stranded somewhere.

A working flashlight - for emergencies ranging from finding something in the darkest corner of a storage cubby to finding your way in unfamiliar terrain at night. The best of the current litter feature LED lights, which draw far less current so will stay bright up to ten times longer than most other types of flashlights. Some have been tested to run over 400 hours on 3 D-cell batteries.

Emergency signal light or survival light. LED lights are small and compact, but can pack a powerful wallop of brightness if you need it. An LED survival light that flashes a signal beacon can help searchers locate you if you're lost. You can pick up a Flash Fire LED survival light for less than $15, and pack it along on your keychain - a small price to pay if you find yourself with a stalled engine and night coming on.

Routine Lighting
Night fishing is a whole different animal than a lazy day on the riverbank. For one thing, you need to be able to see what you're doing. You'll really appreciate the convenience of a headlamp, which leaves both hands free for other things and eliminates the awkwardness of trying to position a standing light to focus illumination where you need it. Because of their light weight and the fact that they can run for days on the power of two triple AAA or a 9V battery, LED lights are the perfect choice for lightweight, bright and long-lasting headlamps.

Obviously, if you're fishing at night, you'll need more than just your headlamp for illumination. Most of the experts recommend diffuse lighting off the gunwales of your boat if you're using one, as well as camp lanterns and regular camp lighting to help you see your way.
The absolute best little gadget light that I've seen anywhere, though, is the Fisherman's 5-way Light Kit. It includes a hand held LED light with four colored refractor rods. Use the light without a rod, or pop on one of the colors to specialize the use: bright red for emergencies (slow flash, fast flash or steady as a beacon), blue for low light intensity and preserving your night vision, white for all purpose lighting and green for attracting fish. You'll get up to 100,000 hours of light in one of the easiest to use forms ever.

-2006 Ben Anton

Source: http://www.thecontentcorner.com/Article/Hunting-and-Fishing--Led-Lights-Up-the-Best-Gear/12584

Fly Fishing Tips for Beginners

Fly fishing is a very popular fishing sport that can be both relaxing and challenging at the same time.

The following tips and tricks are ideal for beginners. When you're just starting out learning to fly fish you'll want all the help and advice that you can get from the experts.

Tip #1: Practice your Casting
The experts say that the one thing that you need to do to develop a good casting technique is to practice as often as you can. This will lead to a proficiency in casting that make all the difference between being a successful fly fisher or a frustrated one.

Try practicing against a wall on the outside of your house. Just imagine that there is a clock hanging on the wall that is at the same level as your shoulder. Place markers, such as black electric tape, at the 11:00 and 1:00 clock positions. Practice casting against these markers for a few minutes each day to improve your accuracy and style.

Tip #2: Rods
There are several things that you need to think about when choosing the right type of rod for you. Every reel and rod has a certain function that you need to be aware of.
One of the first things that you need to consider is comfort. Is the rod that you're using comfortable for you to hold? If you're shorter than about 5'5" you won't want to use a rod that is seven feet. Choose a rod length that is easy for you to hold and cast for a few hours at a time.

Most of the rods on the market today are designed to allow you to feel when a fish bites. The shaft of the rod is called a "blank" and when the rod is first manufactured the blank is made from fiberglass, graphite, or other materials. Each of these blanks has an action that is either: light, medium, medium/heavy, or heavy. The upper portion will also have an action that is either: extra light, light, or regular.

Both ends of the blank are assembled and the final result is a fishing rod, complete with a handle and guide. No matter what type of rod that you're using, the "action" of the rod will refer to the "blank". The action of the rod will have a great deal to do with the type of fishing that you're doing.

Tip #3: Holding your Rod Effectively
It's important that you learn to hold your rod effectively under any fishing conditions. You want to make sure that you maintain good control at all times without gripping too hard. You can adjust the power of your hold when you're in the middle of a cast. This will allow you to minimize the vibrations of each movement. With just a bit of practice you'll be able to increase the tightness at the same as you learn to relax your grip.

Tip #4: What do to with a Running Fish
Be prepared if a fish runs toward you. Stand on your toes and at the same time raise your rod up over your head as high as you can. Take the line and put it back over onto your second and third fingers of the hand that is holding the rod. Quickly strip the line to pull up on any slack.

If the fish starts to run away from you make sure that you keep the rod up high and slowly let out the line, letting it slide from your fingers. Be ready to palm the reel of the rod when the slack is entirely gone.

Tip #5: Best Bait Choices
Following is a list of some best bait choices as recommended by the experts:

Grubs: Grubs are small lures that are usually used to catch larger fish. Grubs are great for use in highland reservoirs where there is little cover for the fish. The grub is much like a bare jig head that has a soft plastic body to attach to the hook. You'll want to use them most often in clear water conditions.

Jigs are best used in water that is clear to murky and in water temperatures that are below 60 degrees. The jig is considered to be a "presentation" lure and the ideal way to use them is by making them look as alive as you can. The jig is essentially lead-weighted bait that has one hook. You'll want to add a trailer to the end of the hook for the best results.

Plastic worms: If you want to catch that trophy fish you'll probably want to use a plastic worm. This is because the plastic worm is one of the most effective lures for catching any type of big fish. Plastic worms have a thin and long profile with a lifelike action that attracts them instantly to bass. You'll have to learn how to use a plastic worm by touch, feel, and practice. The more that you practice that better results you'll achieve. The one thing that you need to keep in mind is that the fish needs to see the worm before it will hit it. Therefore a plastic worm is best used in clear water.

Lure color: Choose lures that are all black or all white. A mix of black and red also works quite well. There will be the odd time when fluorescent colors, such as bright yellow or green, will work well but you'll need to experiment with this.

Source: http://www.thecontentcorner.com/Article/Fly-Fishing-Tips-for-Beginners/14906

Fishing in Lake Texoma

Lake Texoma is located on the border of Texas and Oklahoma. It is considered to be one of the most popular vacation destinations in the Southwest. Though poor in aquatic vegatation, it's rich in fish and attractive destination for fishers from across the US. With 10-12 million visitors a year, it's considered second most attractive lake in US.

What can you catch in Lake Texoma? Mostly blue and channel catfish, white and striped, largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, black and white crappie and bluegill. Each of those require different approach to find and catch, like white bass is best to be found when they migrate upstream on Red and Washita rivers or other streams around the Lake. Rest of the year it's concentrated on the lake's surface, to catch it you should use silver spoons, minnows or small surface baits.

Channel catfish are more shy and usually hide in the mouths or creeks and shallow waters where they can be found after the rain, to catch it, you would need shrimp, cut bait or blood bait - other fish could do the tirck - don't even think about artificial baits. They typically don't exceed 10 pounds. Large minnows are also pretty much effective for this kind of fish. But it's the best to use minnows when you are fishing for crappie.

Crappie can be found in concentrations near boat houses, water trees and brush piles. Striped bass recognized by its 7-8 continuous stripes along sides like to eat gizzard and threadfin shad. Stripers here can be as big as 35 pounds. There was a 121.5 pounds blue catfish caught in the lake in 2004 setting the World Record at the time.

Bluegills, identifiable but its blue gill flap, weight up to 5lbs but still a worthy catch in Lake Texoma. The fishing method for this fish is from the shoreline, they concentrate in sheltered waters. Worms, flies and crickets can make a great bait for this fish.

Fishing regulations for Lake Texoma allow you to catch 5 to 25 fishes of different types. You can use your Texas or Oklahoma fishing license, but only on the correct side of the lake, or you can buy inexpensive license to fish in all the lake.

Plenty of guide services are available for fishing in in Lake Texoma, to make your vacation an unforgettable day on the wonderful place for fishing for your kids and whole family.

Source: http://www.thecontentcorner.com/Article/Fishing-in-Lake-Texoma/17581