Drop Shot For Crappie

[classic242]

I filleted out 26 crappie yesterday afternoon. I caught them out in the main river on some red clay bank ledges in about 16' of water. I used the drop shot rig to catch them using minnows. I tie on a 2/0 gold Aberdeen crappie hook with a loop knot drop down 18" and tie another hook on drop down another 18" and tie a 1 oz. weight. I use a Mitchell Advocet spinning reel and 7' medium rod for this. I spool with Spectra 20 lb. braid and use a 20 lb. clear mono leader. I use the braided line because I can feel so much more of whats going on down there and if a get hung up and can usually straighten out the hook with out breaking off. I usually find the crappie in depths from 10' to 25' with and average depth being 13' that I catch the most crappie at. You have to have good electronics for this kind of fishing. I use weighted marker buoys also and usually keep about 6 of them in the boat. I idle over river ledges looking for balls of shad on the ledges. If I see a lot of scattered bait fish I will throw out a marker buoy, turn around and when I see the bait fish again I throw out another. The reason I do this is because as most of you know, you have already went past them when they show up on the depth finder screen and by throwing one out going the opposite way you will have narrowed the location down of the baitfish and you fish between the buoys. You don't always have to have fish showing up on the depth finder screen to catch crappie. My past experience is, if you have a tight ball of shad or sometimes a long continuous string that is is not scattered the predator fish are not feeding but, if you see the bait balls or strings that are scattered or broken up it means only one thing, bass or crappie are feeding on them. I have caught crappie as deep as 35' deep but, I usually catch them in an average deep of 10' to 20' deep in the summer and 20' to 30' deep in the winter months but like I said before, I have caught more fish at the 13' depth than any other depth. You will spend more time looking for and locating crappie on the river ledges but, once you find them, you can catch a good mess fairly easy. The only thing that is a problem is that river crappie are nomadic and move around a good bit, there one day and gone the next. I have found them in certain places that they like and they will stay there as long as 6 weeks, providing they have good cover and food. Anyway, give the drop shot method a try, it works when other methods do not.
Gone Fishing,
classic242

[TakeSonFishing]

I really like your method.  I will have to give it a try.  I love crappie felets.  Question though, what river are you refering to?

[classic242]

The Black Warrior and Tombigbee rivers. They meet just above our local city landing. I fish the Black Warrior the most.

[TakeSonFishing]

Ill have to give that a shot on our red river here in louisiana.  I have been fishing brush piles on a feeder river/bayou that feeds caddo lake here, with only margninal success.  Durring the spring and winter its a differant story though.