Garry2Rs

Sorry I didn't mention bait...Yes, worms work but small plastics are more durable. Those inch or inch and a half tubes or curly tails etc. Personally I like chartreuse, or light green, but whatever you use for Bass will work for Crappie too. I watched my neighbour catch them one after another using a piece of a Yum-dinger, about two inches long, hooked wacky. In the states I bought some Crappie jigs and a sort of fork-tail grub about two inches long that works great. The same company makes a smaller size for trout that I'm sure would also work. Down there Wal-Mart carried the trout size...I don't know about up here.

Crappie feed-up, so set a bobber at about two feet. Try to find black bottom bays, about 5 feet deep, with the wind blowing in. Crappie are aggessive feeders, so keep moving the bait... If you're not getting "bit" they aren't there. If your thinking about being in the East Kawarthas, Hwy #28 area, PM me and we can hook-up. Garry2rs Have boat, will travel.

I intend to be on Stoney looking for Crappie.

Hi Cory; Yes my thoughts are based on Cesar Millan's theories. Anyone who has watched the "Dog Whisperer" will recognize those parts. I was so impressed by his show that I bought his book. Garry2rs

Dogs are pack animals. They need exercise, discipline and affection to be happy and well adjusted. Just like children, dogs need rule, boundaries and limitations...you can call this leadership. Many owners provide lots of affection, but very little exercise and discipline and almost no leadership. In the absence of this strong pack-leader the dog will assume that role unwillingly. This puts terrible stress on the dog, who now feels it must guide and protect all the family members... Since it can't control it's "Pack" it becomes increasingly neurotic...seeing everything as a threat. Barking dogs are often those ones who have assumed this role of pack-leader and are feeling tremendous stress. Sadly, talking to the owner might be pointless. They are not good dog owners and pack leaders...they are not in control of their dog! If they were, the dog wouldn't be allowed to bark at things beyond it's own yard! Meeting the dog and establishing a relationship might work. If you do decide to go this route, the rules are no talk, no look, no touch. Move into the dogs space with confidence and stand still, without looking at the dog, talking too the dog or touching the dog. The dog will come to you and smell you. Yes they will pay particular attention to your butt! When it's ready, it will initiate contact or simply move away. The owner can then call the dog over and intoduce you. Remember to "Walk Tall" stand upright, with shoulders back, and ignore the dog while it checks you out. You want to appear as a strong leader who owns their own space. Dogs recognize this strength. Afterward, they will not feel threatened by your strong presence next-door. Garry2rs

At the close-out sale of the Hamilton store I bought some lures that were made in Finland by Nils Master. This was just at the time when I stopped fishing for about 20 years... The first time I used these lures was in the Grand River below the dam at Dunnville in 2001. I put an Olive over Yellow minnow on and caught a three pound Walleye. A few minutes later, as the sun was setting, I caught a five pounder. I think my picture with that fish might still be on display at the "Fishing Shack" behind Grand Island BBQ." Eventually that Summer, I caught fish on every one of the three different Nils Master shapes that I had saved all those years.

Have any of you guys caught for Crappie in Lovesick or Stoney Lake? I usually fish for them over at the Tri-Lakes. With the high cost of gas I'd like to fish closer to home. I don't want your spots, I just want to know that I'm not wasting my time. Thanks for helping. Garry2rs

I'm still using tackle I bought there. I think that was the first place I saw a new lure called a Rapala... Man that tells you how long ago that was...HAHAHA!

Sounds like two memorable days. Nice way to start the season. Good to hear your dad is still getting out at 88, I hope I am...grin.

What's the story on Pink? A couple of years ago I had great success with a Pink Fluke. What part of matching the hatch do they come under? I figured it was because I could see it so much better that I fished it better... Garry2rs

I like Watermelon and Carolina Pumpkin, but I would give any of the colours you mentioned a try. When you read about what the Pro's are using, keep in mind that in the southern and western USA the water is often the colour of double-double coffee. Senko sells their baits in kits that come in Plano boxes, so I think you're safe to do the same. The rule of thumb on bait colour is to match the colour of the bait the fish feeding on...As the fly fishers say, "Match-the-Hatch." If you're not sure what that is, Kevin Van Dam recommends that you match the colour of the bottom. KVD says that for camouflage, the bait fish and Crayfish in a given area will be the same colour as the bottom. That makes sense to me...

I'm mostly a Bass guy these days. If I could only have one bait it would be a Senko or Yum Dinger type worm with some 3/0 hooks for LMBass and some football jigs for SMBass. This combination would fish from top-to-bottom. Now, if no one was watching the store, and I could add a second bait it would be a Chartreuse and White Spinnerbait It fishes fast or slow and is a great search lure. A Rattle-Trap type lipless crankbait would be number three. The worm fishes all levels, and the Spinnerbait has flash, but sometimes ripping that lipess bait through the weeds is what you need to do! I'd like a jig&pig set-up, but I can catch those fish on a Senko and a football jig if I have to. A shallow running square lip crankbait would be an nice addition for around wood and over weeds... It will fish the same areas as a spinnerbait, but can linger longer since it floats-at-rest. At this point if the tackle store is still open, I will take any Rapala or Lucky Craft crankbait and a #3 Mepps in-line spinner. I would prefer Chartreuse/White or a Tennessee Shad type pattern for all these baits, but anything will do in a pinch. Garry2rs .

Great stuff!

The neighbour and I took his 8 year old daughter fishing again today. With bright sunshine and no wind this morning, things were quite slow. Without the breeze, yesterdays hot spots appeared as shallow, barren flats. We did find a couple of good fish on the sunny-side of the bay holding tight to a patch of dead cattails. After a couple of hours, the wind picked up. We were exploring another bay looking for more cattail... As we reached the far end of the bay we could see that the wind was blowing straight down the channel. This looked very similar to yesterday's spot, so we anchored in the lee of an islet a fished around a couple of docks and some shoals. In four hours we landed over one hundred Crappie! They saved a few for a fish-fry. The action was so fast we sometimes had three on at the same time. A piece of plastic worm under a bobber would do the trick, but a slip rig, a small Darter type jig plus a Crappie tube or grub was more fun. Personally I was glad when the others decided to called it quits! I was starting to get tired...in a good way...grin. Garry2rs

I was over near Buckhorn and saw 58 degrees. Crappie were active along the wind-blown side of shallow ( 5'-6' ) bays.

Sorry to hear of your bad luck. We faced the same problem Saturday. Eventually, we wound up on the windy side of a shallow bay. In four or five feet of water, along a 100 meter section of shoreline, we found Crappie and large Sunfish stacked up and feeding. Better luck next time. Garry2Rs

My neighbor Mike, his grown son, his young daughter and I went Crappie fishing this morning near the village of Buckhorn, in the East Kawarthas. Things started slowly, perhaps because of the thunderstorms last night. From nine until noon we caught a few Sunfish and a couple of OOS Bass. From noon until two we caught nothing!. As host of this Shindig, I was getting worried!!! At about two o'clock I caught a mid-size Crappie in four FOW, on a split tail Crappie jig. Knowing that these are school fish, we turned back on ourselves and fished a 100 meter section of shoreline... During the next 90 minutes the four of us boated 40 Crappie, and a few Sunfish, before calling it quits. A few were caught on dew worms, but most were caught on small plastics under a slip bobber. The hot technique was to cast and wait for a touch, or pick-up...then to move the bait an inch or so. We were using "Darter" type jig heads, so when you pulled, the bait would rise and then spiral down on the slack line... The decent was the trigger! If you stayed in touch with the bait a fish would pick it up, then by just reeling you would set the hook. In spite of the slow start I would have to call this a great Opening Day. Garry2R's

I think a Break Light is used when dancing...A Brake Light is used when stopping.

“There is hardly anything in the world that some man can’t make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man’s lawful prey.” (John Ruskin, 1819-1900, English art critic and social commentator.) As has been pointed out many times in this forum "You get what you pay for." Cheap spinnerbaits have crumby components that bend, freeze-up and rust quickly...on the other hand, I would rather have a cheap spinnerbait than no spinnerbaits.

I'm not famliliar with that area, but what you are looking for is reeds, green weeds, rocks or wood in shallow water. Think..."Where is the warmest water?" and "Where will the minnows hold?" The Crappie will be close to the minnows... They feed upwards, so set your bobber at two feet or three feet deep to start. Fish shallow and work deeper...When you catch one Crappie, you can bet that there are more in the same area. Now try moving the bobber deeper or shallower and try different baits etc.

You have to open the lid to reach the power cord on most boats, so prop the lid open when the charger is in use.

I switched to soft bags and tackle trays in 2001. In my Bass boat, mid-size Plano boxes are lined up in one of the under deck compartments. The contents of each tray are written on the narrow edge...Senko, Top-water, Rattle Trap etc. When I fish from a friends boat I can take several boxes and stuff them in a soft bag, or for an afternoon, just make a grab-bag tray to suit the water or species we will be fishing for. I still have an old two sided plastic box that I keep panfish tackle in...bobbers, tiny jigs, matching tubes etc. This weekend I will dig it out...grin.

For me it's Mepp's Spinners. In the 60's and 70's they were my #1 go to bait. I owned brass and nickel as well as painted blades in at least 3 different sizes. They caught Trout, Bass, Panfish, Pike and Walleye for me... With a metal body and exposed treble hook they were very prone to snagging bottom or hanging up on cover. I guess that's why Spinnerbaits eventually replaced them in my tackle box.

Seeing all that water makes me glad that they repaired/renewed the bridges at Young's Point and Burliegh Falls ... GRIN.

I don't have as many shopping options as you big-city guys. We live between Peterbourgh and Bancroft when in Canada and in a small city where there are three Wal-Marts, but only one real fishing tackle store, when in the USA. Basically, if I want something that CTC or Wally-World doesn't stock I have to buy it on-line. I get e-mail fliers from BPS on an average of once a month and they always have good sale prices on a few items I want/need. Since they do have good sales, perhaps that's why their regular prices aren't as good as the best you can find elsewhere. On the other hand, you can't compare a huge chain store with tons of stock-on-hand, and a reputation to uphold with some on-line guy who operates out of his basement. As far as BPS House Brand stuff is concerned, I have had good luck with their stuff, but have never bought a BPS brand item that wasn't on sale!