Nice 13 inch Pasquotank River Slab Crappie

Comment

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on January 1, 2012 at 10:40pm

It sounds awesome, Jeff. My wife, Lori, is much like your Helen. She supports my fishing hobby. Naturally, getting settled in new digs, new jobs and so on will be absorbing. But I reckon some time can be spared :-)

I did want to see the Sans Souci Ferry , after all...

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on January 1, 2012 at 8:33pm

We have a lot of black water rivers in North Carolina as well but most are east of I-95.....Let me know when you get settled in David, it would be worth a weekend trip to hit some of my Coppernose haunts together......I started catching good creels on 4/11/2011 last year but I don't keep many notes....It may be earlier depending on our Winter......

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on January 1, 2012 at 8:12pm

Well, Jeff - it does look like Ill be fishing the waters of NC's upper central lakes in the future. Ill be leaving the black waters behind, if things go even 70% to plan. Maybe Ill have better luck with jigs under floats there than here.

Blade for flash, eh? Im getting intomaking the little things, now. I'm now trying blades on some 1/32 nail head jigs I have, and I ordered 100 #16 swivels tonight just for my own spin jig experiments.

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on January 1, 2012 at 3:23pm

I showed a photo of the minnows I call shiners.....The Pasquotank River is so dark I look for every little advantage I can get, so I like the blade for flash because other than the minnow swimming the jigs were just hanging under a cork...I have used a plain jig successfully before as well....On Toledo Bend in Louisiana we would catch nice Crappie numbers on a plain jig under a cork in shallow water during the spawn but obviously the fish are more aggressive during the spawn...I don't mind the questions! I visit bigbluegill.com several times a day for this reason, you can't talk fishing with people that don't enjoy it like the members here.....

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on January 1, 2012 at 10:46am

Same here Jeff. I enjoy hearing the methods people use to catch their fish, particularly when fishing in native waters.

When you say "shiners," Im assuming agian you mean some sort of minnow. When I think of "shiners" my mind conjures images of the 4"-5" whoppers I used for Bass down in FL?  Or, the 8" and 10" roach (Golden Shiners ) I catch around here come to mind.

As for the Sliders, I'm a big fan of them. And I notice the different color variations that worked for you. But I wonder if the action of the blade and grub tail had anything to do with your success.... or if maybe just a plain jig head would have sufficed. Im always a bit intrigued by these "action" lures being used with floats - essentially still fishing. Since you caught fish with live bait on plain hooks, too, it makes me wonder.

Hope I'm not asking too many questions!

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on January 1, 2012 at 9:43am

I actually tied up to a bridge and  had three telescopics out between 8 to 10 feet under a cork and fished the spoon near bottom from a microcast. Most of the Crappie (6 total) and the pan size Stripers hit the Charlie Bee Sliders tipped with shiners in three different colors, Chartreuse Sparkle (Biggest Crappie of the Day pictured), June Bug and Ice (3 Crappie). I also tried shiners on a gold hook and caught a couple.....I'm patient but do often experiment with different patterns...that's the intrigue of Man vs. Fish! I enjoy the discussion David!

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on January 1, 2012 at 9:16am

Its safe to assume then that this fish was caught beneath the boat, jigging?

Chartruese seems to be a universal color choice, along with white yellow and black. Im envious of your exploits. :-)

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on January 1, 2012 at 7:40am

Thanks John and Dwayne...I like to mix up the picture taking John and I also like featuring the lure of choice....16" Crappie are special no matter where you catch them and I've released a couple the last few years in my home river, I catch enough 8 to 10 inch fish to satisfy my taste buds...I like it when the Crappie get a little gold/yellow tint to them as well Dwayne!

Comment by Dwayne Denison on December 31, 2011 at 2:10pm

Jeff, nice fish, great color on that crappie

Comment by John Sheehan on December 31, 2011 at 1:49pm

Love a pic of a good fish with lure that caught it !That a way Jeff!! These are a 1/2"bigger than the  size of the best Crappies in my home lake .Anxious to see them get to 16"!