Do you love big bluegill?

Drifting and Trolling Shiners for Crappie

1 of the 6 or 7 Crappie caught on a solo venture rowing around in a 10 foot boat .

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Comment by Adam Rink on November 23, 2015 at 5:01am: Awesome crappie, John. You've got the big ones dialed in this fall.

Comment by John Sheehan on November 20, 2015 at 7:16am: 252 FISH !amazing Jim! I really got work to locate Gills again ! There's a NY lake close by I hope to Ice fish this year .I got A 9+" Gill from there this summer I haven't forgotten about .

Comment by John Sheehan on November 20, 2015 at 7:11am: Hey thanks Jim , wish it was a 2lb Bluegill. The Gills have been elusive to me this year .Gonna have to step up my game!

Comment by Jim Gronaw on November 19, 2015 at 9:43pm: I know it's not a bluegill, but let's give long-time BBG member John Sheehan a 'shout out' for this outstanding Joisey slab!

Good job John!

Comment by Jim Gronaw on November 19, 2015 at 9:40pm: John...between 5 of us and a morning and evening shift on our favorite lake, we could only land a dozen crappie, with no biggies. We did, however, catch and release 164 bluegills...mostly medium sized, but each of us got 6-10 gills in the 9 inch range. Bigger gills once again showed a preference for the Gulp 1 inch minnows Emerald shiner 5 ft below a bobber.

I predicted we would have the 'perfect panfishing storm' for this week with strong southwest winds, warming temperatures and cloud cover. We totaled 252 fish on three trips between 5 anglers. I'm happy!

Comment by John Sheehan on November 18, 2015 at 12:01pm: Allen ,here are more specifics on the gear I've used twice now on these good sized Crappie : Berkeley Bionix 6' Medium action Rod rated 4-12 # test. It's 100% graphite and has a nice sensitive tip for the cold water light tap of most November Crappie bites . Granted it not like the whip tips of other Crappie rods but this rod tames these fellows while still feeling a good shake from them plus if I get a big Bass it'll do the job . It works great on the Pickerel I'm catching in the same lake .The matched reel is a Daiwa SS Tournament Series 'Whisker S1300 ' .This is my preferred Smallmouth Bass Combo but it 's serving as an excellent Live bait rod for Drifting and Trolling for these very fine Crappie I've recently located . The shot placed 8" up the line has been something like #3/0, #7, #5 . I didn't change the #4 Aberdeen hook even though the shiners I used this time are quite a bit smaller that the Herring ,brother Greg and I used the first outing

Comment by John Sheehan on November 18, 2015 at 6:30am: Thanks men! These are head shakers for sure with bulging stomachs! Very light takes except for this one ! Allen ,just a spinning rod /reel ,6#mono ,#4 Aberdeen hook hooked through lower jaw out front of face of live shiner .

Jim, go get 'em pal! Eating one today with eggs . I waited too long to set hook on one yesterday and she was injured deep in the throat .Released her but had to pick her up off the water as she was dyeing

Slip ,I haven't been using Sonar lately but do at times . I know there s some type of structure where these Crappie have been hanging out at as Brother Greg got hung up twice last time and I got hung up once the 2nd time there. .I 'm thinking wood and Rock . I get these fish out away from a Rocky Bluff on a bank that rises in elevation . BTW , that boat seat is 14" .

Comment by Allen Morgan on November 18, 2015 at 6:04am: Nice Crappie! What kind of rig were you using?

Comment by Jim Gronaw on November 17, 2015 at 9:16pm: Spectacular fish! I'm giving crappies a shot tommorrow and I'll upsize to see if I can score the big ones!