CRAPPIE MASTERS

ALL AMERICAN TOURNAMENT TRAIL
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May - August 2008
Long Lining
Rod & Jeanne Fry
Crappie College
Having A Crappie Time
Summer Fishing Tips
Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 CRAPPIE MASTERS
STAFF
President. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paul Alpers
Vice President. . . . . . . .Bobby Brown
Admin Assistant. . . . . . Betty Rutledge
Editor/Sr. Writer. . . . . . .Tim Huffman
Partner................................John Mason
Partner.................................Jon Beberg
Crappie Masters, Inc.
P.O. Box 989
Lebanon, MO 65536
web:www.crappiemasters.net
email:[email protected]
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ANGLER ADVISORY
BOARD
Dean Ruppelius....OK......918-485-4805
Gary Kendrick.....AL.......205-338-2011
George Parker......FL.......561-248-3172
Joe Meyer.............MO.....573-672-3317
John Schantz........IA........563-940-0397
John Witt..............FL.......352-728-6162
Kevin Rogers.......MO.....913-216-3127
Larry Hammonds.MO.....573-498-6543
Phil Rambo..........IN........812-876-4647
Richard Lindsey...LA......318-377-0370
Charles Bunting...MO.....573-619-2045
Todd Huckabyee..OK......405-520-8980
Tony Edgar...........MO.....573-378-2220
Vic Finkley...........MS......662-226-5532
Wade Mansfield...MO......527-333-9866
Wally Marshall....TX.......972-272-4016
Whitey Outlaw.....SC.......803-730-7610
Coy Sipes.............AL
Gilford Sipes........AL......205-919-0982
Larry McMullin...MO.....573-283-5465
Don Collins..........FL.......727-584-6704
Bill Braswell........KY......606-436-0128
Earl Brink ...........GA......770-841-7572
Copyright 2008
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Volume 12
May 2008
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From the Editor
Did you know
that tying two
loop knots
on the upper
hook or jig of
a double-hook
rig gives added
advantages?
Tim Huffman
Neither did I until I went fishing and listened to the
pros at Crappie College.
Crappie College was a
unique event that took place at
Clarksville, Virginia (Kerr Buggs
Island Reservoir). Speakers included: eight or ten outstanding
tournament fishermen; Mr. Crappie, Wally Marshall; guide Gary
Mason, who also is the founder of
the Legends of the Outdoors Hall
of Fame; and me. Father-sons, husband-wives and individuals were
given two days of seminars on a
variety of crappie fishing subjects.
Many tips and tactics were shared
and each seminar ended with a
question/ answer session. It was a
big hit and I was honored to be a
part of it.
It’s amazing what you can
learn when you listen to really
good fishermen. I was fortunate to
share a boat with several people
while at Kerr Buggs. The first
was Earl Brink and his partner for
the week, Kenny Allen. We long
lined the drop-offs. I gained a lot
ON THE COVER: One of our new
wrapped boat sponsors is Toyota Tundra.
Whitey Outlaw displays a fish taken on
practice day a Kerr Buggs Island. Photo
by Tim Huffman.
of knowledge about fishing drops
and how to attack them at the
right depth while keeping both the
shallow and deep sides of the drop
covered. I also learned about his
Showdown jigs that I will be detailing in the future.
I spent a lot of time on the
water with Whitey Outlaw. We
not only discussed fishing but also
years of happenings on tournament
trails and other things you talk
about when side-by-side in a boat.
I also learned that long lining can
be done on the back deck while sitting on 5-gallon buckets. However,
the buckets are best for younger,
healthier fishermen…a group I
use to belong to several years ago.
Along with having a good time and
good photo shoot, I want to thank
him for putting us on a 1.91-pound
crappie that took the ‘media event’
big fish for me.
“What do you want to do,
Tim?” boomed ‘Bobcat’ Bobby
Whitlow as he met me on the
parking lot Wednesday afternoon.
“If you want to catch fish I need
to load the boat and we’ll head to
another ramp. If not we can fish
here for a big one but we may not
get a bite all afternoon.” I wanted
him to continue his pre-tournament
fishing and I would tag along and
ask questions. Jonathan, a teenager
fishing with Bobby, handled the
poles in the back of the boat. Bobby filled me in on how he searched
for bigger fish and about the lake
and its seasonal patterns. We had
a great time. Jonathan caught the
biggest crappie of his life, a 2 1/4pound slab. Life is good!
Good fishing and God Bless
Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 A Family Affair
Rod & Jeanne Fry
by Tim Huffman
“Everywhere the Crappie
Masters goes we are there,” says
Rod Fry. “We started out with another circuit and switched over to
Crappie Masters in 2003 when they
got started and have fished almost
every major tournament they’ve
had.”
Tournament fishing is
a family affair. Along with being a husband/wife fishing team,
Jeanne’s father, John Schantz,
enjoyed fishing, too. “We continue
now by fishing the tournaments
because we enjoy all the friends
we’ve made and we enjoy the competition. We are not only competing with other fishermen but we
compete with each other.” (Just a
reminder to John, Jr.: you still owe
them a steak dinner for last year).
Jeanne says that competition came
at a young age for her because
when she stepped into grandpa’s
Sr, along with her brother, John
Schantz, Jr, have also traveled the
trail allowing family members to
enjoy fishing while keeping close
family ties. John, Sr. was last years
Crappie Master’s Sportsman of the
Year at the classic and lost a long
health battle soon after. Obviously,
the loss has left a huge hole in the
tournament trips but the love of the
sport, many happy past memories
and many more to come keeps
them chasing crappie all over the
country.
They have both fished all
boat there was always three dollars done,” says Jeanne. “I’m the big
at stake: one for the first fish; the
instigator of ‘let’s try something
biggest fish and the most fish.
new’; another color or let’s go over
Rod and Jeanne say that
there. I’ll do something non-tratheir highlight on
the tournament
trail was when
John Schantz, Sr.
received the sportsman of the year
award. There was
nothing else close.
On the lake, their
highlight was when
Jeanne caught a
3-pound, 10-ounce
crappie on practice
day at Grenada.
An hour later Rod
caught a 3-pound,
2-ounce and they
both went on the
wall.
The team
Rod & Jeanne Fry weighing in at Reelfoot Lake, TN. This
primarily uses a
husband/wife team travels all over the country fishing the
double-hook tight-
their lives. “I remember fishing
when I was three years old using
an ice fishing pole for my regular
fishing pole,” says Jeanne. “Then
in college at spring break when
everyone headed to the beaches I
went down to Table Rock Lake to
fish for trout with my grandparents.
Fishing is just something I enjoy
doing.”
Rod says he has always
line technique. It’s the most versatile for all the lakes where they
travel.
Both fishermen set in front.
They both net fish. Jeanne handles
anything that needs to be done in
the back of the boat. Rod handles
the trolling motor. (Jeanne says
she’ll just do little circles when she
takes over trolling motor duties.)
“We basically just help each
other with whatever needs to be
Bass Pro Shops Crappie Masters All American Trail.
Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 Rod and Jeanne Fry cont.
ditional with some goofy-looking
baits. He laughs at me most of the
time until I catch a big fish and
then he’s ready to try one. And
I’m like a little kid if we go a long
time without a bite. I’ll be casting,
changing baits, walking to the back
of the boat to jig a tree; always
something.”
Rod says that they both
fish in every kind of weather even
in the cold, wind and rain. “She’s
never made me go in but once she
hunkered down behind the wind-
When fishing the Florida
tournaments they had to leave on
Sunday and go back home to work.
They turned around for the next
tournament the following weekend.
Rod says, “We sometimes drive
through the night. We got to Monroe last year at 5:30 a.m. just in
time for the tournament that morning. We love it or we wouldn’t do
it.”
When you see them on the
tournament trail be sure to give
them a big “Hello” and let them
shield for a while. We still laugh
about that.”
When asked how many
miles they travel they replied that
they don’t know and are too scared
to add it up.
know you appreciate their dedication to the trail and support crappie fishing. And remember, for the
team of Rod and Jeanne Fry, it has
been and will continue to be a family affair.
Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 Don’t Miss Open
Tournaments
Missouri State
Championship
Truman Lake
Clinton, MO.
August 2-3
Mississippi State
Championship
Arkabutla-Tunica Lake
Tunica, MS.
Sept. 19-20
In-Depth Longline Tactics
By Tim Huffman
Total Control
According to the pros, the
Minn Kota AutoPilot trolling motor
is a key tool for any serious longliner. It has several advantages.
First, you can set your course and
it keeps the boat headed the right
direction. It compensates for being
blown off course. The first advan-
Brink’s Method
Earl Brink, winner of three
Seminars, schools, magaclassics,
had a specific goal when
zine and videos are good places to
fishing the pre-spawn 53 to 56
learn more tips and tactics to make
degree water. “We are long line
you a better fisherman. However,
trolling on Kerr Reservoir in 13 to
there is no better way to learn how
14 feet of water. I’m following the
to fish or become a better fisherledge searching for areas because
man than sharing a boat with an
I’ve never been on the lake. When I
expert. The learning curve goes up
find good spots I mark them
much quicker when you
on my GPS and I’ll come
can experience everything
back to them and straight
in the elements. You get to
line. I seem to be able to
feel, see and ask questions.
catch bigger fish more conMy trip to Kerr Reservoir,
sistently by slowing down.”
Virginia, included time in
Brink varies his jigs based
the boat with two tournaupon the depth and type
ment fishermen, Earl Brink
water. His setup for fishand Whitey Outlaw, for two
ing 13 to 14 foot water was
half-day longlining trips
running double jig rigs with
(also called flat-lining or
some being 1/16 on top and
fast trolling). The following
1/32 on bottom. Others were
are some of the observaheavier to run deeper with
tions, tactics and tricks.
a 1/8 on top and 1/32 on
bottom. He always places
the smaller jig on bottom so
Where to Longline
it will ride up a little and not
Fishermen match
be dominated by the heavier
tactics to the season, fish
jig. Our baits were running
movements and water
from 6 to 8 feet deep most
conditions. Longlining is
of the time.
most deadly when targetHis primary baits are his
ing scattered fish. It can be
own Showdown jigs. He
used any time but it isn’t
uses Wally Marshall poles
the best method when fish
and reels rigged with 6
are holding tight to cover
pound test line. If he stops
especially in shallow brush Earl Brink with a crappie taken by longlining along a
to jig, he’s using an Ozark
or extremely deep water.
ledge. A ledge is his favorite target especially in middle pole. He says that picking
Pre-spawn, post-spawn and depths and deep water.
and using the right pole is
fall are peak periods for the
important.
method.
tage leads to the second. If you
His partner for the tourna
Another reason for fishing
need to get up to put a fish in the
ment, Kenny Allen, was using
fast is to cover water when searchlivewell, net your partner’s fish or
shorter poles straight out the back
ing for fish and learning the lake.
do some other chore in the boat
of the boat. His baits were staying
It’s a relatively fast method. Armed
you can get up and do it without
on top of the ledge targeting the
with a contour map, depthfinder
worrying where the boat will go.
drop at the key depth.
and GPS, it’s not difficult to find
The AutoPilot keeps the boat going Front poles were 12 and 18
good drops, points and cover while
in the direction and speed that you
feet
long.
On one side he was covcatching fish.
set.
Continued on next page
Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 ering the flat next to the drop and
on the other side he was in deeper,
open water. Any fish not directly on
the ledge was caught on the long
poles.
“I want to stay right on a
specific depth all the time, not two
feet deeper or shallower. Keeping
your baits where they are suppose
to be is important. Right now we
are staying at a specific depth and
I’m varying my trolling motor
speed to control the depth of my
jigs. Today we are running them a
lot at 6 to 8 feet deep. But according to the depthfinder, it appears
the bigger fish are holding near
bottom.”
Brink isn’t hung up on one
bait color. He uses several different
types and colors to see if the fish
have a preference.
He controls his boat with
an AutoPilot. He has a homemade
motor control on a bracket that
stays between his knees. He says
it gives him better control and is
very handy. He doesn’t want to
use his foot or hold anything in his
hands all the time. All he has to do
is reach a few inches to reach the
motor control or a pole.
He also uses a slide bracket
that lets him quickly change motors. This is good in a tournament if
one breaks, but important to him is
that he can change them in minutes
at the motel if he wants to switch
from longlining to slow trolling
from one day to the next. He likes
a foot control motor when tightlining.
What did Brink learn in the
morning of fishing? “I’ve learned
that the bigger fish are still out in
deeper water. They are out on the
main creek ledges near the mouths.
I think when the water temperature
comes up two or three degrees
they’ll start moving up shallow.
We’ve picked up a
couple of 1.5 pound fish
so I’ll pull through here
again tomorrow and if I
can pick up a 2-pounder
I’ll come through and
slow down and straight
line.”
Outlaw’s Method
Whitey Outlaw
has been a common face
on the tournament trail
for many years and is
known as a fierce competitor. He has several
sponsorships including
a recent one with Toyota
Tundra.
Outlaw has a
different take on his
longlining tactics. “My
partner and I both fish
Whitey Outlaw displays a Kerr Reservoir slab. Whiteout the back when
longlining. We’ll run a ly will jig, slow troll or longline depending upon the
situation. He says for numbers of fish and for fishing
6, 7, 8 and 9 foot poles
fun, it’s hard to beat longlining.
across the back so we
go against the wind they will keep
can still cover a good
their trolling motor on the same
path but the shorter poles allows
speed. But going against the wind
us to have more control and make
they slow down so the baits are
tighter turns.”
deeper and under the fish instead
He, too, believes that the
of where they need to be. Wind is
Minn Kota AutoPilot is critical if
important.”
you longline. “It’s important to be
“Line length can vary deable to get up and walk around the
pending upon conditions and how
boat to get done what has to be
deep you want to fish. We typically
done when fishing. If you have a
just cast the jigs out, flip the bail
foot control and leave it running
and put the rod in the holder. We
you’ll just go in circles.”
done it so much we just know how
Outlaw says that wind
far looks right so they will all be
can cause problems for fishermen
the same.”
because they don’t take it as being
Since he and his partner
a serious factor. “First, you catch
also
does
a lot of tightline slow
more fish by going with the wind.
Whether the fish face into the wind, trolling in the front, they want
see baits better or whatever it really setup in the back for longlining to
be quick and simple. They use two
doesn’t matter to me…I just know
5-gallon bucket for seats, use Driftwe catch a lot more fish going
with the wind than against it. Also, master holders and BnM poles. He
says that anyone using this techwhen people do turn around and
Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 nique should set up so that rodtips
are close to the water. Even when
pulling fast, wind can cause lines to
jump, tangle and make them hard
to control.
“Longlining is an easy
method that catches a lot of fish.
It’s nothing more than a controlled
drift. You can do it from a fancy
boat, pontoon or jon boat.”
He uses his depthfinder to
follow edges or stay on flats. He
recommends turning up the sensitivity so you can see everything
including baitfish. You need bait in
an area if you are going to longline. Seeing a ‘ball’ of shad means
chances are good of catching a fish
from it.
Speeds vary. Going 0.5 to
0.8 is common but sometimes you
need to go twice that speed to keep
baits up and fish shallow water.
Outlaw says that you can’t outrun a
crappie. The key is to run the right
speed that puts baits in the strike
zone.
His baits included a variety
of jigs including Road Runners.
He says minnows are sometimes
needed but they do cause the jigs to
ride higher in the water.
Longline Summary
>Great tactic when fish are
scattered, you are searching for fish
or learning the lake.
>You catch more fish when
longlining but the size may not be
as good as when tightlining.
>Be sure to set your trolling
motor for easy use and control. The
pros prefer an AutoPilot.
>Plastic/marabou, curlytail
and Road Runners are good jigs to
try when longlining. Try all colors,
shapes and sizes until you learn the
fish’s preference.
>When you have a choice,
always go with the wind to catch
more fish.
>Long 14 to 18-foot poles
are a pain but they can be an
advantage when longlining. First,
they can cover other depths waters
on each side of a ledge. Second,
when fishing shallow water, they
get the bait further away from the
boat to less spooked fish.
>A GPS is a good tool for
speed and to mark spots you find
while on the move. You can come
back and fish them again with
slower presentations.
>You need different jig
weights from light 1/48 to 1/16-
ounce.
>Keep all line lengths the
same for better depth control. Use
one cast length or mark lines and
run them 40 or 60 feet behind the
boat.
>Control bait depth with
trolling motor speed.
Brink’s Showdown Jigs
The need for something not available
has been the cause for almost every
invention through the ages. Showdown
Jigs were no different. Earl Brink says,
“Five year ago I was looking to buy
several hundred cards of jigs for my
own use. I would drive for hours trying to find the colors I wanted. They
would say they were coming in so I
would drive all the way back the next
week only with no new jigs and they
would try to sell me the color they had
in stock. I decided to go into the jig
business.”
“I started making a high-quality jig
with everything made in the USA.
Also, since I’ve won some classics
using my jigs a lot of people became
interested and started using them. I
make several different sizes and I also
produce one using marabou feathers with a liquid-poured plastic body.
They are excellent for flat-line trolling.”
Another thing different is that
he makes a 1/4-ounce hair jig; big for
crappie fishing. The big jig helped him
win the Classic at Grenada Lake. They
pulled two 1/4-ounce jigs on each pole
and fished near bottom in 30 feet of
water.
For more information, check
out www.showdowntackle.com.
Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 Summer Crappie Fishing Tips from the Tournament Trail
by Tim Huffman
There is no better way to
learn than to spend time fishing.
Experience teaches us what works
and what doesn’t. The following
tips are from our tournament fishermen who have put many hours on
the lake.
Ron Griffin usually fishes
a straight jig, no scent and no
minnow. His favorite colors are
red/chartreuse and black/green
with flake. “Reelfoot’s my home
lake so shallow water lily pads are
key summer spots. We usually fish
three feet deep, straight off bottom
and don’t bounce the jig.”
In a sea of lily pads, where
does Griffin put the jig? “I put the
jig into the spots where I don’t’
think the jig will go. The thicker
the pads the better. Nine out of ten
times the best spot will be where
it’s difficult to get the jig in. When
it looks like the jig can’t be put
through the pads, that’s where I
want to get it in.”
Brent Work says I pull more
jigs in the summer than I do other
times. Because they get sluggish
and I think they will hit the colors
of the jigs. When fish go shallow
in the summer here at Reelfoot we
switch to 16-foot poles because the
fish get spooky. I don’t like using
the long poles but they make a big
difference.
(An interesting note on
Brent Work is that he has been taking wounded veterans and military
home on leave out on the lake
fishing. “Two of the young men
had no legs but they got around on
their artificial legs better than I get
around. The men were positive; no
feeling sorry for themselves despite listening to three days of their
stories. We all had
a good time.” )
Roger Gant
says summer tactics depend upon
the lake you’re
fishing. “For example, Pickwick has
plenty of oxygen
because of the river
and it has a lot of
traffic and barges.
You can catch fish
deep all summer.
In other lakes fish
will suspend up in
the water because
of the thermocline.
“I fish the
Elwood Shepherd displays nice Reelfoot Lake tournament thermocline just
like I will the botcrappie.
10 Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 tom. You can look on the depth
finder to see where the fish are suspended.” He says a trick he uses is
to go after the ones suspended over
structure like a hump or breakline.
These fish will be the most active.
Fish all over the place so being
able to target the most active ones
over structure is a huge advantage.
Two baits combinations
are good according to Gant. Jigs
tipped with minnows will catch fish
grouped in an area. He likes to troll
crankbaits with his favorite being
Storm Wiggle Warts.
Steve McElroy says he
likes to fast troll but in the summer he goes to tightlining. “I try to
find structure that’s holding fish.
They can be cantankerous on the
bite and that’s when good baits
make a difference. Of course I use
FoodSource meal worms like I do
a minnow to tip a jig. Or, I’ll add
a piece after I put the minnow on
a plain hook. It doesn’t guarantee
that you’ll catch fish but it can help
when the fish are not cooperative.”
John Woods says that
variables determine where, how
and the depth you fish during the
summer, but in general, he says to
go deep. “The clearer the water the
deeper you need to fish. We may be
slow trolling but prefer to handhold jigging poles. By holding the
poles we get a better feel of cover
and the bites.”
Elwood Shepherd fishes the
trail and has a tip for keeping fish
alive. “I use a Keep Alive system
especially in the summer. The unit
uses small bubbles that contain
Summer Time Tips Continued
oxygen in them. I even put it in my new boat livewell
because I know it works. I also cool the water down.
I don’t have to use bottled oxygen but the system
works fine.”
Tony Sheridan calls Kentucky Lake his home
water. “Drop-offs are a key in the summer. It’s not
uncommon to catch crappie at a variety of depths.
We typically use jigs in the summer and when fishing
for fun always use Crappie Nibbles. Sometimes I’ll
tip with minnows during a tournament. Concerning
colors, I’ll always have on chartreuse and usually
orange.”
Chris Fowler says to keep the thermocline in
mind during the summer but always keep deep ledge
brush in mind, too. “A jig fished on top of the brush
is good. Sometimes the summer crappie also wants
the jig tipped with a minnow. I like to use a 1/8 or
1/4-ounce weight about 16 inches above the jig to get
it down fast and keep it there.”
Summer fishing is often an early morning
or late afternoon event because of heat and pleasure
boater. Phil Rambo says his sponsor’s HydroGlow
light can be used for more than just night fishing.
“The light can be used to extend your fishing. You
can go earlier and use the light. Or, you can stay later
in the evening by putting it out when the sun goes
down. It’s easy to extend your fishing by a half-hour
or more and catch more fish.”
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Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 11
12 Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 Tournament Results Bass Pro Shops Crappie Masters All American Trail
Top 10
13.04 Little/ Green
12.78 Davidson/
Greene
12.44 Stancil/ Brink
11.84 McElroy/ McElroy
11.40 Carson/ Harris
11.24 Cannon/ Williams
10.48 Dieckmann/
Bentley
9.99 Williamson/ Williamson
9.82 Young/ Jones
to the husband/ wife team of Byron
and Linda Dillion of Florida. They
weighed 9.08 pounds longlining Road
Runners.
Big fish was 1.74 pounds
caught by Roy Cape and Robert Harris
of Georgia.
Top 10
9.52 Edmondson/ Edmondson
9.18 Meyer/ Meyer
9.08 Dillion/ Dillion
9.01 Riley/ Outlaw
8.84 Outlaw/ Sanders
8.76 Leatherman/ Bass
8.74 Sipes/ Sipes
8.64 Mathews/ Shealy
8.62 Collins/ Collins
8.52 Smith/ Smith
Lake Monroe Jessup, FL Major Feb 1
Leg two of the Toyota Tundra
Florida State Championship was won
by Dennis Tittle and Dixie Glisson of
Back to back wins is difficult. Tony Duncan and Randy
Allmon pulls it off at Reelfoot Lake. They weighed 11.78
pounds for their win.
Harris Chain, FL
Talquin, FL Jan 19th; Major
Major Jan 26
Little & Green longline to
The Toyota Turndra Florida
victory with the 2008 season opener
State Championship on Harris Chain
at Talquin, FL. Tournament conditions of Lakes was the first leg of the chamincluded rain, falling temperature and
pionship. Anglers totaling 146 faced a
wind gusting to 30 mph.
cold front during practice that included
Jason Little and Wade Green
cooling temperatures, some rain, wind
from Georgia, brought the limit of
and cloudy skies. Howseven fish to weigh-in with the scales
ever, the bite was good
reaching 13.04 pounds. The team used for tournament day.
Wally Marshall rods, AWD and Slider
Family teams
baits in black/blue and chartreuse.
dominated the top spots
They longlined 12 to 15 foot water
with 16 husband/ wife
with their Humminbird 997 playing a
teams participating in the
large role in finding the fish. They took tournament. The father/
home $5,000 cash and a VIP card from son team of Brian and
Bass Pro Shops.
Robert Edmondson from
Second place went to another
Florida took tops honors
Georgia team, Larry Davidson and
with a seven fish total of
Brian Greene with a weight of 12.78
9.52 pounds. The team
pounds. The team longlined in deeper
trolled slowly in 6 to 9
20 to 50 foot waters. They chose to
feet of water with Showmove slowly and pull 1/16-oz yellow
down jigs.
jigs. They earned $2500 cash.
Second place
Third place were the 2006 Na- went to Joe Meyer and
tional Champions, David Stancil and
Barry Meyer from MisEarl Brink. They fished at 24 foot on
souri and Ohio. The BnM
green and pink Showdown jigs. The
Pole team spider rigged
Georgia team earned $1250.
with Road Runner Jigs
Big fish was 2.43 pounds
and with minnows. They
caught by Danny Cannon and Billy
Scott Stafford and Grizzly Jig Company owner, Louie
fished 5 to 9 foot and
Williams.
Mansfield, found fish during the Reelfoot tournament.
weighed 9.18 pounds.
Third place went Emcee Garry Mason.
Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 13
Florida. They weighed 11.20 pounds
but were silent with any tactics because of the upcoming championship
tournament.
Second place was Marc
Danque of South Carolina with 10.98
pounds. Dennis Outlaw and Steve
Deason from Georgia took third with
10.27 pounds using AWD Baits.
Top adult-youth team was
Matt and Drew Morgan with 8.99
pounds. Top male-female team was
Danny and Beth Williamson.
Top 10
11.20 Tittle/Glisson
10.98 Danque
10.27 Outlaw/ Deason
10.23 Cannon/ Williams
10.20 Davis/ Davis
10.10 Williamson/ Williamson
10.03 Reedy/ Reedy
10.00 McElroy/ McElroy
9.85 Rosson/ Niemeyer
9.79 Outlaw/ Sanders
Lake Monroe Jessup, FL State
Championship Feb 2
Teams from 15 states competed in the Toyota Florida State Championship on Lakes Monroe Jessup. It
was post-frontal beautiful weather.
State Champion was an individual fishing as a team, Dale Willard from North Carolina. He caught
10.32 pounds longlining with Wally
Marshall and BnM
poles using blue/
chartreuse and
white/ chartreuse
jigs. He trolled at
1.1 to 1.2 mph fishing in 2.5 feet deep
water. His first victory on the Crappie Masters trail
earned him $5,000
and two Minn Kota The father/son team of Ellis Arthur and Paul Arthur took
Trolling motors.
first place at Kerr Buggs Island with 11.35 pounds.
Another
8.79 Sipes/ Sipes
one-man team was Floridian George
8.74 Stroud/ McConnel
Parker taking second place with 9.67
8.72 Hite
pounds. He used pink/ chartreuse and
white/ chartreuse Slider and ShowLogan Martin, AL Divisional Feb 23
down jigs with Wally Marshall rods
Bass Pro Shops Crappie
fishing 1.1 to 1.3 mph in 5 to 6 feet of
Masters held the Toyota Logan Martin
water.
Lake divisional tournament on Febru
Third place was the husbandary 23. Average weight of the winning
wife team of Danny and Beth William- stringer was over a 2-pound per fish
son of Georgia. They used Showdown average.
and Road Runner jigs for 9.58 pounds Alabama fisherman, Harold
of fish.
Rich, fished alone but caught 14.14
Big fish honors went to the
pounds to win Logan Martin. He
FoodSource team, Stephen and Kevin
jigged with one pole in brush piles
McElroy from Alabama with a 2.05
using red/yellow homemade jigs. He
pound fish.
fished 12 to 18 feet waters fishing 3 to
The kids fishing rodeo had
12 feet deep. He earned $1000 plus a
over 170 participants. The kids got to
Bass Pro Shops VIP card.
fish a stocked city park pond. Each
Second place was the Alachild got a prize sponsored by Crapbama team of Charles Wood and Alan
pie Masters, Bass Pro Shops Outdoor
McGinnis with 13.84 pounds. Pink/
World in Orlando and the City of
white/ chartreuse Jiffy Jigs fished 8
Sanford.
to 10 feet in waters up to 20 feet deep
Dock shooting specialist Jerry Pruitt and Randy Pope did
it again by catching and weighing 10.16 pounds to take
second place in Virginia.
14 Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 Top 10
10.32 Willard
9.67 Parker
9.58 Williamson/
Williamson
9.55 McElroy/
McElroy
9.18 Howard/
Sightler
9.16 Rambo/
Rambo
8.93 Schantz/
Walker
earned them $600. Third place was
Darren Carson and Stanley Knight of
Georgia with 13.23. They fished Wally
Marshall rods with AWD white/blue
jigs.
Big fish was 2.66 pounds
caught by Stevens and Rutherford.
Top 5
14.14 Rich
13.84 Wood/ McGinnis
13.23 Carson/ Knight
13.04 Green/ Little
12.72 Miles/ Barnes
Reelfoot Lake, TN, Major Mar 1
Reelfoot Lake offered little
fun to those pre-fishing for the tournament. Cool weather with extremely
high winds took over all but one
practice day. However, tournament
day featured good weather with a mild
wind later in the day. 214 anglers competed.
Repeating a win on a major
lake is rare, but Tony Duncan and
Randy Allmon won their third Reelfoot tournament out of the last four
years…a remarkable feat against a big
field of good fishermen. They fished
30 inches of water, casting into pods
with purple/ chartreuse weedless jigs
using Wally Marshall poles. They
weighed in 11.78 pounds. They won
$5300 and a Bass Pro Shops VIP card.
Second place was Greg Stairs
and Ronnie Logan with 11.68 pounds.
They also had big fish weighing 2.15.
They fished Southern Pro jigs with
Wally Marshall poles in 5 to 7 foot
waters.
Third place was Brian Ramm
and Jeff Heathcott with 11.65. They
only fished a few hours due to a family
emergency but it was enough time to
catch enough fish to take third.
Top 10
11.78 Duncan/ Allmon
11.68 Stairs/ Logan
11.65 Ramm/ Heathcott
11.64 Hendren/ Logan
11.02 Pennington/ Carpenter
10.99 Chappel/ Sandage
10.87 Harrison/ Driscoll
10.87 McIntosh/ Woods
10.77 Norris/ Norris
10.65 Kirkpatrick/ Mathis
Ross Barnett, MS Major Mar 8
A forecast of extreme cold and
two inches of snow forced a one-day
delay of the tournament. Beautiful
fishing weather was the result.
2005 National Champions,
John Woods and Tracie McIntosh,
Tennessee, won with 14.67 pounds on
seven fish. They slow trolled west of
the bridge below the river fishing 10 to
13 foot deep using BnM Poles and live
bait. They won $5,000.
Whitey Outlaw and Dean
Sanders, Team Tundra, caught 13.40
for second place. The South Carolina
team fished the river and moved in and
out of the flats. They used MidSouth
blue/ chartreuse jigs on BnM Poles
fishing 6 to 16 foot depths.
Third place were Charles Talley and Lonnie Hannah, local fishermen and members of the Magnolia
Crappie Club. They had 13.34 by
jigging the river and lake using Super
Jigs, BnM Poles in 8 to 10 feet of water. They also took big fish with a 2.97
monster.
Top 10
14.67 Woods/ McIntosh
13.40 Outlaw/
Sanders
13.34 Talley/ Hannah
12.77 Sipes/ Sipes
12.66 McElroy/
McElroy
11.83 Shannon
11.57 King/
Stamper
11.56 Lindsay/
Lindsay
11.38 Braswell/
Gregory
11.22 Thomas/
Thomas
the tournament trail, the FoodSource
team of McElroy/ McElroy, used
Ozark poles, minnows, blue/chartreuse
jigs and Foodsource to take tops honors with 13.37 pounds along with big
fish at 2.82 pounds.
Second place were Duard
Hullgan and Bud McPherson with
10.92 pounds. They spider rigged,
fishing timber in 6 to 10 foot waters.
They used white jigs on Wally Marshall and BnM poles. Third place with
10.63 was the Road Runner team of
Sipes/ Sipes who used a 1/32-ounce
Road Runner, Triple Fish Line and
BnM Poles in 5 feet of water to take
third place.
Top 10
13.37 McElroy/ McElroy
10.92 Hullgan/ McPherson
10.63 Sipes/ Sipes
9.24 Pope/ Pruitt
Continued on page 23
West Point
Lake,GA Major
Mar 15
The Toyota
West Point Lake
tournament qualified 20 teams out
of 80 anglers.
One of the
hottest teams on
Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 15
2008
16 Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 Florida State Championship
Kid’s Rodeo
Media Event
Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 17
Havin’ A Crappie Time!
by: The Wanderer…James Saunders
Why not do a story about
Crappie hat!
a tournament fishing adventure in
Hunting buddy, Doug
which I was one of the main parMclaughlin, agreed to experience
ticipants?! Since my idea of fishthe thrill of crappie fishing compeing was getting a guide to do the
tition as my partner. The folks at
ground work, then sit back, have
Canyon Bay Boatworks of Plant
a couple beers, and grill or deep
City, FL, had been talking to me
fry the rewards of his efforts, my
about taking one of their boats out
first order of business was to find a for a spin, specifically, the versatile
guide. I called my friend Greg Fi2165 series flats boat in freshwater.
nenco at the Bass Pro Shops in Or- I asked Doug to outfit this flats boat
lando. After talkin’ over fish stuff
for crappie fishing. In tournament
for a while, I agreed with Greg that crappie fishing, you have eight
the best place to learn tournament
lines out at one time in varying
fishing was in freshwater, and, arconfigurations. Hell, I have trouble
guably, the most freshwater fishing keeping one line untangled so I
fun would be fishing for crappie.
definitely needed Doug’s help to
get this done.
Bass Pro Shops sponsors
Crappie Masters, and Crappie
Doug was back retro fitting
Masters’ tournaments started in
the flats boat for the task at hand. It
January, I chose to fish the Florida
was up to me to learn as much as I
leg of the Crappie Masters tournacould about the fine art of tournament trail. This leg would include
ment fishing. Paul Alpers, Presifishing the Lake Harris chain and
dent of Crappie Masters, set me up
Lake Monroe/Lake Jessup in two
with two pros on Media day. Bill
consecutive weekends.
Braswell would be my personal
pro for the first half of the day, and
I knew I needed to learn
something about tournament crapPro Staffer Don Collins for the
pie fishing so I went to the guru
second half. Bill showed me how
of the sport, Mr. Crappie himself,
to do spider rigging or tight lining.
Wally Marshall, for pointers and
This is the technique used during
equipment. Before leaving the Bass this time of year before the spawn.
Pro Shop, I had all the equipment
All eight poles are placed on the
to take on this endeavor. (i.e., eight front of the boat 2 feet apart. This
Wally Marshall rods and reels of
allows me to cover a maximum
varying sizes, a Blakemore 66area of 16 feet. We used a doublepiece kit of assorted lures, 2 spools hook crappie rig with a ½ ounce
of Wally’s line and his Tempress
sinker. As we came down the line,
double down seat.) After talking
we attached a #2 hook and a jig
with The Man and acquiring all
both tipped with minnows. Once
this gear, I felt like I was one with
we discovered where the fish were,
Wally. All I was missing was a Mr. we would mark the spot and begin
18 Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 a slow troll back and forth across
it. (Note: If this mode fails, we
can “long line” for them. With this
method, all eight poles are placed
in the back of boat, and fish with
a jighead tipped with a minnow
about 35 to 40 feet behind the boat.
The depth the jig travels is dictated
by the speed of the troll. The faster
you go the higher the jig will run in
the water. The location and depth
of the fish in the water determine
the speed at which you should
travel and troll.) Don said he liked
using this long line approach when
the fish were spread out and not
schooling. He also taught me the
various set ups and color combinations to use to maximize the success rate. Loaded with this wealth
of knowledge, I headed back to
Doug’s place to debrief him and
formulate a plan.
Doug and I decided we
would use the spider rigging technique on the Lake Harris chain, the
first leg of the Florida qualifiers.
Doug rigged the boat. We were as
ready as we’d ever be.
We spent eight and a half
hours trolling back and forth on
Lake Harris hoping to win a share
of the $12,000 payback, but at the
end of the day we were left empty
handed. We didn’t win the tournament but neither did any of the
other pro teams. Instead a local
man and his son, Robert and Brian
Edmanson of Fruitland, Fl, won the
$5,000 first prize and automatically
qualified for the National Championship in October. With their vic-
Crappie Time Continued
tory, they also stood a good chance
of winning the Classic on these
same waters in October. I found out
that Robert had been fishing these
lakes all his life and knew what it
took to beat the pros. It would have
been great if he’d shared a couple
of his fishing secrets, but he didn’t.
Mighty narrow minded of him, I’d
say! O well, no use crying over lost
fish, it was on to Lake Monroe/
Lake Jessup for the next leg of the
Trail.
We started off jigging
then went to long lining. I found
that jigging was the easiest of all
methods to fish for crappie. We
simply placed a jighead on line
and bounced the jig up and down
around any underwater structures
we believed had crappie lurking
around them. After doing this for
a couple hours, we went to long
lining. Both methods proved effective. We came to the weigh-in with
lots of fish and confident we were
going to win, but we were surprised to find that our catch fell far
short of what was required to win
that day.
I learned a few things from
my tournament experience. First,
you didn’t have to be a pro to be
competitive on the crappie tour. It
didn’t seem to matter much what
kind of boat you fished out of since
most could be outfitted to fish
crappie. There were pontoon boats,
bass boats and every other kind of
boat in between. Second, I realized you didn’t have to have pricey
top-of-the-line fishing equipment to
be competitive. I even saw a man
fishing with eight cane poles and
bobbers. Finally, I found this was a
great experience for anybody who
enjoyed fishing. Men, women, and
children alike could all have a ball
competing in a tournament such
as this and might very well make
some spending money while they
were at it. The cost to participate
was minimal when you considered
the enjoyment and satisfaction of
being out on the water appreciating nature’s beauty while catching
those crappie.
If you’d like to learn more
about crappie fishing, go to any of
these websites: www.bassproshops.
com, www.crappiemasters.net, or
www.mrcrappie.com. For local
information on Florida Crappie
Association, just call Darryl at 352669-0442.
Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 19
20 Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 21
ALL AMERICAN TOURNAMENT TRAIL
CRAPPIE MASTERS
in
e Jo
Com Fishin
The un!
F
2008 Schedule
All O
pe
exce Tournam n
pt F
en
& N l. State ts
ation
C
al C hamp
ham
p
The Guarantee Says It All!
Payback Guarantee
Divisional Tracker Series: $3000.00 Minimum
Major Nitro Series: $12,000.00 Minimum
One Pole Ultimate Challenge: 100% payback under 70 boats
PARTNER 1
ENTRY FORM
MEMBERSHIP FORM
Membership Number (if known):_________________
Name:______________________________________
Address:____________________________________
City:__________________St:_______Zip:_________
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Email:
PARTNER 2
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FEES
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TOTAL:____________________
200.00 Major Tournament per team per tournament
100.00 Divisional Tournament per team per tournament
300.00 Missouri and Mississippi State Championship
325.00 One Pole Ultimate Challenge Truman Lake
10.00 Big Fish Entry per tournament
25.00 Late Fee will be assessed if post marked after 14
days prior to tournament date except the Ultimate Challenge which applies after Oct. 2007 and late fee is 50.00
25.00 Membership
15.00 Youth Membership (16 and under)
40.00 Family Membership
PRINT CLEARLY
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FORM TO:
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Phone: 660-723-1552
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TOURNAMENT LAKE
Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 Type
Lake Talquin
Tallahassee, Florida
Jan 19 Major
Harris Chain of Lake
Tavares, Florida
Jan 26 Major
Monroe-Jessup Lakes
Sanford, Florida
Must Qualify
Logan Martin
Pell City, Alabama
Feb
1-2
Major
State
Champ
Feb 23 Div
Reelfoot Lake
Tiptonville, Tennessee
Mar 1
Major
Ross Barnett
Pearl, Mississippi
Mar 8
Major
West Point Lake
Lagrange, Georgia
Mar
15
Major
Lake Neely Henry
Gadsden, Alabama
Mar
22
Major
John H. Kerr Reservoir,
Clarksville, Virginia
Crappie Tech School Mar
27-28
Mar
29
Major
Apr 5
Major
Grenada Lake
Grenada, Mississippi
Lake Eufaula
Eufaula, Oklahoma
Apr 12 Div
Billy Hall Benefit
Ross Barnett, MS.
Contact MCC 601-624-6348
Apr 12 Benefit
Lake of the Ozarks
Laurie, Missouri
Apr 19 Major
Lake Minnewaska
Glennwood, Minnesota
Apr 26 Major
Lake Shelbyville
Sullivan, IL
Tuttle Creek Reservoir
Manhattan, Kansas
Apr 26 Div
May 3
Div
Lake Wylie
Rockhill, South Carolina
May
10
Div
Kentucky Barkely
Paris, Tennessee
May
17
Major
Truman Lake
Clinton, Missouri
Bucksaw Marina-Resort
May
31Jun 1
Ultimate
Challenge
Lake Rathbun
Centerville, IA
Jun 7
Div
Sardis Lake
Sardis, MS
Mark Twain Lake
Monroe City, Missouri
Jun 14 Div
Jun 28 Major
Truman Lake,
Clinton, Missouri
Open State Championship
Bucksaw Marina-Resort
Aug
2-3
Major
State
Champ
Tunica & Arkabutla
Tunica, Mississippi
Open State Championship
Sep
19-20
Major
State
Champ
NATIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIP
Harris Chain of Lakes
Tavares, FL.
OCT
15-18
Classic
SIGN UP ONLINE or PRINT ENTRY FORM AT WWW.CRAPPIEMASTERS.NET
22 DAT E
Check www.crappiemasters.net
for Definitive 2008 Schedule
Results Continued
9.18 Cannon/ Williams
9.15 Outlaw/ Sanders
9.12 Cantrell/ Huff, Sr.
8.99 Carson/ Harris
8.60 Steed/ Steed
8.48 Brinkely/ Brinkely Jr.
Lake Neely Henry, AL Major Mar 22
Sunshine and warm weather
greeted 120 anglers from 12 states at
Neely Henry in Gadsden, AL. A 3.29
crappie and very close weights topped
the highlights.
First place were Roy Logan
and Wade Hendren, TN, who won
their first major event after several
top finishes in 2007. They weighed 7
fish for a total of 15.19 pounds. They
slow trolled the river at 12 foot using
double-hook minnow rigs on BnM
poles.
Tracy McIntosh and John
Woods had 15.18 pounds, 1/100 out of
first. They jigged structure with a pole
in each hand at depths of 9 to 13 feet
using mid-South Super Jigs that were
a variety of colors mostly black/red
and chartreuse and used BnM poles.
Third was Earl Brink and
David Stancil with 14.70 and big fish
at 3.29 pounds. Stancil hooked the
big fish and played him to the top but
Brink finished the job as the hook
popped out of the fish but only after
Brink had the net under it.
Top 10
15.19 Logan/ Hendren
15.18 Woods/ McIntosh
14.70 Brink/ Stancil
13.98 Capps/ Coleman
13.00 Tinsley/ Gill
12.86 Steed/ Steed
12.68 Clark/ Clark
12.39 Moody/ Blackburn
12.39 Thiel/ Jarrett
12.15 Haley/ Haley
Kerr Buggs, VA Major Mar 29
Bass Pro Shops Crappie Masters All American Trail came to Kerr
Buggs Reservoir for its first tournament on the lake. A $100,000 bonus
was offered for anyone catching a state
record on a Road Runner jig. A total of
88 anglers participated.
Father/ son teams ruled the
top of the leader board with first place
going to pre-tournament favorite, Ellis
Arthur and Paul Arthur with 11.35
pounds. They said they caught the
very inactive fish by staying on top of
them all day fishing 4 to 7 feet deep.
Orange was their best color. They took
$5000 for first.
Second place went to the nationally famous dock shooters, Randy
Pope and Jerry Pruitt with 10.16
pounds. They fish docks in water up to
12 feet deep. They fished both white
and chartreuse Lindy Fuzzy Grubs to
earn $2500.
Third place went to Donald Wall and Bennie Wall with 9.88
pounds. The team slow trolled using a
variety of colors and some home made
pink-black jigs
on BnM poles.
They earned
$1250.00.
Big fish
was won by
Marshall Hancock and Steve
Price with a 2.56
pound slab.
Top 10
11.35 Arthur/
Arthur
10.16 Pope/
Pruitt
9.88 Wall/ Wall
9.66 Jacobs/
Jacobs
9.58 Martin/
Martin
9.49 Duke/
Perry
9.41 Davis/
Davis 9.41
9.22 Brink/
Allen
9.13 Putnam
9.09 Hancock/ Price
who used a 1/32-ounce Road Runner,
Triple Fish Line and BnM Poles in 5
feet of water to take third place.
Top 10
13.37 McElroy/ McElroy
10.92 Hullgan/ McPherson
10.63 Sipes/ Sipes
9.24 Pope/ Pruitt
9.18 Cannon/ Williams
9.15 Outlaw/ Sanders
9.12 Cantrell/ Huff, Sr.
8.99 Carson/ Harris
8.60 Steed/ Steed
8.48 Brinkely/ Brinkely Jr.
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Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 23
24 Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 See the 2008 Bass Pro Shops
Crappie Masters
Kentucky Barkley Tournament
on Revive the Outdoors with
Cody & Cody on the
Sportsman Channel
Check Local Listing Times
Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 25
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The nation’s largest crappie store has a large selection of Wally Marshall, BnM, Grizzly Elite and many
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Creatures.
Rocky Top Tackle & Archery, 660-438-7341
Rocky Top is a full service Archery & Fishing Store that takes special pride in their jigs. Their jigs include: Super Tubes; Super Slabs; and Stingers.
R&V Works 800-908-3037 www.cajunfryer.com
The Cajun Fryer has been a popular item with fishermen on the trail who want to fry the rewards of their
fishing trip. The fryers are versatile, high performance, low maintenance and are unsurpassed in quality. The oil
stays clean and doesn’t scorch so your food tastes better and the oil can be used many times saving you money.
Spike-It www.ispikeit.com
Anglers agree that color is a crucial factor in catching fish. The Color-C-Lector is the answer. Its state of
the art technology, backed by proven research, helps you determine which color will be best seen by fish in all
conditions so you can choose the right color for best results. You’ll catch more fish.
26 Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 G
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Nations Largest Crappie Store
Largest Selection of Wally Mashall and BnM Poles
Grizzly Elite Rods • Shakespeare Trollng Poles • Outlaw Crappie Rods • Ozark
Rods • Southern Pro Crappie Rods • Hi-Tech Crappie Poles • Browning Rods •
St. Clair Rods
Check out our Buy Three Pole Discounts
Minn Kota Trolling Motors • Southern Pro • Mid-South Jig Skirts in • Bobby
Garland • Young Beaver Tail • Slab Buster • Crappie Thunder • Slider • Bass
Assassin • Hand Tied Jigs & more • Martin Auto Reels in Stock #8 & #81
Boat Seats & Marine Hardware
ORDERS CAN
BE PLACED BY
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ON THE WEBSITE
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in the 2008 Catalog
FOR FREE CATALOG
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3 0 3 Wa r d Ave. , CCrappie
a rMasters
u t hMagazine
e r s•vSeptember-December
i l l e, M O.
2008 6 3 8 3 0
27
ANGLER ON TOUR
We are now well into the 2008
tournament season with many of
our events already in the history
books.
It sure was great to head
south to get away from the cold,
windy and rainy weather here in
Kentucky. We arrived at Talquin
Lake only to have cold, windy and
rainy weather for tournament day.
Oh well, at least we were in Florida.
Conditions did improve
as we moved further south for the
Harris Chain and Monroe/Jessup
events. I must admit though I am
very upset with my performance
at the weigh-in during the 2nd
leg of the Florida state championship event on Monroe Lake. I
was caught up in the moment and
entered the weigh-in line with only
six fish. Yes I miscounted, leaving
a 1.25 lb. fish still in the livewell.
And to make matters even worse,
I am standing on stage with Paul
Alpers and Gary Mason and I am
trying to compose my anger at
myself and Paul says; “There’s
Always Tomorrow”. Now he
shouldn’t have said that to a man
who was only a week away from
the birthday that would make him
28 a senior citizen. Here I am in the
doorway of the twilight years of
my life and I realize I have a lot
more “Yesterdays” in my life than I
have “Tomorrows”.
Getting back to the curse
of the missing fish. This all started
two years ago here on Monroe
Lake with the team of Shantz Sr.
and Shantz Jr. After counting 7 fish
at the weigh-in sink the Shantz’s
arrived at the scales with only 6
fish. What happened to the missing fish? Here is what Shantz Jr.
told me, but understand that I have
reasonable doubt about the truth of
this story. As they approached the
scales after having their fish counted one of the fish jumped out of the
basket ‘Unnoticed’ to anyone and
flopped under the stage out of sight
only to be found after the tournament had ended. I think some
people just have trouble admitting
that they have trouble counting up
to seven. I admit that I miscounted
and left a fish in the livewell. I’m
not going to tell anyone that one of
my fish just got up and ran away.
As for me, I promise to use all my
fingers and
toes to keep
track of how
many fish I
have in the
future.
So
far this year
it looks like
Ross Barnett Lake is
the leader in
producing the
biggest crappie on the
Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 tournament trail. Twenty two of
the top twenty three teams had fish
over 2 lbs. at the weigh-in. It’s predicted that Mississippi lakes should
be better this year due to having
more water.
I want to take a moment
and commend Paul Alpers and his
staff on their decision to postpone
the Ross Barnett tournament for
24 hours in favor of better weather
conditions. I know this doesn’t set
very well with some anglers due to
the time frame many anglers allow
for tournament competition. But
as a former wildlife/boating officer
I have seen more than my share
of senseless water related deaths.
Safety must come first. Anyone
that doesn’t take safe boating as a
priority, I don’t want them in my
boat or around me on the water.
Thanks Crappie Masters for taking
angler safety seriously.
See ya on the trail.
Bill Braswell
Bass Pro Shops Pro Staff
Crappie
College
by Tim Huffman
A group of
eager-to-learn crappie fisherman
enjoyed the first Crappie College
held in Clarksville, Virginia. The
two-day school included rapid-fire
information from some of the countries best fishermen and big names
in the sport of crappie fishing.
“The Blakemore Road Runner jig has been a key bait for me
for many years,” says Wally Marshall. “Four years ago the Crappie
Thunder was introduced and has
made a big difference in my fishing. It made me some money at
the Crappie Masters Reelfoot Lake
crappie classic last year with the
big crappie of the tournament.”
School attendees listened as he detailed baits, poles and other important information to catch more fish.
Earl Brink, multiple classic
champion, explained his slow trolling tactics and how he rigs, sets
up and presents bait in deep water.
“By having long 18-foot poles out
each side and the inside poles set
right on the depth where the crappie are located, you can go along
American Angler and Grizzly Jig’s
Wade Mansfield holds his class.
Road Runner team Coy & Gilford Sipes give instructions on technique.
an edge covering the top of the
ledge with one long pole covering
the top of the ledge and the other
side pole covering the deep side of
the drop. You’ll cover all the depths
and immediately know if the fish
change depths.”
Phil and Eva Rambo explained how to use Hydro Glow
fish lights to catch fish at night.
“You can drop the light down to
your favorite brush pile and fish all
night. If you take the family you
can all have fun catching fish. If
they want to take a nap that’s fine
too but if you’re catching fish they
probably won’t.” He also says that
you can use it early in the morning
or late in the afternoon to extend
your fishing hours or just enhance
the darker periods of the day. It
works in the daytime, too.
“You’ll catch more shallow
fish using floats,” says Coy and
Gilford Sipes, national champs.
“We use a 16-foot BnM Capps and
Coleman poles to keep from spooking the crappie. A Slip float without
an upper bobber stop is used for
a strike indicator because shallow
fish can’t go down, they go sideways.” The method is best for fish
5-foot deep or less. A bait he likes
in stained water is the gold blade
Road Runner tipped with a minnow.
Whitey Outlaw says, “A
Minn Kota Autopilot trolling motor is important for fast trolling
because it allows you to get up
and move around the boat without
worry.” His other tools include
BnM Poles and Driftmaster pole
holders. “Long lining is an easy
technique that can done from a
bass boat, pontoon or jon boat. Go
with the wind, pay attention to your
depth and speed and you can catch
fish.”
Steve McElroy agrees.
“You can catch fish long lining
once the temperature hits the 50’s.
You can catch fish deep or as shallow as 2 feet. You’ve got to go fast
in shallow water to keep the jigs up
but it will work.”
Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 29
Crappie College Continued
Wade Mansfield says, “My
advantage in fishing is that I came
from a fishing family, I absorb all
the information I can get and I’m
still young enough that I’m not set
in my ways and will do whatever is
necessary to catch fish. If I have to
shoot docks to catch fish, I’ll leave
my bread and butter vertical trolling and go shoot docks. A lot of
the older fishermen are not willing
to change as much.” He continued
with detailed line tips, bait colors
and secrets that separates the good
If you want a wall-hanger, target
pre-spawn and spawning fish.”
He also detailed a logical plan for
finding fish on your home lake or
when going to a lake for the first
time. The key is to eliminate water
before going to the lake and then
use a systematic approach on the
lake to find a pattern.
“You reap what you sow in
crappie fishing,” says Gary Mason. “The more beds you put out
the more fish you will catch. It’s
a numbers game. If I put out five
beds and wind allows me to fish
three, if I catch three fish from each
bed I end up with 9 fish. If Charlie
can fish five beds he will catch 15
fish. You will catch more fish if you
create more places to fish by placing beds.”
How about a different
outlook toward high visibility line?
Mason uses chartreuse line because
he believes the line gets the attention of the fish so they are more
likely to be looking and see the bait
Bass Pro Shops Mr. Crappie speaks to attendees.
when it comes by. This is especially true when casting.
fishermen from the others.
your fish. There is no better way
The first Crappie College
“I’ve learned that getting
than with a Cajun Cooker. Your fish was a successful, enjoyable event.
your trolling motor, rack placement cooking can be easier, quicker and
Anyone can learn something new.
and seat placement correct is critiyou can save money in the long run The school made available a group
cal and they all must be considered by being able to use your cooking
of crappie experts who brought a
together when setting up,” says Bill oil over and over because it doesn’t wealth of information in a short
Braswell. “The closer to the front
scorch.”
two-day period. All pros agreed
that you can get your racks and
that no matter what your knowl
Tim Huffman says, “One
seats the more fish you will catch
of the keys to catching big crappie
edge level, getting on the water
because trolling motor noise will
is to fish during the right seasons.
is the only way to become a good
be further away from the rod tip.”
Winter months are good for catchfisherman. You will learn more on
Pole management, trolling moing numbers of big fish because
the water from your success and
tor props, control and many other
they hold tight to ledges and cover. failures.
30 tips were given to help enjoy and
enhance your crappie fishing.
Richard Lindsey says, “The
Biosonix unit can help you catch
more fish by exciting the fish. The
unit plays back a recording of shad
being attacked by fish. It is effective on many species.” Lindsey
also explained how the Prop-Lite
unit can help you avoid accidents
by giving a bright brake/tail light
system and giving a 3-dimensional
effect. “Following a successful
fishing trip you’ll need to cook
Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 31
PO Box 989
Lebanon, MO 65536
32 Crappie Masters Magazine • September-December 2008 BP318527