Fishing Through Life

I just got back yesterday from the best crappie fishing trip I have ever been on. My brother and I fished the better part of three days on Legion Lake in the Northwest section of Mississippi. The heat and humidity was a big factor in keeping us off the water for the better part of all three days we fished but we still managed to land some awesome crappie spider fishing. Yes, I said spider fishing, which is something I had never done and found out that if you want to cover a lot of water and catch a lot of fish this is the ticket. For those of you who don’t know what I am talking about, here is the scoop. First of all, you need to either make or buy four-pole stands that will handle at least 8 crappie poles, ranging in length from 9 to 11 ft. We used six 11 footers and two 9 footers. All the rods need to be spooled with 4 to 6 lb test line and have a good drag system. Four rods need to be positioned at the front of the boat and four rods at the rear of the boat: covering different points in the water, in other words, you don’t want to be fishing the same areas as your buddy in the front of the boat. This arrangement will ensure you cover the maximum amount of water and both individuals catch fish. Jigs are as important as the rods because you are trying to attract the attention of the fish and once you get the attention you use the crappie nibblet to entice the hit. Some fishermen like to use minnows which are fine but the nibblets are much faster and you don’t have to worry about keeping the minnow alive. Having a good depth finder is a must, because you are constantly watching the depth finder to see what depth the fish are feeding. All the fish we landed were caught in water 11 ft. and deeper. You are always checking to see if your tube jig is at least 2 ft. above the crappie, because crappie feed looking up. An absolute must is to have the lure tipped with a crappie nibblet, because most of the time you will never get the hit without the nibblet.
I guess the one thing that got my attention about spider fishing aside from the amount of fish you catch and lose is the leisurely way you do it. You are not casting, but merely sitting and watching the tips of the rods for a hit. Sometimes it can be a very light tip of the rod and other times the entire tip of the rod goes underwater. Of course, when this happens you set the hook and play the fish down with the long rod. It kind of reminds me of landing a fish with a long fly rod. I was really looking forward to this trip and my brother Bobby really showed me the ropes when it comes to this type of fishing. He had been telling me about him and his fishing buddy Joe catching numbers of crappie spider fishing over the past weeks and I am glad I got to see it first hand. I can't close without mentioning my sister-in-law's Mamie's chicken and dumplings, which was delicious, and of course as always the buffet food. Both made the trip.

The unique thing about this boat is the versatility---it is equipped with the crappie stands and bluegill pole stands to fish on the bottom with live bait. Notice the long rods extending from the stands.

Nice slab under the umbrella, that sun is a killer without the shade of the umbrella

Watching those rods and waiting for that hit!!!

One of three groups we landed and dressed for a huge fish fry later in the fall.

One of the many nooks we fished, the water was super clear and the surface temp was at 90

The crappie is one colorful fish, some are darker than others

We used a variety of jigs to land all the fish we kept. The tube jig was the main lure, in different color patterns. The brighter the colors the better attraction.

Another group fresh out of the ice chest, with the fillet knives ready. Expect to lose as many fish as you catch, why because of the hook set. You lose a lot of the fish that is hooked on the side of the month which is a paper-thin membrane. The top part of the mouth is the perfect hook set, which is the toughest part of the crappie's mouth.

Nice female taken from a creek channel, landing a fish like this on the long crappie pole is a blast.

The top photo of the underspin reel and the long rod is ideal for this type of fishing. Also pictured is one of the micro-lights we use in the spring and fall with curly tail jigs. Just another way to catch this awesome fish.

I just had to show you some of the cattails on this lake, they were in full form. We ended the trips cleaning over 45 slabs for the big fish fry. Sorry for some of the blurred images, I am still getting used to my new camera, my last one got dumped in the Sipsey River the other day trout fishing below the dam.

As I looked out across the misty covered waters of the Sipsey Fork River Saturday morning with my son-in-law, something told me it was going to be a good outing. I was right because my son-in-law had landed 6 rainbows in the first hour. I had landed one nice bow on the 3 wt. Why was I trailing, well my son-in-law was standing in front of a honey hole where the trout was feeding in a run on what we call tiny gnats, that was floating leisurely by. The ticket was the number 16 gnat, which I had success on the past week. So I would say the morning was eventful to say the least, notice I used the word eventful, because it was for me. I experienced what I have read about when someone slips and losses their footing while wading. That happened to me about two hours into the trip and it ended the trip for my son-in-law and me after I made it to the bank. I learned a valuable lesson in that I will never wade in water again waist deep trying to keep my balance without a wading staff. I knew better to try the wade I did but I wanted to get to those trout rising on the far bank from me, and I paid dearly for it. After peeling off the waders I discovered I had as much as a quart of water in the foot sections of my waders. When you slip once and go down, there is always a possibility you go down again, and again, and that is exactly what happened to me. So with all that said, I am making the case for a wading staff in my hand the next time I am on the Sipsey.