Crappies without technology?

[Lunker]

So I'm a pretty avid ice angler, yet I'm not at the postion to buy a vexilar, I dont have enough$$. Is there any way besides luck that a guy like me could catch crappies without a vex? I know they suspend and stuff so I would think it would be impossible. Any advice?

[Pig_sticka]

i have never had a vex until this year, all the other years i have done great for crappies without it. i usually fish the bottom for them if i dont have a vex, sometimes fool around with different depths. some lakes are 3",6" or a foot off the bottom usually. otherwise talk to others out there that do have vex's. they will help you out on where the main suspended fish come thru. you can find cheap vex's for about 150-175 that isn't too bad.

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Good Luck Catchin Dos PigZ!

[waterwolff]

The way my grandpa taught me was start a arm length off the bottom and go lower until you find fish

[LuckyFish]

The way I used to do it before I got my 1st flasher,was to use the "bottom rule". Since
you can fish 2 lines I put one a foot off bottom, and I would take the other and start 5' down and lower a foot every 10 minutes till I hit the level the fish were at. This of course only works if you are over fish, so I was stuck fishing around other anglers most of the time(this can be both good and bad at the same time).

[crappie todd]

Crappies always feed up. One thing the Vex teaches you is that even if the fish are over 30 feet of water, they will run up to a slowly falling bait. I have had them run to 10 feet under the ice. the rule of three arm lengths over 30 feet of water will still pretty much apply. Just dropping a bait into the zone and giving it a minute. that is drop 10 feet.fish the bait..... drop 5-10 feet. fish the bait.....
Now it depends on what that "bait" is. Amazing what some lakes will not give up many fish to a minnow but with a jig you can pound em pretty good. Time of day, weather conditions......
But no, you do not need a vex. Just find out from other fisherman what depth they are at...... get rid of the bobber and jig fish the "zone" You will get fish.

[almosthaddabite]

You want to find one of the deepest holes in the lake if not the deepest and start 6-10 feet off the bottom. Fish will come up to the bait before they will go down. Remember as the winter progresses the O2 supply falls off and this will cause the crappies to suspend a bit higher. Normally you can see where fishing activity has been and start there at that 6-10 foot range.

I am the only one of my fishing buddies without a Vex, and they haven't proved to me that I need one.

Keep a fishing log and become a student of fishing. You will soon see, "You don't need no stinking Vex".

[Cyberfish]

Hey, no one needs a vex, but they sure are fun to fish with!

Set the Hook!

Cyb ><}}}}}("< ><!>

[Deitz Dittrich]

I think the most important piece of advise given thus far is this. "Crappie do feed up.", If I would ever go fishing without my vex(and let me state I hope that never happens), I would error on the shallow side and work my way down the water columb. Rather than start at the bottom and work my way up.

I would also always start with an aggressive bait, like a jig tipped with a wax worm or eurolarvae first to see if you could get some aggressivbe biters first. Using 2 poles you will be able to eliminate water faster also.

Good luck!

[Surface Tension]

Yes better to be set to high then to deep.
Long before sounders came along we always used the 2/3 rule. So as an example. If your in 30 ft of water, fish 20 ft down.

[Guest]

yes, i would definetly suspend a minnow up off the bottom,they do feed up

[Guest]

My rule is no matter what depth your in, fish the lower 1/2 of the water column first, starting at or just above mid point.

12'-then start at 6 or 4'
30'-then 15 or 10'
You get the idea. During low light periods often the upper half is more productive for crappies.

Second is work a 2 stage system.

One rod rig up an active flash spoon like a Angel Eye tipped with whatever turns you on.

The other rod a dead stick rigged with a plain hook, or a glow demon and a minnow.

I like to run the dead stick about 2' under the active jig and just far enough away to keep from tangling with the jig. Work the two up and down the water column tell you pick up a fish, simple as that.

In clear water lakes this works just as well for walleye as they will often decoy up a long ways to check out movement. I have seen walleye and perch come up 20' and check out a spoon or a Chubby Darter, then go for the easy meal off to the side if they are not too cranked up.

As Toad would say, it is the Judas principal.

------------------
Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson..><sUMo>

Backwater Guiding
"Ed on the RED"
(701)-281-2300

[email protected]

http://ed-carlson.fishingbuddy.com

[Guest]

Backwater has the ticket usually thats what I will do. Dead stick with one and pound with the other. They will come from yards away to check it out so they will come up a few feet aswell. Just remember theres alot of water for them to see or feel a little minnow so make sure your jigging something with flash to get them in. The other night caught all my fish on dead stick while I was pounding a spoon, when stop pounding no bites. Other nights get them all on spoons.

I would not think of fishing without a VEX now that I have had one so save up your change and maybe buy a used one FL8 will do just fine and should be able to find one since the diehards are going to the FL18 YOU WONT BE DISSAPPOINTED WITH THE PURCHASE

[Lunker]

Thanks guys, I'll try those tips out. Best lures/baits?

[Ice Hole]

Vex too expensive? I would suggest wearing a mask to your local sporting goods store and try making a mad dash out the door with one!! haha! On a more serious note, I think fishin without a vex for crappies is a waste of time...stick with tip-ups or something

[Guest]

It might seem like it...But....

I own a Vex...I swear by the thing. Greatest tool for fishing since the hook was invented. However, at certain times it might just be a disouraging tool.

Lets say we all take our Vex out to the local Crappie hot spot. It's 29 feet deep, and our Vex shows Crappies down 21-24 feet, and we are catching them like mad dogs...The size is 10".

The guy over in the white and blue house has no Vex, doesn't see the suspended fish, and is fishing 1' off the bottom with a bobber. When he emerges from his house for the day in his bucket he has 15 Crappies that go 12-14", and 4 Walleyes weighing about 2 lbs a piece.

My bucket and everyone else's contains 15 Crappies, going 10" and 3 Sunnies going 8"....But we caught more overall... .....

Is it quality??? Or is it about quantity? Do you folks see my point? And please remember, I did say "AT CERTAIN TIMES". Which may not be very often, or could be more then us Vex users know about...

Always liked opening a can of worms ..(not as tasty as a can of pringles though)

PCG

[This message has been edited by Pro Crappie Guide (edited 12-26-2002).]

[Swill]

waste of time...come on...it's not that bad

I don't have one but I do have everything else and if you have a good portable icehouse with a good quality auger you can cover a lot of water to find those crappies.

If you don't have a vex then study up. Get a good lake map and use this forum!!! I was just out last week and I did not have a vex. I ended up catching a lot of crappies during the day and the key was I fished each hole for only 10 minutes with eurolarve until something hit.

Good fishing...Swill

[Crawlerman]

Better idea: Raid garage sales and Flea markets and get an OLDER mono flasher for cheap! Save that $295 for something else! I got one at a garage sale-- it's a little touchy... but it works! And the things over 20 years old! I've seen a little newer ones as well; from the 80's; packaged in metal cases that fold up into it as well.

[Ferny]

Sounds like Almosthadabite has Vexilar envy :-)
One thing I've had good luck with is to use a glow lure even in the day. You can see fish come up 5+ feet sometimes (on the Vex) to sniff and hopefully you can get them to bite. With a flasher it's nice to know when to work your lure with a fish audience. I've also seen many times when you have to pry them off the bottom. Without a flasher keep adjusting until you find them.

Good Luck,

Ferny

[Guest]

May I add....

At times, even if I knew the fish were at say...20 feet, and I was set down 18 feet I still wouldn't have caught any without my FL-8.

The reason is, when they sucked in the bait there was no detection on my end what so ever. I set the hook based on when the signals came together on the flasher.

Also, sometimes the only way to get fish to bite is to stay at least 5 feet above them, and as they run for the lure, slowly pull it away from them to make them chase the bait further. How would I know when they are coming without my little "TV"????

PCG

[Guest]

Beg, borrow and/or steal to get yourself a Vexilar!