catching crappie

[jack]

crappie, Pomoxis sp., is a plentiful sunfish here in the southeast. they will bite year round although most fisherman go after them in the spring when the dogwoods bloom. as a rule of thumb, most people use a long "crappie pole" baited with small minnows on a #1 gold hook. crappie are predators who prefer small minnows although i have caught some with spiders, dragon fly nymphs, or even snails in their stomachs. this year i have adopted a new method. i started tying flies last year and tried to tie a clouser minnow. i thought, fly rod, clouser equals crappie. was this possible? well, i've got to tell ya'll it worked. yesterday, about 6pm, the water was popping with fish. i tried the clouser and it managed to find 30 crappie (limit). my used clouser will have to be retired. he's losing a lot of hair.

jack

[ELHead]

Where you fishin in Bama, Jack? Or are you keepin secrets?

[jack]

hey, elhead,
i'm down here in the middle part. you know what they say, "when the dogwoods bloom..........
whatcha catching up north (which is to say north alabama)?
jack

[FishnDave]

That's awesome, Jack!
What size hook, hair color, and what did you use for the weight/eyes?

[ELHead]

Ain't catchin much up here on the fly yet. White and yellow bass should be runnin pretty soon though. Got to get over some of this rain and warm the water a little too.
Souds like you're doin good. David

[jack]

hey, fishndave,

i'm not a expert yet on this tying stuff but i'll try to tell you what i used on my first clousers. i started with a #1 eagle claw aberdeen 202a-1. then mounted a mini dumbbell eye. laid down some white bucktail over the eye. chartreuse bucktail on the other side.
the last touch was a swabing of wetnwild fingernail polish #460d which kinda looks like liquid glitter. hope this helps.

jack

[FishnDave]

It definitely helps...Thanks Jack!