Crappie fishing – Velox Seeker

Outing 27 April 2025…Monster Crappie!

We ended up coming back to this local lake in the evening because we tried to get to it in the morning but there were too many cars. The parking lot is completely underwater due to all of the recent rains as well as debris clogging the overflow pipe. Apparently, maintenance is not a high priority for the local water department.

We had to wade through waist high grass and contend with ticks to fish the shoreline and with the water level being so high, the fish were practically at our feet with almost all bites happening within a foot or two of the shore.

We had caught several smallish bass up to 2 pounds and had lost quite a few more in the hour we fished. Crappie jigs aren’t made for hooking a bass. Since we couldn’t get to our normal Crappie spot or even cast out to it, we just started hunting for them.

As we were about to leave, we decided to fish one more spot and that’s where the Crappie action started. It seemed like an odd place since it was 15 ft from a guy who was fishing and there were two boats being loaded at the makeshift boat ramp.

She was closer to the spot than me and was casting parallel to the shore when I heard her drag start screaming. Due to high weeds and small trees, I couldn’t really see what she was fighting, but I casually told her to tighten her drag a bit figuring it was just another bass. When she saw the fish I heard her yell, “Holy S*&%” and that’s when I reeled in quickly and started heading over to her. Upon her hoisting the Crappie up for me to see…I muttered the same thing in disbelief!

There before me was the biggest Crappie I had ever seen in person. What was more special was that it came from a small local lake and we had no idea they were that big in there. We managed to catch 5 more from that spot and all of them were 12 inches plus, but none as big as the one she caught. All were safely released back into the water to continue on.

True to form…She caught the biggest fish of the outing and a day later, she still has a big grin on her face. She takes her fishing seriously and a photo will be framed and placed on the wall amongst the others.

Update 27 April 2024…

There isn’t much new to report other than we have been chasing Crappie every chance we get. The weather has not cooperated with us too well because we have had wild temperature fluctuations and winds over 15mph with gusts over 40mph pretty consistently for the past month. Either that or its pouring rain.

We have explored some new areas and are excited for their possibilities in the near future. I did pick up a 2022 Shimano Sahara FJ C2000S spinning reel (black handle). This is the first time Shimano has put their cold forged Hagane gear in a reel at this price. Throw in a felt drag washer and this reel is actually quite good. It’s heavy for sure, but for Crappie and Bluegill it can’t be beat. Digitaka has them for around $60.00 with free shipping. I’m not a fan of the High Gear or Extra High Gear models since they tend to have more line issues than I want, but that’s just me.

Now back to Crappie. I’ve never really chased them all that much, but lately I’ve been bitten by the Crappie bug. We have scaled down some of our jigheads and plastic baits and pulled some older USDM rods off the rack to try our hand at catching them. And since we bank fish most of the time, these rods are more durable and a bit heavier and seem to work OK. They are not near as sensitive as our JDM rods, but it’s an acceptable tradeoff. RANT: don’t believe the YouTube marketing hype about “this being the latest, greatest rod” because that whole thing has been beaten to death. I see far too many channels receive a free rod from a manufacturer and they gush all over it and act like they have a sponsor they have to appease. Beware the marketing juggernaut! I have found that by digging into the forums where the old-school fisherman can still be found, you’ll see a different story with real testimonials. I’m referring specifically to a certain “ugly green rod.” But your mileage may vary.

As many of you know, we have a thing for hand crafted lures and we prefer to support craftsmanship like that. Again, over on Etsy, we ran across a Crappie jig maker by the name of Welch Jig Co. And Chris Welch ties some really nice jigs and ships fast. Prices are reasonable and the quality is there to support it.

It’s supposed to storm all weekend and has for the past two days, so we probably won’t be fishing much. I’m sure I can fiddle around in the fishing room and better organize our gear just to occupy my time. It won’t be much longer and we’ll be wading the rivers and we are excited about that. Hope everybody out there is healthy and able to fish. Until then, we’ll catch you on the next one.

Transition Time…

Locally, trout fishing season is over. Most ponds were stocked on Feb 28th for the last time so it’s been slim pickings. And as the title alludes to, we’ve shifted our focus to other species. As we transition from Winter into Spring, a new set of challenges are presented. We didn’t have much of a winter here in Oklahoma, or anything resembling a pattern of stability, sure we had some snow and some cold temperatures, but the weather fluctuated wildly so we had to pick favorable conditions that gave us the advantage.

I think we did pretty well during the Trout season by catching quite a few and we got to test out some new rods and reels as well as tackle. I’m not going to lie, it’s been a rough start to the year from the fact that I’ve managed to break four rods so far. Two were my fault but the other two still baffle me..maybe there were defects, I’m not sure.

As Spring gains momentum, we are grateful to leave the cold behind and the suffering which that entailed. Now we will have to contend with wind and rain. Oklahoma can really test ones patience! As usual we have set our goal for 50 outings and currently I am setting at 25 so I’m not too worried about meeting that goal.

We’ve been hitting various local ponds and lakes to see what was biting and have been pleasantly surprised. Neither one of us are what you’d consider “Crappie specialists” but we’ve done well in locating and catching them consistently. The Largemouth bass are starting to become more active and the various Perch species are beginning to move up into shallower waters. Right or wrong, I refuse to keep spawning fish, especially ones out of highly pressured waters.

We’ve had a lot fun so far in 2024 despite a few setbacks. Flowers are blooming, trees are beginning to leaf out and temperatures are climbing into the 70’s and 80’s here. But looking out the window, I can tell the wind is blowing with gusts into the 30mph range. We have to pick our moments and ride the ride.

See you on the next one…