Gangly

I went out hunting for big bertha but it simply wasnt happening once I arrived at my little honey hole. I only wanted to fish for 2 hours and after the first hour passed with nothing to show for it but a 3 lb'r, I was bummed. Luckily, I brought my sons fishing rod with me if I decided to try using live bait for bass, in which case I would use his rod to catch the live bait.

I toss the plastic lure in the water and before I knew what was happening I had a 13 inch crappie tugging hard. 6 casts and 6 crappie later I was having a blast. I fished for another 30 minutes landing countless crappie, and called it a day. I totaled 11 crappie over 12 inches in about 45 minutes with the largest being a hair shy of 14. I can't even count how many smaller ones I hauled in. I was a GREAT day fishing and dinner last night was fantastic: Fried Crappie, Fried Shrimp, Cocktail and Remoulade Sauce, Corn Cob, and Maccaroni (for the kids)

Chuck7

Awesome man...glad you had such a wonderful time...AND a 3 pounder is nothing to get bummed about..A 3 pounder is a heck of a nice fish..They are tough fighters and can easilly snap mon if not played correctly.

Good meals in store..IF you soak them in butter milk..{ -; This will firm the texture of the meat really well.

God bless,
C7

Gangly

Yeah, its great meat, but it can come out mushy if its not soaked. I soaked it in regular milk for about an hour before cooking and it wasnt long enough (usually like to soak it for 8 hours or overnight). The taste was wonderful though as usual.

Chuck7

I generallt soak them all night in butter milk..got the recipe from a die hard New York fishermen and they proved to be just the ticket..

Then at supper time I get out a big black iron skillet

I fill it up about 1/3 way with PEANUT OIL.{ get's fish brown quick without scorching}

Then in a bowl I mix 2/3 flour with 1/3 yellow corn meal..lots of salt and pepper and paperica for color.
Now lightly flour fillets{ Flour only at this time}..dredge in milk and egg solution
{ 2 eggs and about a 1/4 cup of milk}
THEN coat fillets in the corn meal mixture.

When oil is popping hot..carefully place fillets in oil until golden brown on both sides..

yes sir..good stuff.

Gangly

Also, I usually use a rebel minnow and a strike king bitsy crank for crappie and perch, but I tried out a new plastic lure and have had great success with it lately, not just yesterday. Its a straight tail 2" lure. The tail has TONS of action and I have been basically doing an ultra slow steady retrieve (1 turn ever 5-7 seconds) with constant little shakes of the rod tip.

Favorite color so far is the Electric Chicken

Chuck7

Hey ..it's working..I'd keep doing it..

Like my black trick worm..I get tempted to put a Culpret Black on but I won't ,The trick worm action is incredible on the drop..It actually darts and looks like a real worm.It doesn't go straight down as most would think..it goes off on a 45 degree angle wiggling very slowly..As I lift, if I feel any resistant.it's proven 100 % of the time to be a fish..I then quicky reel down toward the water and set the hook as if the fish is 5 pounds..This worked 19/24 times Sat...If I set lighter..the fish is off..if I try to cross her eyes I pull it out of her mouth,,I also like the rod I use..I do better with some rods than others ..that's for sure.my favorite is the 7 foot Fenwick Legend Triggerstick..cost me 5.00 at a yardsale..nw is 80.00.The handle was to long for my likings so I cut off 2 inches and sanded the fat cork handle to comfortably fit my hand..It's my best rod ..I have a President Pfluger on it..they don't cast worth a nickel but their teflon drag makes them nice flipping or pitching.

Gangly

Well, not enough is said about having the right equipment and lure, and without those properly matched you can turn a potentially good day of fishing into garbage. I firmly believe in matching my equipment to my quarry and I do so fanatically. Like you mentioned, you have to find that rod/reel/lure combo that best suits your fishing style and tactics. Once you do, you'll be rewarding yourself with fish in the boat. A fish hooked but not landed is no better than snagging an underwater tree limb: the end result is one re-tied hook and multiple muttered adjectives.

Chuck7

Amen ..and last year I ws looking for a 7 foot MH spinning rod.I found one at Sports Authority made in AL called a Hurrican redbone..80.00 proved to be an 80 piece of garbage..The rod is too heavy and to sloppy..zero sensitivity..I tried it last week and went 0 /5 using a jig..It's now set aside as a cat fish rod or Good Will..totaly useless..so just because an item cost 100.00 doesnt' mean it good stuff.and just becasue a rod can be found at a garage sale doesn't mean it's junk..

you are right..one must be confident in his equipment and lure ..that helps a ton

m.t.hands

wow great day and great eating

is that a Bobby Garland bait????

take care man, and keep catchin'em

Phil from Maine

Congrats, I am glad to see you had a great day out there..