MrFrost

That is definitly colder than I thought it got down there, but the fact that you can remember the one time it was below zero overnight means you have better winters than me, lol. The minute I can move south, I am out of the midwest, lol. I have thought about ice fishing, but I need to try it before fully committing. This was my first summer fishing, and also my first fall living with RA in my hands, and when the temps here dropped to the low 50's, I experienced just how hard it is to try tieing on a different lure or setup. Took me an emberassingly long time to make a simple lure switch. Trying to tie a knot I've tied probably hundreds of times in the last few months, took me enough tries that I actually had to take a break from trying for five minutes before being able to complete it. I will have to keep those hand warmers handy and see if they provide much relief.

I'm guessing your winter is better than my winter, lol. Around here it's called ice fishing, lol.

Thank you! Yeah, I definitely asked for the smaller minnows, but they still seemed a little big. Will check out a mom and pops shop local to me and see if they have a better selection of minnows.

I find the BPS Carbonlite 2.0's to be a bit stiff, but for this application that is not a bad thing, so I would agree with ratherbfishin1.

Thank you both! I currently have 6lb test...but once I need new line, I will go down to 4lb for sure. I will also pick up some of those Bobby Garland Baby Shad!

Ok, I know there have been a couple recent topics focused on Crappies, but I didn't want to hijack anyone else's discussion for my beginner level questions, lol. I know that often times, bank fishing for Crappies is not the most recommended, but the river (Fox River, in Elgin IL) where I am attempting to target them, people seem to have great success doing so from the bank. I have attempted one time, and aside from losing my live minnows several times, did not manage to land anything. I rigged my Crappie rod the way a buddy of mine instructed me to do so, but I don't have much confidence in that method after my failed attempt. He told me to first put a bobber stop on my line, then a slip bobber. Then he said to tie on a barrel swivel, with about two feet of line to a small hook. He said once that was tied on, to put a split shot above the barrel swivel as well as down near the hook. I tied everything up just as instructed, but what kept happening, was the slip bobber would spin and so would the line below the barrel swivel and they'd wrap around each other. This happen on most of my casts, regardless of how hard I was casting. Normally, I would just chalk up being skunked to not finding any fish, but several guys fishing next to me were catching a godo amount of Crappie. One finally told me to get rid of the setup I had and just tie on a small jig, and said they were all catching them on green plastics. I tried that aswell, but by the time I gave up on my live bait, even they stopped catching fish, so I called it a day. I have a lake near me (Busse Lake - South Pool), that is often very pressured, but people do catch Crappie, so I am thinking about trying there, and would love to use live bait, as in my head, I was going to be the Crappie Killer with live minnows, so obviously I had to go out and buy a Frabill Bait Station, lol, and now I'd like to justify that, however, if jigs and plastics are more recommended, I will definitely go with that, as I just want to put some good fish on the table! That brings me to my question, is the setup my buddy recommended ideal or is there a better or just different method that would potentialy eliminate the twisting and tangling I experienced? The split shots were recommended to help get the minnow lower in the water column. I am sure to some, this is beyond basic, but I picked up my first rod in June, so I have been trying to take in as much as I can as quickly as possible! I appreciate any help or suggestions! Thanks!

I'd assume carp. The one time I believe I was hooked into one on my light setup (6lb mono) he broke me off like it was nothing. Mine surfaced, hence me assuming it was a carp that broke me off, but even then he didn't appear to be worried and I over adjusted my drag and snap.

I'm over in the NW Burbs, but my best advice would be to fish for awhile and get a good feel for what method of fishing you like to do the most and invest in that. And then as budget allows keep investing in the methods you enjoy the most and you find catch you the most fish.

Nice! I have finally got my crappie setup completed, now I just need to find them and catch them! Lol. I've never caught crappie, and my intent would be food for the table, so your comment about water temp and firmer meat actually makes sense. I never thought about that.

I'm going to be the odd one out here, but I like using a Medium/Fast rod for my topwater baits.

This topic is one of the biggest reasons I am glad I found this place and YouTube before completely diving head first into the fishing hobby. It prevented me from buying something off name brand alone, and the result after five months of fishing now under my belt, is an accumulation of six rods and six reels that all have a purpose, and are all enjoyable to use, and don't leave me feeling like I am missing out. OSome are budget friendly, and some are most costly. One day, I would love to have a couple nice St Croix Legen Xtreme's paired with some a couple high end reels, one for texas rigging, and one for cranking, as those are my two favorite ways to fish thus far. Texas rigging in ponds for lmb's and cranking in rivers for smb's.

The discount is only good on house brand merchandise. Otherwise, it's almost not even worth the trouble, definitely not worth the risk.

Crankbaits in the ever rising Fox River. The pond bite has been terrible for me. Top water hasn't produced at my local ponds in months. Even Texas Rigged plastics aren't getting bit at my regular ponds. That's why I've targeted smallies on the river, and crappies/white bass. Having more luck with little white bass than anything right now with the current water levels. Going to switch it up and try some live minnows for the first time ever and see what I come up with. Will try to hit the South Elgin Dam, Elgin Dam, and Algonquin Dam. Been told live minnows are good for Walleye, especially in South Elgin, so that's going to be what I'm after. I'd love to get on some crappies if the Walleye aren't biting.

Hahaha, I have found that either near dams, or where there is slack water near flowing water to be most productive.

I wasn't either. I had a buddy pushing me, and I finally gave in, tied on a crank and threw it for the first time. Took about an hour, figuring out the best retrieve speed and the right diving depth, and next thing you know I was catching 'em on a crank. Only reason I won't be hitting the river today, is because of all the rain, it's up probably five feet and the current is ridiculous. The current alone was pulling drag on me, lol. But I am addicted to river fishing now.

Do you have any rivers near you? I know that I am doing well with cranks right now fishing a river near me. Like some have mentioned, the side to side motion is what I like best about the Cabela's "Dig It" shallow diver. Orange is the hot color, at least by me right now. I have yet to throw any cranks at my local pond/lake due to the grass/weeds/pads still being too thick, but it getting closer to when that should all start clearing up.

I believe it's diving depth may be the determining factor.

You could hit the DuPage River, a small lake, and even smaller pond within feet of each other if you go here in Carol Stream...

I have to second this. I live near the Fox River, and the largemouth pond fishing has been so tough in the burbs of Chicago lately, I decided to hit the river. Glad I did. Caught my first couple smallmouth ever (only been fishing since June) and I think I will be fishing the river more.

Until this past weekend, I was in the same mindset as you. Go all casting setups. I'm new to fishing, so I never got a spinning setup. Just went right to baitcasters. Well, that's changed now, lol. Went on a family vacation and my son and I didn't have room for our fishing gear. We figured we'd each buy a two piece spinning set up cheap at Wal-Mart. Just for the weekend. Fast forward, and I found myself in love with my cheap, $20 Shakespeare Cirrus spinning rod (Medium) and reel. Gave me a whole new love for Texas Rigging. It's now my T-Rig setup, lol. Different tools for different jobs.

Recently saw an ad in an outdoor magazine for this hollow body frog. Their website only has one review, and I did a search here but only found a few mentions by people who bought it, but didn't notice any actual reviews. I currently have preference towards Live Target, because in my opinion, I prefer the action and weight/size of the lure. But this is similar in weight, slightly smaller in size though. But their marketing certainly has me intrigued. It's only $10, but I thought it would be worth it to ask here before ordering one. Freddy B - Livingston Lures

I have wanted to put a Yak in here since I started fishing in May, but there are signs basically prohibiting entering the water at all. No swimming, wading, boating of any kind. Ha ha ha, the sign definitely doesn't say no duck rafts, lol. Unfortunately, contour maps show it to get to 10 feet. One big drop off goes as deep as 20 feet.

I'm wondering the same thing...if the fish are dying, where are the carcasses, because I haven't seen a single one. This body of water has been taken over by grass and pads, but that's what made the fishing so good, so I'm wondering if they did only spray what they could reach from the bank, are the fish actually all stacked up in the center? Unfortunately, this pond does not allow boats of any kind, even un powered, so I can't get to the center even if I wanted to.

The theory on the water I'm talking about, is that the fish are all stacked up in the center, as the center is literally almost half pads also, but none of them are brown or shriveling, which leads me to believe they sprayed from the bank. The south half of the pond is in a townhome subdivision with the HOA, and the north side is in a subdivision without an HOA, so I am going to check that side to see if there is any signs of pad death also. Maybe this will drive the fish to one side? This is exactly what I am experiencing. Time to find a new honey hole!

I am thinking you may be right. At first I was bothered, but that just means I need to find a new spot to call "home." May not be as conveniant, but change is usually good. And thank you!