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Paddling With Madalyn: Life Beyond the Tug By Madalyn Roberts If you hang around crappie anglers long enough and pay attention, you’ll eventually hear folks say catching fish is just a bonus. Then you’ll hear someone say, “The tug is the drug.” For newcomers, that can be a little confusing, so let’s unpack it. The […]

A well-stocked crappie library is as valuable as a full tackle box—timeless lessons that still put fish in the boat.   Crappie Basics: Start a Crappie Library By Keith Sutton Spend enough time chasing crappie, and you’ll learn plenty on the water. But some of the best lessons don’t come from a rod and reel. […]

A careful release starts with keeping fish in the water as much as possible. During hot summer weather, minimizing air exposure can significantly improve a fish’s chances of survival. Photo by Keith Sutton 8 Tips for Warm-Season Fish Care Source: TheWaterWire.com Fishing during the heat of summer means going the extra mile to make sure […]

The exterior of Wonderbird Spirits welcomes visitors to one of America’s only grain-to-glass gin distilleries, where Mississippi Delta rice is transformed into award-winning handcrafted gin. photo by Kyleigh Touro One of a Kind: Discovering the Hidden Gems of Oxford, Mississippi By Kyleigh Touro When people think of Oxford, Mississippi, they often picture the historic Square, […]

Berkley Drip Swimmer Berkley has your trailer of choice with their Drip Swimmer. The 3-inch version is perfect for crappie anglers who go drop shotting, swim shotting, strolling, casting on jig heads or who use them as a trailer on other baits. Leave the minnows behind and grab these ultra-realistic plastic minnows in 14 fish-catching [...]

Paddlin’ with Madalyn—Step One: Kayak Launch Photos and Story By Madalyn Roberts Kayak launch and loading is an aspect of kayak fishing that doesn’t seem to get the attention it deserves. Advances in technology and equipment in recent years mean each angler’s rig is unique. The one commonality, however, is that most kayaks are made […]

Right in the strike zone—this crappie couldn’t resist a weedless slider slipped through heavy cover. Crappie Basics: Slider Time By Keith Sutton Catching crappie in the latter weeks of spring isn’t always easy. When the water warms, they slide into the thickest cover they can find—brushpiles, laydowns, stump fields and shoreline weeds. That’s great for […]

Using lively minnows can mean the difference between catching lots of nice slabs or none. Keeping Minnows Alive and Lively Story and photos by Keith Sutton Minnows are the best natural baits for crappie. No other offering can tempt slabs more consistently than a lively baitfish struggling on the hook. But there’s a catch: dead […]

Paddlin’ with Madalyn—The Importance of Using a Kayak Safety Checklist Photos and Story By Madalyn Roberts I’ve been crappie fishing out of my NuCanoe Frontier 12 kayak for several seasons now, and while I wish I could proclaim every trip out on the water goes off without a hitch, that would be a far cry […]

A quick trip before work turned unforgettable when Jesse Miller landed this massive 4.27-pound hybrid crappie from Ohio’s Great Miami River. (courtesy of Jesse Miller) Ohio Angler Lands Record Hybrid Crappie By Keith Sutton What started as a quick fishing trip before work turned into a catch that has rewritten Ohio’s record books. On April […]

Right where it belongs—proof that a Road Runner, fished slow or worked just right, is hard for any crappie to resist. (Photo by Keith Sutton) Crappie Basics: Fishing a Road Runner By Keith Sutton Bert Hall, the Missouri Ozarks stream fisherman who invented the Blakemore Road Runner spinner, also crafted the wise slogan, “You can’t […]

Dale Hollow guide Corey Thomas finds crappie in submerged trees and brushpiles. He stays back from the cover, uses a lightweight hair jig and lets the jig fall to just above the cover before starting his slow retrieve. He says it can be a year-round tactic by concentrating on cover at the right depth for […]