Jim Bates bought over $1,000 worth of lures when he got into crappie fishing. Now he just has to decide which one to use on his next crappie trip. (Photo: Keith Lusher)
Inside the Mind of a Crappieholic
by Keith Lusher
As fisherman, we all have our own little idiosyncrasies. Even the best of us fall victim to OCD, paranoia, and overthinking every once in a while. There is a certain breed of angler, however, that has been known to take things even farther to the extreme.
They’re often referred to as Crappieholics, and throughout my years of fishing alongside these peculiar specimens, I’ve had the opportunity to converse with them in hopes of understanding why they think like they do.
Growing up in Chalmette, LA, Jim Bates was surrounded by saltwater, so it’s no surprise to hear that speckled trout, redfish, and flounder were the three types of fish that filled his freezer. After Hurricane Katrina blew through in 2005, Bates and his wife were forced to move to Lacombe, LA, on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.
Bates was invited along on a freshwater fishing trip and that’s all it took for him to fall in love with jigging for sac-a-lait. The rejuvenated fisherman proceeded to buy everything and anything with the word “crappie” printed on it including live-imaging sonar, more than $1,000 worth of baits, and subscriptions to all of the crappie fishing magazines and websites.
Within a few months the 66-year-old was up to par and he was catching between 20-30 fish each trip.
“I stared at that LiveScope so much I could see it in my dreams,” he said.
Unfortunately, Bates isn’t speaking figuratively.
“In my dream I am looking at my 10-inch Garmin screen that is set to emerald green. I am standing on the front deck of my bass boat watching my jig flutter down. Then I see this huge sac-a-lait turn upward toward my falling jig and when it inhales the lure, I jerk my right arm to try and set the hook,” Bates said.
It’s been over a year now since he started having the dreams and said it’s the same dream every time. Unfortunately for Bates, the results are the same as well.
“The last time I tried setting the hook in my sleep I woke up my bride,” said Bates. “She asked if I was alright and I said ‘yep…but I missed him again!”
John Guillot of Kiln, MS doesn’t take full responsibility for being a Crappieholic. He passes the blame off to his father who was a crappie guide on Toledo Bend. Guillot admittedly has more than $10,000 worth of sac-a-lait lures hanging from the wall of his shop. He said it stems from the fear of not having the right jig when he needs it.
That day I spotted cows grazing all over the place. More than I’ve ever seen in those fields. Well, my adrenaline started to kick in and I swear I remember my right arm twitching I got so excited! ~ Ray Miller, Admitted Crappieholic
But in addition to his paranoia, Guillot has developed a habit that originated from a saltwater fishing trip he made back in the 80’s to Hopedale, La. Guillot said the water was as clear as “water in a bath tub.”
“We slaughtered speckled trout on that winter trip,” Guillot said. “I still remember what I was using: a clear sparkle beetle on a 1/4oz homemade jig head with (red) Cajun Line.”
Guillot’s hook-up rate was three times the rate of the other people on the boat.
“It was my first time using the red Cajun Line. We swapped rods trying to figure out what was different and everyone that used my pole caught fish,” Guillot said.
Today, Guillot uses Mr. Crappie Camo line because it’s variegated and he believes the different color sections of blue, clear, yellow, and red break up the pattern of the fishing line making it less visible.
However, there’s something in him that can’t let go of that speckled trout trip that happened more than 40 years ago.
“When I put a new jig on, I can’t bear to tie it on the clear or the yellow sections so I’ll cut those colors off to get to the red section,” Gulliot said. “Even if I have to cut off a couple feet of perfectly good line to get to the red section, it’s all in the name of catching more crappie!”
They say if something is repeated often enough, it becomes fact in most peoples’ minds. Growing up, Ray Miller of Madisonville LA heard his elders say, “when you see the cows active and eating, the fish are biting.”
As Miller grew up, the theory seemed to prove correct as he had success on the same days that he would see the cows active at the farm. As the theory slowly became fact in the eyes of Miller, he came upon a day where he finally was able to put any doubts to rest.
“It was a weekday and I was heading across to New Orleans for a business meeting. On my way to work there were some cow pastures. Well, that day I spotted cows grazing all over the place. More than I’ve ever seen in those fields. Well, my adrenaline started to kick in and I swear I remember my right arm twitching,” Miller said.
After he finished up with the meeting in the afternoon he raced home.
“On my way back home, I noticed that all the flags on the Causeway (Bridge over Lake Pontchartrain) had shifted from blowing out of the south, to blowing out of the north,” he said. Miller then proceeded to call his wife and inform her that he would be late for supper.
“She asked why and I told her that the wind just started coming out of the north which meant the water would be flowing out of the marsh — and the cows are up and eating.”
With only two hours of daylight left, Miller hooked up his boat and launched at Bedico Creek.
“I was still wearing my suit, minus the jacket and caught 45 sac-a-lait on a tiny tube jig under a cork,” he said.
Whether it’s using red line, setting the hook in your dreams, or using the cows to tell you when to fish, one thing is for sure when it comes to Crappieholics. The end – a box full of crappie – definitely justify the means.
Have you got your own Crappieholic beliefs?
If so, e-mail them to CrappieNOW Editor Richard Simms and we will include them in our October Issue.
Keith Lusher is an award-winning outdoor journalist from Covington, Louisiana. He owns and operates NorthshoreFishingReport.com and other outlets. He serves on the board of the Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association. Lusher contributes to numerous publications both online and in print and prides himself on promoting South Louisiana’s unique fishery.
