Oklahoma Fishing Guide Dusty Keener sends us this report from Lake Eufaula:
Without a doubt, there is nothing like the taste of cold water crappie. In my opinion, it is the best of all table fish. With many ways to prepare crappie, my favorite is fried with yellow cornbread batter.
Today would be a good time to prepare for this season’s crappie fishing trips. It doesn’t matter if you fish from the bank, boat docks or out of a boat. Preparation is the key to a successful fishing trip.
For me this time is spent cleaning & oiling reels and spooling on some new mono line. You can get by with heavier pound test if the water you plan to fish is stained or else use a lighter pound test line if fishing clear water.
Other prep chores included reorganizing the tackle box, and making notes of what we need to pick up in the way of tackle supplies. I also spend some time tying fresh knots, some with jigheads and others with gold hooks for minnows. I like a 1/8 ounce jighead with a plastic filler similar to a road runner or tube jig; dark colors for dingy water and yellow, white or lite colors for clear water.
If you have a boat you should charge batteries, check and stock life jackets, extra anchors with good rope front and back, trailer tires properly inflated, a flashlight, a fire extinguisher and a small bag of tools will come in handy (trust me).
Some of my fondest memories while growing up was spending the weekend fishing the spring crappie bite at Lake Eufaula. Now that I’m guiding fishing trips from our home north of McAlester is a dream come true!
When I was young, we started out crappie fishing from the bank at night or day and whenever we had a chance, we would load up the fishin’ stuff and head for the lake. With slip corks and 2 gold hook crappie rigs baited with minnows, we would spend hours fishing from the bank.
One trick I learned during all these year are that while fishing from a boat dock or out of a boat, and fishing straight down with a open bale spin cast type reel and you start catching crappie, place a rubber band around your spool, before you reel in the fish, to mark the exact depth of your catch. Crappe are repetitious, and if your lucky enough to catch a few, just stay with it. There’s a lot more crappie that repeat that same pattern of the fish you caught and will be back for more.
And finally, to maximize your fun, take someone you enjoy spending time with fishing. After a hard week at work this will help you forget or help solve a lot of problems and a weekend at the lake can be the best stress reducing medicine available!
Editor’s Note: Thanks for sharing those tips with us Dusty! If you would like to go fishing with Dusty on Lake Eufaula or Lake Atoka, visit his website at www.DandKguideservice.com or call him at 918-470-7133 or 918-470-6422.
