You will find that Louisiana is a great place to go if you want to catch crappie. The waters in this state are the prefect habitat for this species but, what do you do if you are not familiar with the area? It can be difficult finding the best places to go and where all the hot spots are so you can have the most success.
Anytime you go to a new location the easiest way to find the best fishing places is to hire a guide. With so many crappie fishing guide services available you shouldn't have any problem finding one that can fulfill your needs. The biggest problem you may have will be choosing the Louisiana crappie fishing service that can benefit you the most.
Some Things to Consider
When you choose to use a guide to help you go fishing for crappie in Louisiana you will find that there are many benefits associated with them. The question that you need to be concerned with is which ones of these benefits will help you the most. Start by asking yourself what you expect to get out of the fishing trip and what you would like the crappie fishing guide to do for you. Then talk to the different services to see which one of them come the closest to providing you with what you are searching for.
One thing that most all crappie fishing guide services provide is the equipment needed to go fishing. This usually includes covering the fishing license as well. If you are just visiting Louisiana for awhile this is very important. If you can fish off of their license then you will not have to worry about getting things in order before you can go out on the water. It will also prevent you from having to carry around a lot of equipment if you are limited for space.
Before you make a decision as to which guide to use it is always best to meet them in person. You have to consider that the guide you choose is someone that you will be spending the day with. Therefore, it needs to be someone that you feel comfortable with and enjoy talking to. Otherwise, you are going to feel uncomfortable and the trip is going to be ruined.
Sometimes the weather can be very uncooperative in Louisiana. What happens if the trip gets canceled after you have paid for the service? Will they refund your money, reschedule your trip or do you lose the money you have already paid? If you are only visiting for a few days, rescheduling may not be an option for you.
Your level of experience will also determine which crappie fishing guide service you should use. If you are an experienced angler, then you don't want a guide that has less experience than you do. On the hand, if you are fairly new to crappie fishing then you don't want to spend the day with a guide that is constantly using terms or saying things that you do not understand. Either one of these scenarios can be very annoying and ruin what could have been a great fishing trip.
Some of the best crappie fishing lakes still manage to remain a bit of a secret to the majority of anglers, mostly because those who have discovered these fine locations for finding an abundance of large crappie do not wish to share their good fortune. However, guides and scouts have dug up some of the dirt on these excellent locations for crappie and other panfish.
Santee-Cooper in South Carolina is one of these crappie fishing lakes that does have a rather large claim to fame the world record panfish weighing 5 pounds 7.5 ounces was caught here. Check out the creek arms and their miles of brushpiles, where two-pounders are fairly common. The lake doesn't freeze, and the relative warmth of the lake year round makes crappie in this lake grow quickly.
There are eight great crappie fishing lakes in the Valentine Refuge in Nebraska, if you don't mind the shallows many of these are only about five feet deep. This area is great for ice fishing, where you can find green weeds poking up through the ice and simply drill around them, coming up with some two-pound specimens even in the dead of winter. In fact, because these waters are riddled with weeds, crappie find excellent cover here.
Lake St. Clair is actually fed by St. Clair River which connects Lake Huron to Lake Erie and the Detroit River. However, because most anglers focus on the muskie and walleye in this shallow, unrecognized Great Lake, the fact that it is one of the best crappie fishing lakes in the country goes unnoticed. Of course, despite the excellent opportunities on the American side, there are even greater prospects in the bays on the Canadian side of the lake, where shallow basins and weedy bays abound. Winter ice fishing should concentrate on the shallow green weedy areas.
John Kerr Reservoir, or Buggs Island Lake, on the borders of Virginia and North Carolina, produces trophies for size and number of crappie. It's not unheard of to find black crappie over four pounds and white crappie over five pounds in this 49,000-acre lake. Obviously one of the best crappie fishing lakes based on statistics, you'll find large 2- and 3-pound slabs during prespawn spring months and shallow bites starting in mid-March.
If you like having your space, make a trip to the 114,000-acre Sam Rayburn Lake in Texas. Crappie here average between 1 and 2 pounds, with lots of larger specimens swimming around. Look for big rolling flats around 12-14 feet that are covered with hydrilla; this will be your best bet for finding a large school of crappie. As one of the largest crappie fishing lakes in the nation, there is plenty of opportunity for catching your fill here.
Daniel Eggertsen has sinced written about articles on various topics from Site Promotion, Fishing and Dancing. Dan Eggertsen is a fishing researcher and enthusiast who is commited to providing the best crappie fishing information possible. Get more information on. Daniel Eggertsen's top article generates over 49500 views. to your Favourites.