Targeting Bigger Crappie

When Kevin Rogers and his dad, Charlie Rogers, head out to go crappie fishing, they're never concerned about finding frenzied action. As tournament anglers, they only care about catching seven fish -- as long as they are the right fish. Even when they are just "fun fishing," though, they have more fun catching a handful of slabs than a whole bunch of slivers. In the video below, Kevin shares some of the things that he and his dad do to attract the interest of larger fish.

Cold-Hands Crappie

Charlie and Kevin Rogers, a father/son crappie pro team, drove through heavy snow near their home in Missouri to spend a few afternoon hours battling giant winds followed by a morning that began with the thermometer reading 16 degtees. The bite was slow from the very hard front that crashed through, but they still managed to wrangle out a handful of fish, and they were exactly the sort of fish I needed for photo and stories.  Despite serious cold, it was a great morning of learning and story gatherings for me, and I'm grateful to Charlie and Kevin Rogers for making the drive down and for helping me get such good stuff done.

Oklahoma Fish Medley

Gary Dollahon enjoys catching any kind of fish that wants to bite, including Lake Fork largemouths like this one, but this week's quest will center on home waters in Oklahoma.

Gary Dollahon has been telling me about one of his favorite seasonal bites for a few years now, and we've finally made plans for me to travel his way and try it for myself. Gary I both enjoy catching whatever wants to latch onto the other end of a line, and that's a major part of the appeal of the brand of winter fishing that he and I will be doing. We'll be jigging for fish that pod up together when the water gets cool, and the fish that tug on the other end could range from white bass to colossal blue catfish. Fishing is still fishing, so you never know for sure, but Gary anticipates fast action from a pretty good mix of species.

Beyond being big fun, catching a variety of fish gives me a great opportunity to gather photos, videos and material for magazine stories -- and to put some Lew's rods and reels to the test! The plan also includes time chasing crappie with Bobby Garland pro Kevin Rogers, which will most likely involve some different angling approaches.

I fly to Tulsa tomorrow and will be fishing Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. As always, I'll do my best to deliver fresh reports from where I'm fishing and to convey some of what I learn, so keep an eye on my blog. I also like to add notes and photos to Twitter when I travel and invite you to follow (@jeffsamsel).