03/31/2025
Tyler's Guide Service and I had an awesome week on Lake Fork, Texas for Crappiefest 2025! It didn’t take long for us to get on some good fish. We caught some great fish in the first cove we stopped at after launching the boat. I spent the whole week before we left studying the lake and looking at contour maps. I wanted to learn as I could about the lake before we even left.
This lake is definitely a prop and lower unit eating machine. I’m thankful for the file I purchased from Boatlanes. I felt a lot safer knowing in which areas to use caution and ones to avoid. The file they provided for the Lowrance HDS units worked as advertised. I will gladly use their products on other lakes as I fish them.
The first day we spent most of the day learning the boat lanes and locating big fish. It didn’t take us long to get on some good fish. Our first big fish was a 2.16. I caught it on a Frye Daddy Jigs hair jig in ash color .We had heard that these fish had already spawned out, but this white crappie was still full of eggs.
On the second day we located some more good fish. We caught another great fish over two pounds. Then, after taking some advice from Tyler, we headed after some bedding fish. We proceeded to put a smackdown on 48 nice ones using STATE LINE BAIT CO. plastics. I used the splitter in pearl shad and banana split. I had to use my favorite as well, the slapper in candy crush. It’s really amazing how many fish you can catch on just one of these plastics. Chad Michael West has done a great job making these baits durable. You wont find a different brand of plastic in my boat. Most of the fish we caught were all black males tending to the beds. If you want yourself some good plastics for the spring bite get ahold of Chad at Stateline Baits.
On day three we started off checking out the west arm of the lake. We definitely saw more big fish on that side. We ended the day plowing through rollers back to the ramp. I got a nice fish on a hair jig made by Eric Massey Jigs before we were blown off the water. We got free bath, clothes washed, and hydrated by the waves of water coming over in to the boat. The Falcon Bass Boats F205 handled those waves like a champ!
On day four we checked different areas in the west wing. We did see a few more good fish, but not as many as in the days past. Tyler put a hurting a nice one out on the main lake. We ended the day back up in the shallow water looking for more eater fish.
Then, day five was the big day. We started out in an area where we saw some big fish during our pre-fishing. We ended up with some good fish, but nothing that would put us in the money. We moved to another area and found some bigger biting fish. We landed a 2.00 and several fish over 1.80. The big fish of the day came on a Delta Jig Co. hair jig called Showgirl. This area held a lot of good crappie, but a bunch of big ol’ drums as well. This made it difficult to differentiate the two on the Livescope as they have a similar appearance. Tyler asked Chad if he could make a bait that wouldn’t catch drum. He said not. So I guess I’ll have to learn to tell them apart on the Livescope. The 2.00 fish ended up weighing 1.99 on the tournament scales and cost me a $250 pay check! I believe that it’s my fault as we rushed to the weigh in line with the fish in a weigh in bag as opposed to my Engel Coolers box with the bubbler. The stress on the fish due to hot water and lack of oxygen probably caused the difference in weight.
I had some issues with my Ionic charger, but luckily the batteries had enough power to power to make it through tournamentnt day. Also, I inadvertently hit the key fob for the Power-Pole Total Boat Control shallow water anchors while trailering the boat and broke the knuckle on the port side. Lesson learned, as I am loading the boat on to the trailer I need to check to see that not only is the trolling motor stowed but the poles are up as well.
We fished all week with Outlaw Crappie Poles! We casted all week with the 7’2’’ and the 6’8’’ rods We long poled with the 14 ProSE. We even did a little dock shooting as well. We had the Triple Threat and 5’0’’ rods in the boat, but i ended up just shooting with the 6’8’’ rods. I put these rods through it and they just keep on performing. They are without a doubt the best crappie rods on the market!
We netted all of our fish this week with the Crappie Addicts Carbon Pro. It’s lightweight and has a locking mechanism that actually works when the net is extended. Brian Harford done a fantastic job creating this net.
All the Outlaw poles on my boat are spooled with K9 Fishing Products line. It is hands down the best line on the market! I appreciate stength it delivers and lack of memory.
I used quite a bit of Thump Gel this week. Even though the bite was not slow, it helped make those following fish commit and bite!
We shot some good footage on the GoPros using the YOLOtek mounts on the front and back of the boat. I will try and get some of it edited and on rhe Youtube channel.
We enjoyed our stay at Lake Fork Getaways. The house was clean and well equipped. Erica was a great host and made sure we had everything we needed for our stay. We are looking forward to staying there again next year!
All and all I had an awesome week. I enjoy every opportunity to hangout with the Outlaw crew. They are a cool bunch of people and we always have a fun time. I’m so thankful to be a part of the Outlaw family. They do so much to benefit the crappie industry. We put a lot of emphasis on encouraging children to fish. They are our future anglers and outdoorsmen and women. I’m proud of the good example this crew leaves to these youngsters! I appreciate John, Amos, Tina, and everyone else at allow for all they do for me. You would be hard pressed to find anyone else in the crappie industry who supports their prostaff like these guys do.
The Crappiefest directors and crew did a fantastic job with the tournament. I heard that there were approximately 500 adults and 150 kids who participated in the event. It has to be super difficult to plan and organize an event with that many participants. If you want to fish a fun event with multiple ways to win money, come join us next year! I will definitely be back!
I learned a lot from Tyler this week. This dude knows crappie behavior and patterns as well as any one I have met. I’m always eager to learn from anyone who will teach me about these fish. It seems like they are getting smarter all the time. As fisherman we have to expand our knowledge and master the art of fishing if we want to stay ahead of these fish. They sure seem to be able to do a lot with that small brain they have in their heads. If you want to learn from a great fisherman, hire Tyler to take you out on Barren River and let him put you on some slabs.
Now it’s time to rest and recover. This ol’ Kentucky boy is whooped! Up next is Crappie Masters with Eric Miller. I’m looking forward to it!
A big thanks to my wife Frankie Jozell Abner for taking good care of the boys while I was gone. Since my mom is recovering from knee replacement surgery, she made and delivered her and dad food all week. She sure is a good one. I believe I oughta just keep her!
