Crappie G

I have caught several crappie on Springfield, but it has been inconsistent. I'm a little too reluctant to switch baits as much as I should. Last fall I had a couple of good days catching crappies on a small white bellied crank. I caught prob five or six 10 inch plus in under a couple of hours. For me that's a good outing. I often have my kids with me in a pond prowler, so I generally don't get to fish as long or where I want to. On another trip shortly after that one, I caught a nice 14 incher. That was the only fish I caught that day, but I was happy. I grew up fishing north of Kansas City using live baits, so I've struggled catching crappies on Springfield, but some nice ones when I do catch them. I'm looking for a couple of 16 - 18 inchers maybe to hang on the wall.

I know how you feel. I've fished several times off the peninsula without any luck except bluegill. I have a small boat I fish Springfield with, and still only catch about one fish per outing. I've heard a lot of stories about all these great fish in this lake. Crappie stories especially peak my interest, but I get the feeling this lake gets really overfished. Not sure why they don't put length or number limits on the crappie either. It might help them from getting over harvested. Keep throwing the lure though. I caught a decent bass on Sunday near the railroad bridge off a crank. There's a pretty nice dropoff that runs along that area.

Guys, thanks for all the info. I just have a bill of sale, so I will take that to the DMV and start from there. I will plan on fishing the main part of the lake when time allows.

Hey all, fairly new to the forum. I've read a lot of posts and had a couple of questions about Springfield Lake. I own both a 12' V bottom boat and a 10' Pond Prowler, and I was curious if there are any rules about fishing your boat on the main lake near the dam or the marina. The marina area has a couple of buoys that say "do not" on them. I've heard several times about the 6hp limit on the lake, but have never found any other lake restrictions. I just never seem to see anyone with a boat on that main part of the lake. Any help would be great, thanks. Also, does anyone know about having to license these little Pond Prowlers? You don't get a title when you buy them, so getting them registered with the state would be difficult. Anybody have any experience with this? Thanks.