et84

Does anyone fish topwater frogs? I have never fished them before and was wondering which ones worked the best in lakes/rivers around Springfield. Another thing I have never fished is a jig-n-pig. I have fished jigs with plastic craw/grub trailers, but I wanted to try pork. How do you rig the pork on the jig hook? Thanks!

I fish for crappie from the Fellows Lake fishing dock all the time, as I do not own a boat. We usually go at night and use a green light. For bait I've never used anything but minnows (because I haven't had to!). You can get the minnows at Moore's Market, a little gas station on N. Glenstone right on your way out to the lake- I think they're $3/ dozen, but I haven't been there in a while. Sometimes I use a minnow trap with crackers or dog food in it, but the fish it catches are usually bigger than crappie like to bite at. I eat crappie out of Fellows, and so does my family. I caught the 13" whopper in the picture off the dock on 9/28 last year around 11:30 p.m., and filleted him up with several others for my 97 year-old grandma. Even though this guy is the biggest I've caught there, we usually catch plenty in the 9-11" range. I know Fellows also holds walleye & muskie, but I think people usually put a boat in for those guys. Hope this helps- maybe I'll see you down there one night!

Thanks for the info!

My brother and I went to Crane today (3/7) and finally ended our curse of getting pictures. We fished lower, middle & upper Wire Road Access, and also the park for the first time. That's where the little guy came from. The dead snapper was by the middle Wire Road Access, about 200 ft. west of the parking lot/ bridge. Also, I caught two of the little toothy critters- are they pike? The last photo is a sculpin (I think), also from middle Wire Road. Everything was caught with the Panther Martin in the pics. (P.M. Fly, 1/32, gold, dressed- orange/ black) Water was clear, lower than usual.

Awesome. Good to know there are others like me out there. BTW, I went to Crane today (3/7) and finally ended the curse of getting pics. Neither of my fish are as nice as yours, but I'm just happy I finally got ACTUAL proof. We fished lower, middle & upper Wire Road Access, and also the park for the first time. That's where the little guy came from. The dead snapper was by the middle Wire Road Access, about 200 ft. west of the parking lot/ bridge. Also, I caught two of the little toothy critters- are they pike? The last photo is a sculpin (I think), also from middle Wire Road. Everything was caught with the Panther Martin in the pics.

This is my first post, so I want to say a little about myself. Born and raised in Springfield, I have been fishing Crane since I was a little kid. My dad used to take me to the upper Wire Road access, and I can remember going to the Crane Broiler Festival every year. Needless to say, my dad is a fly-fisherman. I kinda lost interest in it when I was about 14. I never developed any real technique, but I did catch several fish in my day. I think I put the fly outfit away because of the cost. Anyway, back on the topic, my buddy and I have fished crane twice this year off Swinging Bridge Rd. by the Dairy farm, and at least one of us caught something each time fishing with in-line spinners. I'm not sure about my buddy's setup, other than a BPS Bionic Blade rod, but for Crane I use a BPS Micro-Lite Glass rod- 7'6" and a Browning Micro-Stalker reel spooled w/ 4 lb. green mono (you could make the combo new for around $40), then a size 1 bb swivel and about 12" of 2 lb. green mono leader. The first time we went was when it warmed up real good on a Saturday in early February. My buddy caught 2 small goggle-eye, a pretty fat bluegill, and a 16" McCloud. I think he was using a Blue Fox Flash spinner, size 1, but it might have been a Worden's. The next time we went was Valentines Day. We arrived right at sunrise but didn't feel to good about the creek once we saw it. It had rained a couple days ago and the water was about 3 ft. higher than it was last time, and it was MOVIN'! (not to mention the actual temp. being about 30, and windchill of 20) We fished til about 11:00 with no luck and started making our way back to the MDC Access parking lot. I was throwing a Panther Martin (my choice brand) Fly spinner, gold, 1/32 oz. with an orange & yellow dressed tail. The water was moving so fast, I had to put a small split-shot above the lure to keep it underwater. I pitched it about 80 ft. downstream from the bridge, where the creek gets really narrow, and BAM! It was a 14" McCloud, hanging out underneath some exposed roots from a tree on the bank. I would post pics if I had them, so you'll all just have to trust me. We seem to be cursed when it comes to taking pictures of McClouds. We got a picture of my buddy's on his cell phone, but forgot to save it. My brother accidentally pressed the wrong key on my phone when I caught the 14", and he flopped right out of my hands into the water. Anyway, I just wanted to know if there were any other anglers out there that fish Crane with in-line spinners. To my dad's disbelief, they DO catch McCloud trout. I know that neither of our fish were even keeper size, but they are the bigger than any of the ones I caught as a kid, so I feel good about them. We're thinking about going back this weekend 3/7, weather permitting. Good fishin' to all!!!