When was the last time you and a group of other crappie anglers got together to eat a meal, talk about crappie fishing techniques and share fishing stories? Probably never that is unless you have attended the one-of-a-kind crappie camp. If you haven’t attended don’t worry as more and more states are setting up the events opened to the crappie fishing community.
“Crappie Camps essentially started in 2004 with Richard Williams with the David Sumners’ Memorial Tournament Camp and from there the camps spawned off to almost every state that has crappie in them. There is lot of fun with people getting together sharing their fishing knowledge with other crappie anglers,” said Crappie.com owner Ed Moes aka “Slab”.
At a recent Crappie Camp on Kentucky Lake out of Sportsman’s Lodge I visited with crappie fishing guide Doug Wynn, owner of Crappie-Gills-n-More (www.crappie-gills-n-more.com) about Crappie Camps. “It started here with a bunch of guys and it’s grown bigger and bigger. Last year we had crappie anglers from 11 different states attending and well over a hundred people attending the camp,” said Doug Wynn.
Wynn noted that crappie anglers were more willing to share information and techniques because they want other crappie anglers to catch fish. “You normally won’t find the openness in other fishing communities. It’s pretty much a fun get together although we did have some guys today that are doing a fruit jar tournament but it’s all for fun,” said Wynn.
“The food is really great at all the camps. Participants will bring their own local regional foods and grill out making it such a great time,” said Moes.
All of the Crappie.com Camps are different depending on the state. Mississippi has a weeklong camp while Kentucky is having a 3 day camp and some have one day camps, however, it’s not unusual for anglers from other states traveling to participate in other state camps. Activities also differ in each state and get organized on the Crappie.com (www.crappie.com) website.
Crappie.com has a hundred forums and every state that has crappie has a forum so people can check out what has been posted as a sticky note about upcoming events. Most of the Crappie Camps are held in the springtime and many states also now have a fall camp.
At the Kentucky Crappie Camp, Mitch Glenn with PICO Lures (www.picolures.com) came to enjoy the camaraderie along with all the great food. Glenn even brought his boat for the event so he could fish and showoff the legendary PICO Lures crankbait that many of the anglers were fishing with on Kentucky Lake. Fishing out of Glenn’s boat, Ed Moes had even brought his own “secret” Slab Sauce to spray on the PICO Crankbaits.
“Crappie fishing is complex then what a better way to learn how to catch them from other crappie anglers. So, we are excited that Crappie Camps continue to grow and grow in popularity and into other states,” said Moes.
If you haven’t been to a Crappie Camp this is your invitation to attend one in your state or any state having one.
