Went crappie fishing downstate with my BIL and nephew on Saturday. It was all ultralight all the time. I used my new 5½' Okuma Celilo spinning rod with a cheaper Okuma reel spooled with 4lb flouro.

Crappie were a bit scattered and my first fish ended up a 19" Walleye. [Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

We managed to find a few crappie here and there, most being in the 8-13" range.
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

I hooked into 3 different fish throughout the day that simply kicked my butt. The first dove straight for the bottom. I was able to pull him off bottom 2-3 times, but he simply peeled that 4lb test line right back out. A few minutes into the fight, the line broke at the knot, (Trilene knot).

I hooked into another powerful fish a couple hours later that started making a right to left run, again peeling 4lb test off my reel. Once again, the line broke at the Trilene knot.

More crappie happened into the afternoon, but things were definitely slowing down when another good sized fish hit my little pinkie jig. We had to chase the fish a bit to keep me from being spooled and we finally landed a good sized drum/sheepshead, (Palomar knot for the win!).
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

The gang.
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]


4 out of 5 Great Lakes prefer Michigan. smile