I’ve never been fishing before, but my friend is taking me white crappie fishing. What is a white crappie, and give me some tips so I don’t feel like a fool out there?

A White Crappie is a common pan fish that inhabits much of the United States. Most White Crappie that are caught weigh between eight ounces to three pounds or more. They have rounded bodies with black and white blotches on them. As fish go they do not fight very hard and are relatively easy to catch once hooked. They do not have teeth and are great table fare. Since it is your friend that is taking you fishing you will not have to worry about finding the fish. You will however need the correct tackle. You fishing rod is very important to your success for this species. Crappie often bite an offering very timidly, you will want to use a rod that is very sensitive so you can feel a bite and hook a fish before it spits your offering out. Choose a light action graphite rod and you should be fine. You reel is not very important, any functioning spinning reel should be sufficient. Do not use a reel that is too large in an effort to keep your effort sporting. You will want to use line that is light. The lighter the line the more success you will have. This species can be very careful at times and will respond much better if it cannot see your line. Fluorocarbon line is the most invisible line available. I advise using four pound test fluorocarbon line. For bait I would choose a pink or chartreuse jig tipped with a small shiner minnow.