Page 9 - Crappie NOW| October2015

channels and others are mostly flat on
the lake floor. Some lakes are swampy in
nature while others are deep and clear.
And all of these types of lakes can harbor
great crappie fishing.”
“The key for me is to discover how
to tap into the crappie resource before
the final weigh-in,” he said.
Dannenmueller said that he’s kept
up with technology changes through the
years in fishing equipment as well as
other technological advances that can aid
his discovery process. He said research
is a specific way he learns about a lake
when prepping for a tournament.
“I always do my research on a
lake, even if I’ve fished it previously but
at a different time of the year,” he said.
“Patterns will change with the seasons
and hotspots fished in the summer will
be different from fall hotspots in many
instances. My research will depend on
what’s available for a specific lake. The
internet may have valuable information

Mike Parrot with a hefty crappie. He
believes in finding spots that hold fish then
refines the search to the biggest crappie

on popular lakes such as finding basic
patterns from fishing reports at various
times of the year.
“I’m not searching for someone’s
hotspots, I am seeking basic crappie
patterns on a specific lake,” he said. “I
will develop my own patterns but getting
accurate information on basic tactics on
a specific lake at a specific time period
can save a lot of time. I want to be in
the right general area at the outset of my
quest.
“The next step in my process is to
search maps, with Google Earth maps
on the internet being an excellent tool,”
Dannenmueller said. “Also I’ll look for

9 Crappie NOW October 2015