[gentle orchestral fanfare] - Something here, Teddy Bear.

- [Ted] You got it Ron.

- Came out from under-- Ooh, that's a nice crappie there.

- [Ted] Daggone flapperjaw.

- That's a good one there.

That's what we're looking for.

Come on big boy.

- [Ted] That's a pretty fish there.

- Come on baby, come on to papa.

Oh gosh, look at the one.

That's pretty isn't it?

- [Ted] That is pretty.

That's a nice one, Ron, I'll give you that.

That's much bigger than the one I had.

- [Ron] That's pretty; that's what we've been looking for.

But it's a male.

Let's find a big ol' female.

- [Ted] That's a pretty fish, ain't it.

- Nope, lay him over there.

Pretty work.

- Pretty work, that's a nice one.

What'd you put on there, was that a crip clear?

- I put on that that's got the pepper in it.

Actually, it's got rainbows.

- Sparkle.

- [Announcer] The production of Carolina Outdoor Journal is made possible in part by: - [Female Announcer] Wildlife in North Carolina Magazine.

ncwildlife.org/winc.

- [Male Announcer] And by EZ Bait and Tackle, family owned and operated.

We've been fishing since 2003.

Come see the crew in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and we can hook you up for all your fishing needs.

[light instrumental music] ♪ - Hello, welcome to the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

Well, here the controversy continues.

Is it "crappie" or is it "crah-py"?

Joe, it depends on where you're from.

- Exactly, and since we're from Eastern North Carolina, we're gonna call it crappie today.

You can get by with "crah-py" but we'll go with crappie.

And we do have a fun show for you today.

We're actually using a technique that we've never covered on the show.

It's called jigger pole fishing for crappie.

You fish tied to the bank.

One of our angles is using a converted fly rod.

The other is using an actual jigger pole.

You fish tied to the bank.

And along the way, you're going to be catching, as they did, a number of different species of fish.

We're catching black crappie today, and we were actually targeting some, since this is mid-April, some bigger female crappy, but we never could find them.

But the males showed up, and we had a good day.

- And we'll talk about the gear in Gear Time.

But Donna's recipe today is a new one on me.

Duck Schnitzel.

- It's a different recipe from her.

Preparing duck, and as anybody that hunts ducks and prepares wild duck, knows you need to prepare them just right to get the taste that you're looking for.

But a different recipe from her today.

- Well, let's get to work, because we're going to catch some crappie, and we gonna catch some "crah-py" here today on the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

- Ron, I've been looking forward to your place up there.

You've been telling me about the black crappie up here in April, and here we are the middle of April.

And catching them on these jigging poles is new to me.

You've got to teach me about that.

But I'm really looking forward to today.

- Well, I'm looking forward to it too.

We are doing something a little different with these nine foot flyrods with a jigging pole.

And at times we'll be tapping the top of the water, which attracts the crappie.

Then they see the jig hanging about this far underneath it.

And so we've had pretty good luck in here, and it's definitely prime time, so I think we ought to go get them.

- The spawn is on.

Great, well, let's give it a shot.

- [Ron] Let's do it, let's do it.

- Got one on there, Ronnie.

- What you got?

- I don't know what this one is.

He hit it, too; he nailed it.

- Put him back there, and let's take a look at him.

- Oh, how about this?

This is a warmouth.

One of the things about jigging is you can catch every species with it.

I've caught bass, crappy, brim, warmouth, which is a-- My dad used to call them calico bass, but warbath, I think is the right... - Pretty fish, ain't it?

- Little chunky little rascal.

- You said there was a little bit of everything in here.

- There is.

And this is a good way to catch them.

- This feels like a crappie.

- All right.

Put him over here.

Oh yeah, that's pretty.

- Yes, sir.

- That's pretty, that's pretty.

All right, big boy, hold on, hold on, hold on.

That's a pretty one there.

I'll get it, oh yeah.

- [Ted] That's a gorgeous fish to me.

[Ron laughs] I like that.

- And you hooked in the top of the mouth, which is exact bite, because that's the way the jig's shaped.

- [Ted] Yeah, he's pretty.

- That is pretty.

Want me to give him a kiss for you?

- [Ted] Please.

[Ron chuckles] - I think that's bigger than the one you caught.

- Ain't it pretty?

[both laugh] Remind me not to take you anymore.

[Ted laughs] All right, that's what we're looking for.

- Right there.

- Pretty work.

- All right, let's do it again.

He nailed it, too.

What you got?

- [Ron] Looks like it might be a... Might be a bream, and it is a pretty nice one.

I was saying, if you were stranded on an island, and could only have one thing to fish with, honestly a jigging pole with a 16 oz.

jig like this, you can catch everything.

You could stay alive.

That's not a bad little bream.

- He's pretty.

- Funnel fly rods, too.

- Yep.

- Pretty.

- [Ted] Ron, I got another one there.

- Let's see what it-- That's a crappie, not quite as big as the last one, but that's pretty.

- [Ted] You a pretty good guy.

- I think mine was bigger, but that's all right.

[Ted laughs] He's a little one.

Grow up!

- That's pretty, pretty fish there.

We'll catch you another one.

- [Ron] That was a buck too.

- [Ted] Does that mean anything?

That they've been bucks that we've caught?

- [Ron] I... Well, obviously we're not where the females are spawning.

That would be what I'd say.

- [Ted] I think you need to put a red and white on.

- I got one on the other pole.

- Oh, you do?

- But I honestly, I believe it's strictly talent at this point on your part.

[Ted laughs] - Which way he's coming.

- What is it?

- [Ron] You know what, I've got another really nice blue bream for you.

- Do you?

- Yeah.

- Got it?

That's a pretty fish.

- Got a nice variety, just shows when you're fishing, you just take whatever you catch.

- Right.

[both laugh] - Trying to catch a crappie, but we're catching everything.

Nice, nice bream.

- Nice fish.

Really dark, isn't it?

You call that a blue bream?

- That's what my daddy called them.

Gray head, they got a little gray, which I think is the males around the side here on the gill.

Pretty fish.

We're fishing around this beaver den.

You can see it right here, Ted.

It's built out, so the water's a little bit deeper around it, and they drag limbs and make their den out of it, so there's a lot of structure here.

So normally that would hold some crappy.

- Yeah, looks like a pretty little place here.

- Oh yeah, that's a pretty one.

- That's a nice one.

- That is a nice one.

I think he's about twice as big as the one you caught, Ted.

[both laugh] - [Ted] I hear you.

He's at least as nice as the one I caught, yeah he is.

- I think I see yours... [Ted laughs] - Eh, yours was nice.

- Yeah.

That's pretty big.

I'm happy all day if I can catch one like that.

- Oh yeah.

Well, we're fishing in a little bit deeper water right here with...

But this grass has all sorts of minnows and grass shrimp and all sorts of things in there.

But he is pretty, isn't he?

- Yeah, pretty fish.

- That's what we're looking for.

- Let me see you do that again.

- I am, I'm gonna do it right now.

I was fishing deeper, too.

- So you were?

- I'm gonna do that too.

- Got another one there, Ted?

- This thing is a little crappie, Ron.

- Put him over here and let's see.

- Yeah, that is a little crappie.

- Yep, yep.

Well, average size has been smaller than what I've been used to.

And it's another male and just as thin... We gotta find a female.

- Yessir, and bigger ones.

- Gotta find some bigger ones.

Pretty work.

- Pretty.

- You're a good teacher.

[Ron laughs] - I got something here, Teddy Bear.

- [Ted] You got it, Ron.

These came out from under-- [both exclaim] That's a daggone flapperjaw.

- That's a nice crappie there.

- That's a good one there, that's what we're looking for.

Come on, big boy.

- [Ted] That's a pretty fish, there.

- Come on, come on to Papa.

Oh gosh, look at that one.

That's pretty, isn't it?

- [Ted] That is pretty.

That's a nice one, Ron.

- [Ron] That is a nice one.

- [Ted] That is much bigger than the one I had.

- [Ron] That's pretty, that's what we've been looking for.

But it's a male.

Let's find a big ol' female.

- [Ted] Yeah, that's a pretty fish, ain't it?

- Nope, throw him over there.

Pretty work.

- Pretty work.

That's a nice one.

What did you put on there, was that a crit clear?

- I put on that that's got the pepper in it.

- Mm-hm.

- Actually, it's got rainbows in it.

- Sparkles.

- I don't think that made any difference.

I think I got lucky.

I'll take that too.

[guitar music] Ted, one of the finer points of jigging that my dad taught me was when you're jigging along, you pull your rod up rapidly like this.

I'm exaggerating a little bit, but you jerk the rod up.

But then you let it fall so that it doesn't have any slack.

And so what you're doing with your pole is you're moving up and letting it drop back down and up, and letting it drop back down.

But you're keeping all the slack.

They normally hit it on the fall, and you have a much better chance of feeling the bite.

- Right.

I'll try that.

You're a pretty good guide.

[Ron chuckles] - Got something, I think it might be-- - [Ted] Boy, you got a nice one hitting that thing.

- I think it's a chain pickerel.

- Is it?

- A pike, yeah.

Yeah, it is.

It set on that jig-- Hand me that landing there, please.

I don't wanna lip him.

- [Ted] He won't bite you.

[Ron laughs] - [Ron] Light six pound test line.

It's a lot of fun to catch anything on it.

- [Ted] Boy, that line took off.

There it is.

- Thank you, thank you.

- How about that?

- That's a lively little fish there.

- Yep.

- He's not too happy about being hooked.

- [Ted] Ron, that fish right there gonna attack something.

- [Ron] Yeah, they will.

And that proves you can catch everything on a jig.

Little tiny jig.

Chain pickerel.

- Why don't you hold him in the lip?

- Yeah, I'm gonna let him... [both laugh] I've caught bigger, but I hadn't caught any any prettier.

- Yep.

- Pretty work, all right.

Let him go.

Getting bigger.

- That's pretty.

He ran with that thing.

When he hit that, he was on a mission, wasn't he?

Were you jigging that just then?

- I was.

- I was thinking that was a monster crappie.

- I wish it had been.

- Ron, I know this morning when we started, it was a little bit overcast.

And we were popping along, catching a few.

And now that the sun's come out and brightened up and got a little cold spot here, does it make any difference?

- I think it does.

I think what happens is they get much tighter to the structure.

They get this grass, you can see the grass that's out.

I think they get up underneath that as opposed to maybe being out a little further out.

So I think we need to fish-- - Just a little tighter?

- A little bit tighter, and we're on the shady side, too.

I think that, the little shade by the bushes, that helps.

- Gotcha.

Here, I don't know what I got, but...

Looked like a little crappie.

- That is a crappy.

- Pretty work.

- [Ron] It's not the biggest one I've ever seen, Ted.

The ones I've been catching are larger than yours, but that's okay, you're doing good.

[Ted laughs] I'm proud of you.

- [Ted] Well, I got a good teacher.

- He is pretty crappie.

- [Ted] Taught me how to jig today.

- He's pretty.

- Is that a male?

- That is another male.

We have not found a female.

And normally out here, the dogwoods are blooming when the crappie are spawning.

And I've not seen our dogwoods bloom, so it may be still a little early.

Because that's another male.

- Pretty.

- [Ron] When you're doing your jigging pole like that, there's a lot of meadows up in that grass.

And you can see them sometimes, they'll skirt, and they look just like the splashing noise you'll make, and that splashing noise brings the fish, hopefully the crappie in it.

And we've seen that a couple of times.

They've come right out from underneath that grass and grabbed that jig.

Because they're attracted to the splashing, thinking it was a minnow.

- [Ted] Uh-huh, I gotcha.

You see them when you get a little closer.

Right down at it, you see those minnows skirting around when you do that.

- Yeah.

Ooh, he's got a nice one.

- Got it!

- [Ted] What you got there?

- [Ron] I think I got a crappie.

- Oop, I had one, too.

Uh, what you got, Ron?

- I think I got a crappie.

Trying to get him out in open water.

- [Both] Oh!

- [Ron] That was a big crappie.

Ugh!

Such is life.

- I used to do it like that before I learned how.

[Ron laughs] - [Ron] Oh, I got a nice crappie.

- [Ted] That is a nice one.

- [Ron] Pretty, pretty.

Trying to get him in the... - [Ted] Want me to pull him around here?

- [Ron] Trying to get him in the bushes if I can.

- [Ted] Pull him down here for you.

- [Ron] That's a nice one.

- [Ted] That's a pretty one, Ron.

- [Ron] Yeah, look at the knot on him.

He's got a-- - He does have a little knot on his side, doesn't he?

- I got you tangled up there?

- Nah, you're good.

- Very good, thank you.

- That's a pretty fish.

- Yeah, that is pretty.

- He's got a... You see that knot there?

He's got almost a little bubble on him.

- Yep.

- But other than that, he's really pretty.

- That's a nice fish.

That fish is probably close to-- - You should take my picture with him, Ted.

- A pound?

[laughs] - Oh about, less than four, less than four.

[Ted laughs] - [Ted] Beautiful fish, though.

- Go, big boy, all right.

- [Ted] Pretty work.

- Nice, thank you.

- Pretty work.

- [Ron] Oh, this is a good one.

- [Ted] He's got a good crappie on.

- [Ron] No, you know what, it might-- - It's a bream.

- It's a big blue bream.

- [Ted] I don't know what I got.

I got one, too.

That's a big old bream.

- Yeah, that's a big old fat bream.

- I got one, too about like that.

- Look at that.

- Look at that.

I got a-- - You got a-- - [Both] Warmouth.

- This is convincing that you can catch everything with a jig.

- [Ted] Yep, you got me convinced.

- We've caught four or five different fish, including bass, some small bass.

Really pretty.

- Yep.

Look how thick that thing is.

They really are thick.

- Some people call them chubs, too.

But that's not the real chub.

Not bad, huh?

- Not bad.

- All right, a double.

- That's was nice.

That was pretty-- Ouch!

- Love it.

- Pretty cool.

I thought you had a nice crappie on there for sure.

- I did too.

- Before he got sideways on you.

Ron, you hot, that's a nice one there.

And I got you too.

That's a nice one, pull him up.

- [Ron] I've seen bigger.

- [Ted] Well, he's nice.

- [Ron] Wanna get him for me?

- [Ted] Yep.

- [Ron] Ted, that's another male.

We haven't caught a female today.

You know, the females are up somewhere in a root system spawning, and the males have been in the grass and out a little bit deeper.

But we haven't found the females yet.

- Huh.

- We just need to keep looking.

- That's right, keep trying them.

- Joe, I'm all about that jigger pole, now.

I like that.

- Very productive.

Very productive, again as we were working the bank, you know, the shoreline, it became apparent that it's...

It catches a lot of fish and a lot of different fish.

We caught warmouth, we caught flyers.

We caught the crappie, and we caught some pretty bluegills.

And just working that shoreline and keeping that... What I found interesting was working the tip of the rod on the surface and causing that minnow-like, when the minnows come up and splash.

The combination of that with that jig on the bottom just proved very productive that day.

- Speaking of being productive, let's find out more.

Let's go to Gear Time.

[cheery guitar music] - Ron, in preparation for fishing today, we've been talking about coming up here crappie fishing.

And I bought this little Shakespeare inexpensive crappie hunter with the onus being the reel on it.

It's typically used for jigging.

You put me on that, because I'd never even seen one until I saw yours.

- Right.

- And I've really enjoyed the fishing today.

- Well, I have too.

Mine's a little bit different.

I've just got a graphite flyrod.

And the graphite really makes it really, really sensitive.

I'm using six pound tests and an underspin, you know, just like you were.

The light tackle, we're matching the tackle with the fish.

They're not large fish, but a light tackle's a lot of fun.

A lot of sensitivity, you can feel the fish bite.

We're using eighth ounce, sixteenth ounce jigs.

I like a little heavier jig, because it keeps your line a little tighter and you can feel the fish bite.

- [Ted] Feel them hit.

- [Ron] Exactly.

Again, depending upon how deep the water is, too.

- [Ted] Right, and what pound test line do you use on yours?

- I'm using six.

We're using Best jigs, and they've been very effective.

- Right, that's what I've got on this one is six also.

And there's a large variety of these.

- [Ron] All sorts of colors.

- [Ted] Every combination in the world.

These little crinkle is what I used today.

- [Ron] That's a good one.

I used a clearer jig, which I think in the darker water seems to work good.

But you caught almost as many as I did.

[Ted laughs] So you did good.

But we had a great time.

- Yeah, definitely been good.

And I had a black head.

They've got all color heads, plain lead heads.

I normally use the plain lead heads when I'm fishing beetle spins, but not today.

- And you were using the black head.

I was using the gray head, just the non-painted head.

And it seemed to do good.

And this is a nine foot rod, too.

I might mention that.

If you get them too long, it'll wear your wrist out.

So I like about a nine foot light-- - It gives you the distance you need to fish off the bank a bit there, too.

And you can work with that.

- It was a great day.

- It was a great day.

- Enjoyed it.

- Enjoyed.

- Absolutely, thanks.

- Thank you for that information.

Now, for those of you that would like to try this fishing, there's one thing about it.

It makes for a great day of fishing, and crappie also make for great food on the table.

There's no question about that.

And speaking of great food on the table, we're gonna catch up with Donna.

She's in the kitchen.

She's got a recipe.

Now, this is a brand new one on me, as I said before.

It's called duck schnitzel.

So let's join Donna in the kitchen here on the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

[cheery guitar music] - Hi, today I the kitchen we're making duck.

We're going to be making a duck schnitzel, which is basically a duck breast that is pounded out really nice and thin and then breaded and either baked or fried.

So it's a great recipe.

It's quick and it's easy.

It would be something a little bit different and a great way to use up your duck that you might have.

So what I've done is I have my duck, and instead of pounding it out really thin, what I did is I just took my knife and sliced through and divided it into two pieces.

That way I can stretch it out a little bit more as well.

We're going to take our breader that we're going to use in our oven, and we're going to put it in our bag.

And then we're going to take our duck breast, and we're just going to coat this in our baggie.

We're going to close it tight, and then we're just going to coat these.

Then we're going to place them on our baking sheet that I have coated with, or I've put some foil on so I have easier clean up.

I don't have to worry about sticking or anything.

And then we're going to bake these at 400 degrees for about ten minutes, just until they're nice and done and cooked throughout.

And it depends on the thickness of your duck breasts, how long you cook it.

And you don't have to pound it out if you don't want to.

But it's just kinda something a little different.

So we're gonna shake off our excess.

Place those onto our baking sheet.

And like I said, bake this at 400 degrees for about ten minutes or so.

Just until they're done.

And there you go.

And you can bake several at a time.

So that way you have your entree baking, and then while that's baking, you can make a great green salad if you want.

You can steam some vegetables.

And also make this great sauce for it.

So we're going to take some Greek yogurt that we have in our cup.

And then some whole grain mustard.

And mix this together.

And this makes a really quick and tasty sauce for you to top your schnitzel with.

Like, I said, you can make a great green salad with this, because I feel like you might need a little color with this recipe.

So you can see here, I've got my schnitzel.

It's already come out of the oven.

It's nice and crispy and juicy on the inside but crunchy on the outside.

I topped it with my great sauce with my whole grain mustard.

You can see the little grains of the mustard.

It's going to be real pungent and a really nice flavor.

And then I have this great green salad from these great greens that came out of my son and daughter's garden.

So it's a great way to use all the things you have.

And enjoy.

So I hope you enjoy the duck schnitzel.

And I look forward to seeing you next time here on Simple Cooking.

- Duck Schnitzel, we thank you for that recipe, Donna.

Joe, I want to go back and talk about the crappie and the "crah-py".

I want to talk about these baits that I have in my hand.

Tell me about these jigs.

- Yeah, well, that day they actually... We had quite a selection of jigs to use.

And they kind of experimented with the colors.

And some days, as with any type of fishing that we do here on the Journal, it's good to have a good selection.

Because that morning we started with some overcast conditions, and then the sun came out.

And so, to be able to change up the colors will help you.

And the jigs you're showing here were made by Bett's.

They've got just a vast array of jigs that they make available.

And you have different weights and lead heads.

Because we were in shallow water, we really didn't need anything real heavy.

Just a very productive way of catching any fish along a shoreline, and particularly crappie.

As they did, they fished some grass beds where the crappie were under the grass.

And you really couldn't reach them.

And they were jigging right on the edge of it, and the fish were coming out to us.

So it was just a real productive way to catch fish.

- We did have a good day.

- We absolutely did.

- The debate will continue.

Is it crappie or is it "crah-py"?

Stay with us, we'll keep you informed here on the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

- [Announcer] Make sure to visit our website for more information.

- [Announcer] The production of Carolina Outdoor Journal is made possible in part by: - [Female Announcer] Wildlife in North Carolina Magazine.

ncwildlife.org/winc.

- [Male Announcer] And by EZ Bait and Tackle, family owned and operated.

We've been fishing since 2003.

Come see the crew in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and we can hook you up for all your fishing needs.

[light instrumental music] ♪