[gentle orchestral fanfare] - I was raised fishin' farm ponds, and growing up then, we threw the Beetle Spins.

I mean, that was a crank and throw, crank and wind.

I think the mistake a lot of people make on throwing these jigs, when you're fishing 12, 15 foot of water, they don't let the jig sink.

- That's right.

- They don't give it time to sink.

- It's got to get down there where the fish are.

You used to throwing something with a spinner on it, or something in shallow water, you don't have to let it sink.

But these here you do, you got to let it get down there to the fish.

- Just above the structure slope.

- Yes, if you can just touch it, just a little bit as it comes by, they'll generally pick it off, if they're aggressive at all.

- [Charles] They definitely move that way.

- Is that me or you?

Oh!

- I think I hit you with my line.

- Okay.

That's a little better fish.

- Nice little fish.

Come in here, baby.

- [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, today's program is all about crappie fishing, and Joe we have a good show today.

- We do, we caught a lot of fish.

We're gonna actually go in the springtime, on Jordan Lake, which is just south of Raleigh, and key on the spring crappie.

Fishing over structure, bottom structure, and using little jigs, and fishing with two guys that really love to do it.

One in particular does this a lot, is quite good with it.

But both of 'em love it, and can catch crappie.

- Well, Joe, the equipment on this, that we'll talk about at Gear Time, really not that high tech.

- Well, pretty simple.

Pretty light.

You want to go light, they'll use anywhere from 4 pound test to 6 pound test, depending on the structure, depending on the rod, or either the combination they're using.

They carry both so they kind of mix it up.

I think it's one thing to go take a bucket full of live minnows and fish for 'em, and that's very productive, a very good way of catching crappie.

But to go and use artificial lures takes a little special technique, and they know how to do it.

- Now, Donna's got spicy venison, is that right?

- Yeah, real tasty venison recipe from her.

So anybody that deer hunts and likes to eat venison, pay attention.

- We got something big going on.

Stick around, there's a lot coming your way today on the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

- [Charles] That right side there-- - [Bryan] Yeah, it's oh-- - Seen that silver flash.

- Look at that.

- [Charles] That is a nice fish.

- [Bryan] Oh, he's fighting it out.

- [Charles] That'll work.

- Yeah, he's still got a real dark tint to him.

Like he ain't been back from the shallows very long.

See the black on him?

Good.

- [Charles] Healthy fish.

- [Bryan] Yeah, they are.

- [Charles] No bad sores on 'em.

- Nope.

Real pretty.

I appreciate you getting them little fish out of my way.

I'm good for doing that.

- Attaboy.

The little fish probably are a little more quicker to grab that jig.

- After you get a little high off that brush.

- Right.

- [Charles] Got one too.

- [Bryan] Oh, doubles.

- Doubles, first time.

- [Bryan] Alright, we gonna see.

- Yeah.

- [Bryan] See whose is the biggest.

Uh oh, uh oh!

I believe you got me!

- Looks pretty nice.

If I get him in the boat.

Come here, baby.

Yeah.

Nice!

- Yeah, I believe you got me whooped on that.

- Nice.

Nice fish.

- Come out the same way.

Pretty.

Good job.

[water splashes] You could fill up a cooler quick like that.

- I just cut you off, didn't I?

- That's okay.

[laughing] That's alright.

Fish terrorist.

You got all this water to throw, and you dove under me.

- I know, I'm cutting you off.

Do all I can to outfish you.

I know sometime, Bryan, you're known as the Jig Master.

So I know you like these jigs.

Is there a certain time of year you like using these?

A better time?

- Yeah, the time of year I like using 'em is when I'm fishing.

I don't know.

[both laughing] - When you're fishing.

- When I'm fishing, it doesn't matter.

The wintertime they're not nearly as effective as live bait is.

Minnows seem to work a lot better in the wintertime, but from spring all the way through the fall, I use a jig.

I don't like the aggravation of keeping minnows alive and buying minnows.

- Gas is bad enough, ain't it?

- Yeah, gas is getting bad enough.

I really do, I like the jig.

I like working the jig.

I like to be doing something.

- Just watching a bobber.

- But I see a lot of people out, that's what they want to do.

They want to watch that cork go under, with a minnow on it.

And that's their way of fishing, and this is mine.

Different strokes for different folks.

- Oh yeah.

- Staying down.

That fish is staying down.

- Is it a catfish?

- I don't know.

No, it's a nice crappie.

- No, I see the silver shine.

- It's staying down.

- [Bryan] Oh yeah.

- [Charles] Come here, baby.

Nice.

- Look at that.

Three keepers in a row.

- And her fins are all nice here.

- [Bryan] Mm-hmm.

No sores.

- You get a lot of 'em out the ponds in my shop and their fins are all tore up.

- [Bryan] Right.

[water splashes] - We can fix that.

- You can fix that?

- Yeah I can fix that.

- Okay.

- But them two pounders, you don't put 'em on the scale in front of your customer.

[both laughing] You just say he's two pounds.

- That's right, that what he said.

It's his fish, he weighs what he says it weighs.

Boy, the wind has laid good.

- I know, it's changed.

- Sure does make it nice.

- I got up this morning and seen them clouds, and I said hmmph.

- [Bryan] Let me get out of your way.

Let me get my little stuff out of your way.

Oh!

- [Charles] Nice.

- [Bryan] That is pretty.

It's fun on that light rod too, isn't it?

- He got a little sore on his back.

Look at that.

That's alright though.

- Look at the size of that fish.

That 10 inch limit has really, it's been in effect for three years now.

- You're seeing more bigger fish?

- You're seeing bigger fish.

Bigger fish.

- He got that hook in his hard part there.

- That's where you want that four pounder hung, right in the roof of the mouth.

A lot of these fish I see that on, and I think, this is my personal opinion, I think the cormorants are grabbing them fish when they're shallow like that and trying to eat 'em.

Because, I bet you-- - That's a fresh sore there, isn't it?

- Yeah, out of 10 or 15 fish you'll have one that's got a bite right there in the same place, every year.

And I think that's what it is.

But that's unofficial, there.

- That's the game warden's ruling.

- No, that's Bryan's unofficial theory.

Which means absolutely nothing.

- New brush pile.

Ooh.

- Oh, he pulled drag.

Goodness, Mr.

Mean.

Oh, me.

- Nice.

- [Bryan] That's a pretty fish right there.

Let me help you with that.

- [Charles] You gonna lift 'em or you want-- - [Bryan] Yeah, I'm gonna lift him.

- Get your big thumb in his mouth.

[laughing] - Good deal.

- That's nice.

That alright.

- [Bryan] Oh no, the redhead.

[laughing] - [Charles] It's about beat off, look at it, the paint's coming off.

- [Bryan] It is!

That's beautiful right there.

Good gracious.

And why didn't I-- Oh, oh, oh!

- That's probably got 'em for the next big one.

- That's right.

That's pretty, Chuck.

- Nice fish.

- That's a nice fish.

- I can catch 'em in deep water too.

- That's right.

You still got it.

- That's good to know, good to know.

My little jig is getting weathered.

- Woohoo, give me a bath.

- That superglue on that helps a lot too.

Holding that body on there.

- [Bryan] Good gracious.

Showing out.

- [Charles] Splashing water on your shirt.

- That's right.

You keep catching 'em like that, I'll take the water.

[chuckling] You got a little, oh, it's pretty.

When they come up like that-- - That silver flash.

- Way out there and shine.

- [Charles] Rode the water.

- One jump.

- Shake your head.

- [Bryan] There he is.

- [Charles] A little nicer fish on this brush pile.

- Yeah, they are.

It may be because it I didn't fish it yesterday.

[laughing] But, that's pretty.

Alright, you gonna do it this time.

- I'm gonna drop her down.

- This is it.

[easy listening music] - [Charles] More to the-- Ride that buoy.

- [Bryan] Just got my jig tied on, maybe I can get in there and get one.

Seeing his size?

Well, yeah, he's, oh yeah.

- Come here, sweetie.

- See that old mouth come open.

- [Charles] Yeah, sweetie.

- I'm real impressed, Chuck.

You have really caught some today.

I'm so-- Oh, there he is!

I'm so impressed that you-- - Well, I never could do it without your finding-- - Have redeemed yourself.

- Finding this structure for us.

- You know everybody was kind of worried that you forgot how to.

- Oh, that's nice.

- Oh, that's pretty.

- [Charles] That's what we're looking for, there.

- Woohoo, yeah.

Alright.

I was kind of worried that-- - [Charles] Get these stirred up a little bit.

- [Bryan] I'd forgot how to get the nice one.

Yes, sir.

- [Charles] So how long is he?

- He's probably 11.

The thing about it is, the way we measure 'em and that-- - That was a bump.

- That little thing that we've got to measure 'em with, he gets so wide right here, that his nose won't go all the way to the end.

So it looks like he's 11 or 12 inches, but he's actually just 10 1/2, 11 inches.

But, good legal fish.

[water splashes] - Another nice fish.

- I tell you what.

Oh!

Yeah.

I'm beginning to like this brush pile more and more.

Oh!

Strong, strong.

- You can tell they're late out fish though.

- Yeah, their bellies not like they were back in March, when they looked like they had swallowed golf balls.

- Little golf balls.

- Chrome.

[both laughing] - Shiny.

Go back down there.

[water splashes] - You know I was raised fishin' farm ponds, and growing up then, we threw the Beetle Spins.

I mean, that was a crank and throw, crank and wind.

I think the mistake a lot of people make on throwing these jigs, when you're fishing 12, 15 foot of water, they don't let the jig sink.

- That's right.

- They don't give it time to sink.

- It's got to get down there where the fish are.

You used to throwing something with a spinner on it, or something in shallow water, you don't have to let it sink.

But these here you do, you got to let it get down there to the fish.

- Just above the structure slope.

- Yes, if you can just touch it, just a little bit as it comes by, they'll generally pick it off, if they're aggressive at all.

- [Charles] They definitely move that way.

- Is that me or you?

Oh!

- I think I hit you with my line.

- Okay.

That's a little better fish.

- Nice little fish.

Come in here, baby.

- [Bryan] Good job.

Oh!

That'll work.

Alright.

The redhead wins again.

[laughs] - [Charles] He's lucky that he gets to go back today.

- [Bryan] That's right.

- [Charles] Which is a rarity in this boat.

- He better be careful tomorrow, I'll tell you man.

[both laughing] You know that redhead bit my jig off just now.

- Did it?

It cut your line?

- Yeah, cut my line.

- Well, I got advantage then while you're down.

- I see how you're gonna do.

Good job.

- There's a smaller fish, two fish?

- Oh, my.

Ooh, this is a nicer fish here.

- [Charles] Yeah, you got a nicer fish than what I got.

- Oh yeah, that's pretty.

- Big old silver flash.

- Man, he wants to dig to the bottom.

There he is.

- I'm not gonna show you this one.

- That's alright.

They gotta be that size before they reach like this, don't they?

- [Charles] Nice.

- Pulling power, lot of fun.

[water splashes] - Tasty in the pan.

- Yes.

Them fish are actually just right there.

- I know, I know.

Still dropping.

If I can get it to hit that zone.

- And if you come too far before you get to the zone.

- It don't matter.

- It's gon' be a fish, right here.

- I like your confidence.

- You like it?

- Mm-hmm.

I'm right behind you.

- Either be a fish or hung.

- Alright.

- Oh, fish!

- It sounded like you were hung, there for a second.

[laughs] - Yeah.

- Which is a good thing.

He's staying down there.

- There's a lot nicer fish, on this.

Oh, that's pretty there.

Ooh, is he gonna make it to the boat?

Oh, yeah.

- Nice.

Little sore on that one side.

He's missing his pectoral fin.

- Look at that.

Something has got him there.

He's prettier on that side.

- Yeah.

[water splashes] - You have to get right over top of 'em.

- Straight down.

Nicer fish.

- I think these bigger fish have buried down in the brush pile just a little bit more and have to get right down on top of 'em to get 'em to come out.

- That fish would look bigger if your hands weren't so big.

[both laughing] - That's okay.

He tastes just as good.

- Does he?

- Big hands and all.

- If I need to drop straight down over-- - Yeah, I think if we drop straight down in 'em, they may.

- Listen to the master here.

Usually pretty much right.

We got something.

- It's easier to drop right straight down.

- Lookie there.

Just like you said.

- There, you got it.

- [Charles] Just like you said.

- [Bryan] If you drop straight down, you not apt to get hung up as bad, either.

Oh, I just missed mine.

- Little redhead sticking out of his mouth.

- Yeah, that redhead seems to be a theme for today.

- Nice.

Nice and handsome.

[both laughing] - I try.

- Joe, good day of fishing there.

Caught a lot of fish, and it seems like the fellas had a good time.

- Oh, they did.

The day we fished, the fish had just moved onto the structure.

This was in mid-May, and actually we were a little late getting on the structure.

Bryan fishes a lot for crappie.

He's a game warden on Jordan Lake and one of the best crappie fisherman that I know about.

Charles, on the other hand, is probably one of the top taxidermists we have here in North Carolina.

He's based outside of Sanford.

Both of 'em love that crappie and Jordan Lake's got a good population.

You know they mentioned the size limit, there is a 10 inch limit on the fish and they've already noticed an increase in the size of the fish.

So management does work.

- Let's find out more.

Let's go to Gear Time for some helpful information.

[easy listening music] - Well, Bryan, we've had a good day on the lake today.

It's been a change for me, I've been fishing the ponds and floating the river some, so it's been a good experience fishing a little deeper and structured.

- Right?

Yeah, they're just getting to the deeper structure right now.

It's been kind of a slow spring about getting fish out and onto our summertime holes.

The weather come through, the front come through, and keep 'em mixed up.

But it's been a good day today.

- We've had a lot of wind and today the wind cooperated so we could stay on top of the brush.

Some brush held smaller fish and bigger fish and it was neat.

- [Bryan] Yeah, they were mixed up today.

Start off this morning, they were kind of scattered out.

But as the sun got up and zeroed 'em in on the brush a little bit, they got a little more active.

- [Charles] Got on some brush piles you didn't fish yesterday.

- [Bryan] [laughing] That helped out.

- We used, I like these little light Ultra Lights.

Four pound test.

And I buy the cheaper rods 'cause I've been known to break the more expensive rods.

- Well, I've seen you, and I try to keep my rods away from you.

I use a four pound test on most of 'em.

We start getting on the brush a little more, and if they get buried up in the brush a little bit, we'll have to go to six pound test so you don't spend all day tying jigs on.

The four to six pound has worked out real good.

- And slowing down and letting 'em get in the brush piles is the main thing.

- Letting it get down there to 'em, that's right.

- Want to show us some of the jigs we used today?

- Right, we've got, I like green, any tint of green.

We use the green and white most of the time on a 32nds ounce head.

The little fishy works good when the wind's up a little bit on a 8th ounce head.

The little fishy tends to catch a bigger fish a lot of times.

Out here on Jordan we've got a 10 inch limit.

- [Charles] That's a uh-- - This is made just for crappie.

You just put him in there nose first, and it's got the scales on the top that tell you how long he is.

- Stick his head in here, and if he's 10 inches, he can-- - He can go home with you.

20 of 'em, anyhow.

Got a little ball on it.

That's just for my personal use.

I drop it in the water sometimes when I'm throwing 'em back in, and that keeps this afloat.

The 10 inch limit has really helped out here.

It's got the size of the fish upgraded a whole lot.

Still plenty of small fish, but your still catching many 10 and over fish.

- Good deal.

Had a lot of fun, good day out of the shop.

- That's right.

We'll do it again.

- I would do it this afternoon.

- That's right.

- Guys, thanks for that information.

Just goes to show, go light and go to have fun.

Now, let's catch up with Donna.

She's got a recipe for us.

It's involving spices and venison.

[easy listening music] - Hi!

Today in the kitchen we're serving a spicy venison on a bed of hush puppy straws.

You may not have heard of hush puppy straws.

This a great way to serve hush puppies, instead of serving them nice and thick, these are gonna be long and thin and really crunchy.

Almost like a funnel cake.

They're really fun to make and I think you'll enjoy it.

So let's go ahead and get started.

We're gonna use our hush puppy mix with onions, just one box.

Then we're gonna add water.

You want to make these a little bit more runny than the regular hush puppies.

When you mix those together they're pretty firm, and you can handle 'em.

You want to make these more like a cake batter.

Not quite, but maybe like a muffin mix.

So, we're gonna mix this together, and then we're gonna put these in a large, zip-top bag.

That way we can use that as our, kind of like a pastry bag, so you can squeeze it out.

So we're going to mix this together, and this looks pretty good.

You can see it's more like a muffin mix thickness.

'Cause you want it to be thin so it can go through that bag.

Then we're gonna take our zip-top bag, and I like to fold mine down, especially when you don't have anybody to help you.

Just fold it down and make a little bowl like that.

Then we're gonna pour our mix in here.

This is something that's just kind of fun to make.

It's a little bit different.

I was making them and they're so good.

They're nice and crunchy.

Just a little bit different way to make your hush puppies.

Kind of fun.

Then we'll just close up our bag, and you want to squeeze all the air out of it.

Then you want to work it down into one of the corners.

Just like you would if you were making icing in a pastry bag.

Then you're ready.

We're gonna just snip off the end, and then we're ready to go.

So let's take our lid off and let's drop a little bit in here, just to make sure that we're ready to go.

I think we are, alright.

So, we're gonna snip off the end of our bag, and you don't want to snip it off to big, or they'll come out, well, it depends on how big you want yours.

Then we just drop 'em in.

If you drop a lot in at one time, then they're gonna kind of stick together, more like a funnel cake would.

You just cook them until they're golden brown, and they cook up really fast 'cause they're small.

Then you can just top, kind of like a pommes frites, you know when you got a French restaurant and they have those really thin, crispy french fries on top?

Or the real thin onions on top?

It's kind of like that, but I decided that it would be fun to serve our venison on those.

Or you can do fish on 'em, or duck.

Just something a little different and it adds such great flavor to 'em.

See, they're cooking up really quickly.

You just continue to do that.

You want to make sure though, that your oil is nice and hot, about 375, before you start.

Otherwise they'll just kind of float in your oil, and kind of absorb that oil, and they won't be very good.

You don't want to have oily ones, you want to have nice, crispy ones.

You just want the outside.

So see, they're nice and golden brown, and beautiful.

They're really great, they're lots of fun to make.

Then we're just gonna put those along side of our venison.

Instead of serving french fries or onion rings, with this your getting both.

You're getting the flavor of the onion, and then that great hush puppy flavor too.

Then with our venison, what I did with that, is I just-- Just repeat, make sure your oil comes back up to temperature though, before you start again.

I just rubbed a little bit of the spicy hot breader on my venison, sprayed it with a little bit of olive oil, and then put it on my grill and grilled it until it was like medium to medium-rare.

Then just slice it and you have a great dish.

It's a little bit different, and kind of fun.

So I hope you enjoyed the spicy venison on a bed of straw hush puppies, or hush puppy straws.

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

- Thanks, Donna.

You always have something special for us in the kitchen there.

Joe, let's clear this up.

Is it crappie or is it croppie?

- Well, it really depends on where you're from.

Now, if your from a state up north, then it's croppie.

If your from North Carolina or points south, generally it's crappie.

Either way, it's a great freshwater fish.

One of the best, if not the best, freshwater fish on the table that we've got, and can be found all over North Carolina.

So it really depends on where you're from, and what you're used to hearing, but either way is acceptable.

- And it's fun to catch.

- Absolutely.

And these guys we fished with today love it.

Particularly Bryan and he knows that lake and he spends a lot of time fishing for crappie and just knows how crappie thinks, and he proved it today.

- And it's always a good day of fishing in North Carolina.

- Absolutely.

- For Joe Albea, I'm John Moore.

Thanks for joining us today, 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] ♪