Catch one, catch a bunch?

[FerrisFisher]

From what I've read crappies often travel in big schools, but my buddy and I seem to only catch 2-3 a night mixed in with a bunch of gills. Is this typical? Or should I be switching baits/jigs/etc. to try and get some more specks?

[Swift]

Happens on a few of my lakes as well, a similar lake down the road and it's all Crappies and have no idea why. Just the way it is there and I accept it. Actually the mixed bunch , usually, has larger than the average 'gills for what's normally accepted on it, don't mind it one bit either. Really weird part is the Jumbo Perch that'll run underneath them at the same time, makes for a fun night.

[bee]

Drill Drill Drill No Bite Move.

[pooley]

Drill Drill Drill No Bite Move.

bee is right. crappie will be in pairs or small groups, or schools. move to find the schools.

[dav]

Drill Drill Drill No Bite Move.

A 4" auger should be part of every ice fishermans arsenal, drill, drill, drill   

dav

[jayswimmer09]

exactly what everyone else said, if your catching a couple odds are more are around, you just have to move

[Feeling Crappie]

I've seen crappies with schools of sunfish in the middle of the day and slowly as the light starts to fade I get a better ratio of crappies to sunnies. For me when I find good sized crappies I hit about 5 or 6 of them and then they are gone. If I'm on a big school I usually don't get the monsters but there are numbers.

[walkonwater1]

I see it all the time..Why one crappie? I don't know. They are some wierd critters.

[IceFlagger]

A local pond near me is the same way, crappie and sunnies outta the same hole one after another, but in my case the seem to all be smaller fish that do that.

[REEL DeiL]

i have caught alot of crappies in 3 ponds near me. I have never seen them school up in any of those ponds? I have only seen 2-3 fish at a time and than had to move to find 2-3 more

[bigredonice]

in situations where you are catching gills and crappies mixed together, try tipping your jigs with tiny minnows to select for the crappies and avoid the gills.   Doesn't keep all the gills off, but it will up your ratio a little better.

[iluvcrappie]

usually if you can get one or two you are not far from where the school is swimming through.........the ones you are catching are the stragglers that venture off from the school...............d rill about 30 holes around the area where you are fishing and walk around with a flasher and try to figure out where the school is coming through at...................u sually if you start to catch one or two you should be getting more

[Van_Cleaver]

I think catching one or two can mean different things some of which are mentioned above. I fish a smallish bay on a fairly deep lake. There are several large flat basins, and the schools seem to spread out. You will get a couple, maybe a few, but then they move on. If you have a bunch of hole you can search around with the flasher. Weekends are good, because a lot of guys tend to leave before dark, and you can cover a bunch of holes without drilling; often the fish are still nearby. A few nights ago I found some right on the bottom, but the only way to get strikes was to raise to 3 ft. and take a couple good snaps, then jiggle and pause. They don't always follow the rules, so it pays to be flexible.

[JT]

I like to set-up on travel routes,drill a bunch of holes and stay mobile but...if you are on a consistent spot,sometimes it;s better to wait in ambush as the different schools travel thru and you are there ready to roll. Try fatheads also as you will pick up some larger fish occasionally,if i'm on a good spot I stay tight and usually limit.