Some fishing clubs have turned their attention to crappie

Just a few years back, when someone mentioned a fishing club in the Mid-South, you could just about bet they were talking about a bass club.

The entire fishing-club concept was founded by bass anglers who wanted to compete against one another on a regular basis, and it spread so much that bass clubs have become like Wal-Marts. There’s one in virtually every town.

But just during the past few years, the club concept has caught on with crappie fishermen as well — and when it comes to the crappie-club concept, I think the Mid-South has the makings of a super league.

Crappie fishing is easily one of the most popular outdoors pursuits in the Mid-South. Those little speckled fish are to local anglers what deer and ducks are to local hunters.

For that reason, we have some of the best crappie anglers on earth — and now those anglers are banding together for what could be the most competitive club circuit on earth.

Just off the top of my head, I can name the Magnolia Crappie Club, the West Tennessee Crappie Club and the Tri-State Crappie Anglers. There’s also a website called crappie.com that is holding some ultracompetitive tournaments around the region.

Back in February on Sardis Lake, John Harrison won a Magnolia Crappie Club tournament with a limit of fish that weighed 16.29 pounds. His big fish weighed 2.95.

A recent crappie.com event on Mississippi’s Lake Washington produced multiple 3- pound-plus crappie, including a gorgeous 3.77-pounder that claimed big-fish honors.

All of this couldn’t be better news for the sport of crappie fishing.

Despite numerous advances, many people still see crappie fishing as a cane pole-and-minnows sport that’s only enjoyed by casual anglers during the spring.

That’s just not true anymore — and the emergence of all these clubs and their organized competitive events is perfect proof.

The clubs will allow crappie anglers to speak with one voice — a louder voice — when it comes to issues like the new regulations for crappie fishing on Sardis Lake. They’ll also give anglers a chance to share information and make one another better.

The Tri-State Crappie Anglers club was formed last June with that very purpose.

“We wanted to have a group of guys who aren’t afraid to share their secrets and help one anoth- er out,” said Dave Roach, chairman of the Tri-State Crappie Anglers. “That’s what we do. We get together once a month and talk openly about the sport, trying hard to make one another better crappie fishermen.”

They hold their meetings every month at different locations in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee, and they decide at each meeting where their next club fishing trip will be.

They also share information that a lot of folks guard carefully.

“We have one member in our club who spends a lot of time shooting docks over on Horseshoe Lake (West Memphis),” Roach said. “None of the other members had ever done it before, so he took us all over there and showed us how to do it. That’s what we founded this club for.”

Their next meeting will be March 12 at Southland Park Gaming and Racing in West Memphis.

If you’re a crappie fisherman, whether you choose to attend the next meeting of the Tri-State Crappie Anglers or check out one of the other great clubs in the region with a simple Google search, this new wave of crappie-related clubs can only be a good thing.

Crappie fishing is a great sport that has never been more popular in the Mid-South — and now when someone says there’s a “club tournament” coming up, crappie anglers have plenty of reason to take note.