“John Kelly, Jr. – Catching Walleyes, Crappie, Trout and Hybrid Striped Bass in Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska with Mepps and Mister Twister”

Part 2: How to Teach Kids to Catch Crappie and Bluegills

Editor’s Note: John Kelly, Jr., from Denver, Colorado, a tournament walleye fisherman, works with the recreation department at Mount Elbert-Bellow Recreation Center where he teaches fishing classes to children from March through late June. Not only does he teach children to fish and catch bass and bluegills on a 10-acre pond behind the center, but once a year Colorado’s Department of Conservation stocks rainbow trout for the children to catch. Mepps and Mister Twister are proud to have a man like John Kelly, Jr., as part of their fishing team because he helps to ensure the future of fishing for us all.

Question: What type of fishing do you teach at the rec center?

Kelly: I mainly teach panfish tactics for crappie and bluegills, and I also teach about bass fishing some.

Question: What do you use to fish for crappie?

Kelly: I like the Mister Twister 2-inch Exude Curly Tail Grub, and I’ll put it on a 1/16- or a 1/32-ounce jig head. Since we fish lots of stained water, chartreuse seems to be the crappie’s favorite color in our area. Sometimes I’ll fish red or black with a red or black jig head.

Question: Around what kind of structure are you fishing?

Kelly: I primarily catch crappie around weed beds, brush piles and boat docks.

Question: How are you fishing for crappie during the winter months?

Kelly: I’m primarily casting and retrieving jigs, but during the spawn, I’ll put a bobber above the jig and fish in shallow water.

Question: How do you find crappie during the winter months?

Kelly: At this time of year, the fish are usually suspended, so I’ll locate them with my depth finder. I’ll often catch them suspended at 14 feet over a 30-foot bottom.

When the crappie are suspended like this, I’ll cast my Mister Twister jighead with the Mister Twister Exude Curly Tail Grub out to the spot where I’ve spotted the crappie on my depth finder. I’ll watch my line as the bait falls and count the bait down. Then I know at what depth the crappie are holding at when I get a bite. Most of the time, the fish will take the bait on the fall so once I get the first bite I remember at what depth the bite has come. From then on, I’ll count my bait down. If I don’t get a bite on the fall, I’ll start retrieving my jig at that depth.

Question: What size crappie are you catching?

Kelly: Colorado doesn’t have really big crappie like many southern states. I’ll catch numbers of 10- and 12-inch crappie that weigh from 1- to 1-1/2-pounds each.

Question: How many crappie do you usually catch in a day?

Kelly: Most of the time we’ll limit out at 20-crappie apiece.

Question: Are you catching mostly black or white crappie?

Kelly: We’ll often catch both black and white crappie. Cherry Creek Lake is the lake I fish most often since it’s only about one block from my house. I can usually catch 10 to 20 crappie on any day I go there to fish. Although we don’t have a length limit on Cherry Creek Lake, I’ll throw back crappie less than 10-inches.

Question: How long have you been fishing Mister Twister lures and Exude Curly Tail Grubs?

Kelly: For about 15 years.

Question: Do you teach the children in your classes how to fish these Mister Twister products?

Kelly: Yes, I do. These children are 5- to 12-years old, and we also teach them how to fish live bait on Mister Twister jigheads. We show them how to put crickets and worms on the hooks of Mister Twister jigheads as well. Sometimes we’ll even put a minnow on a Mister Twister jighead. Five-year olds have short attention spans, so we’ll use whatever will get the fish to bite.