The Crappie Were LOADED On Lily Pads!

I took my kayak out to a lake which I have never been to before. The water was dirty and there was a lot of vegetation, including lily pads along most of the shoreline. I wasn't focused on any particular species, but was hopeful to find Bluegill. After seeing many vacant Bluegill beds, I started to catch a lot of Black Crappie in the shallows along the lily pad stems. I decided I would be crazy not to embrace that pattern, so I had myself a heck of a morning catching slabs!
The technique I was using was really simple... Cast a Donkey Tail Jr. at the pads, let it drift slowly down to the bottom, twitch it a few times, and repeat. The Crappie were pounding it on the fall or near the bottom in very shallow water. Such a blast!
🎣🎣🎣 GEAR USED 🎣🎣🎣
Dobyns Sierra Trout & Panfish: discounttackle.com/products/d...
Shimano Nasci Size 1000: discounttackle.com/products/s...
6lb J Braid: discounttackle.com/products/d...
Yo Zuri Hybrid 4lb Leader: discounttackle.com/products/y...
1/32oz Mule Jig: discounttackle.com/products/m...
Donkey Tail Jr: discounttackle.com/products/m...
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[@shawnmcdonald55]

Guys be careful with this stuff. I bought Mule Jigs and Donkey Tail Jrs to take my daughter out fishing. I figured we would catch some dinks on 2lb test and have some fun. Wrong. All we caught were donks and slabs. He advertises these as ultra light jigs but the fish you catch will only test the limits of your rod. It put great wear and tear on my new rod and reel, and the next morning i was sore from setting the hook so many times. Fishing is probably ruined for my kid now, because anything short of tons of big fish, cast after cast is going to be a let down. Whatever you do, dont mix and match the different colored jig heads with the different color donkey tail jrs, it only made the fish angrier and more agressive. I had a smallmouth beach itself trying to get to my lure as i was putting the rod back in the car. If youre targeting a certain species good luck, i was hoping for blue gill but i caught bass, crappie, pike, a previously undiscovered species of fish, an osprey, and a submerged breifcase full of cash. I tried to downsize the jig head from a 1/32 oz to a 1/80 so my kid could catch a fish small enough for her to hold, but that just made it worse, the smaller the jig the bigger the fish got. If you think youll take these out and have a nice day of fishing with them youre wrong. Youll hit your bag limit and a state record before lunch and wont know what to do with the rest of your day.

[@FishAnything]

Shawn - I believe you just won "best comment ever" on my channel. Seriously though, I am beyond thankful to hear such a great testimonial. Happy you are having fun with the gear, and even happier that you are spreading your love for fishing with your family. Tight lines my friend!

[@austinhall485]

Nothing will ever top this comment. This is top teir 😂

[@AaronHuntFishing]

Lol. This is awesome. Mule fishing gear should come with a warning label….

[@riverratfishing]

Awesome day. Awesome video. Those real dark Crappy

[@FishAnything]

Thanks man. Yeah, the "tuxedo" is always a fun look on these fish.

[@riverratfishing]

Sent on accident, those real dark Crappy were awesome

[@brianathern9154]

Great crappie and panfish video brother. @2:32 he nails a slab daddy crappie. 💥 You're just fueling the ultralight fire Ethan. Blessings buddy

[@FishAnything]

Heck yeah, Brian! Hope you have a nice weekend full of donkeys :)

[@FishingWithChris_Tv]

I’m banking on warmouth/bluegill. I catch a ton of hybrids in the creeks around here and the gold’ish hue to that plus the blue tint on the gills make me lean towards warmouth/gill. 🤙🏼🤙🏼

[@FishAnything]

Yeah, I am pretty much 100% sure they were Gill/Warmouth hybrids. They had massive mouths and were very clearly not Green Sunfish in any way. But they weren't pure Warmouth.

[@iancameron198]

Ultr fishing is awesome.along with our buddy yodaagain thank you for thr lure.i will keep it forever

[@FishAnything]

Tight lines Ian! Your welcome :)

[@losingbigfish9473]

Great video you got me all fired up to go Croppie fishing. Thank you for putting out awesome baits my six year old son caught his largest bass on a work horse jig and a mule minnow. Using 13 fishing rod defied silver, Daiwa revros 1000. The fish weighed 2.2 pounds.

[@FishAnything]

That is freaking awesome! I love to hear that the gear is working, but I love it even more that you are fishing with your son and spreading your love for the outdoors. Keep it up.

[@SnoreMyers]

Just went and bought a $40 ultra light combo and ordered some mule jigs and bugs. Excited!

[@FishAnything]

Thank you Jake! You won't regret it - keep me posted on how you do :)

[@martinreilly4845]

Love your videos, especially when you bank fish. I've learned so much on your bank techniques. I'm on a fixed income and can't afford the expense of a small boat or kayak. Keep up the great work and look forward to your upcoming videos.

[@FishAnything]

Thank you Martin! I will definitely continue to bank fish in addition to kayak. Some of the most fun you can have is bank or wade fishing!

[@AaronHuntFishing]

I had every intent to fish for crappie this spring, but the call of the lmb was too great for me this year! Appreciate the virtual experience through this vid.

[@FishAnything]

Hope you get out there and catch some slabs this fall!

[@iShowUnusualBehavior]

For real. This spring was a great bass year. Especially here in Texas. then the summer got mega hot and dry and killed that. Hopefully you catch some slabs this fall

[@kenbrown5221988]

Great Video! Awesome info. I literally just started pan fishing from the kayak last night. It's such a good time.

[@FishAnything]

Always a dang blast. Tight lines, Ken!

[@oscaroogabooga8565]

my friends and i recently got into micro fishing and thats how i found your channel i baught some of the 1.2 mule minnows they came in today and we went out and we were slammin pumpkinseed and greensunfish nonstop it was a blast and the baits held up insanely well and the action is amazing its such a quality product i was using it on your 1/32 mule jig as well

[@FishAnything]

THANK YOU OSCAR! I am so happy to hear this - thanks for the support.

[@Economics-rn3ef]

Great looking fish. Going to get some Mule baits for my ultralight fishing. Great video.

[@FishAnything]

Thanks so much for the support!

[@joncampbell3641]

Such pretty fish - wish we had them in England!

[@FishAnything]

I really love Crappie. If you ever get a chance to fish for them, you should.

[@shawneldridge4465]

🎣 nicely well done with those caches and that's what they are. From what the Pennsylvania fish and game commission told me, the bass are done laying their eggs and as of yesterday bass fishing season started too. I don't keep them at all. I just catch and release the fish back into the water.

[@FishAnything]

Hope the fishing is good to you this summer, Shawn!

[@shawneldridge4465]

@@FishAnything Thank you very much and of course I appreciate that too. So far with all the bad rain we had haven't really caught that much. A few panfish and a 15 inch largemouth but no trout yet.

[@seizedcarcass8440]

You should add one more color to the mule minnow and the DT jr. I think a green pumpkin chartreuse laminate would really round off the color selection. Maybe call it green pasture? To compliment pasture fire

[@FishAnything]

That’s a great suggestion - thanks for sharing!!

[@Tightt88]

Pigeon Hill! Muskegon! That’s my home town. There are so many good breweries in Muskegon. And good fishing. I’ll be up that way in two weeks.

[@FishAnything]

Heck yeah man! If you stop by Pigeon Hill, tell them you found out from Fish Anything haha I want to get up there and fish / end my video at the brewery. One of these days!

[@Tightt88]

@@FishAnything if you are that way late June, early July, I’ll be up there on leave from Tx. Also, PH new location down town is pretty awesome from what I have heard.

[@FishAnything]

If you have an IG, hit me up via DM when you get here. Who knows, maybe we can link up.

[@jaxxonfishroom]

Great video 😊 I caught some cool fish the other day for my native fish tank

[@FishAnything]

Haha epic!

[@jaxxonfishroom]

@@FishAnything yeah lol

[@waynewurst3487]

The dinkmaster is still slaying them

[@FishAnything]

Ha! Heck yeah, Wayne!

[@chad4720]

Great video! It was nice meeting you out on the river the other day!

[@FishAnything]

Yo Chad! Thanks for dropping in and commenting - hit me up on IG one of these days and lets fish. It was really nice to meet you. Like I said, you have a really awesome boat!!

[@thomaskurata2548]

Hi. I greatly enjoyed this video

[@thomaskurata2548]

You spoke very intelligently about how you were fishing and why. So many fishing videos about panfish and crappie have hosts who explain nothing or talk gibberish. I would like to ask you to discuss more about your fishing gear and why you use it. For example, what kind of line and strength do you prefer? Knowing your preference for rods and reels would be very helpful. Again, thank you very much for a great video. I'll be returning to watch more.

[@FishAnything]

Thanks so much, Thomas! For line, I really like 6lb braid with a 4lb mono or copolymer leader. In this case, I was using Daiwa J Braid X8 Grand with a Yo Zuri Hybrid leader. Tight lines :)

[@Meadmon]

Let's goooo!

[@FishAnything]

Tight lines Carter :)

[@calebprice304]

Ethan you have amazed me yet again. Ordered the burro bugs a week or so back and took them out and could not stop catching fish. Any time I go micro fishing I take my rod and your jigs and lure and hit the water. Any time I fish them I always catch something. I love you stuff man. Also just got another order got more hooks and the new spinner blade. Any recommendation on what size jig head to use. God bless bother than you for eveything learned more about fishing from you more then anyone else can’t wait till your new content come out!!

[@FishAnything]

Thank you so much, as always, Caleb! For the Bronco Blade, it is designed to be versatile and match all jigs. That being said, I mostly like the 1/32oz Mule Jig and up. The Workhorse Jigs are probably my personal favorite to rig on the blade. Allows me to cast farther and maintain a small profile.

[@VasilyLementar]

Great video as usual. Just bought few different donkey tell jr and now I regret not buying yellow pack. It would be nice if you sell mixed colors bags , especially for first time buyers. Will see how well they work

[@eastonbolin1674]

This is a great idea. Sample pack!

[@mattyschell1973]

Second this as well. Would love this for the new burro bug. Fishing clear desert waters is not easy and color finicky fish are a thing.

[@FishAnything]

Thank you all for the feedback and support! I would love to offer a mixed pack, however at this time, it isn't really in the cards. It is a very labor-intensive process to make mixed packs so it would increase cost too much. That being said, I will continue to look for solutions so again, please never hesitate to pass along your feedback. It is incredibly helpful!

[@InTheWoodsToday]

If that isnt a warmouth hybrid, i would have guessed green sunny and warmouth crossbreed. I love those hybrids of all kinds. Still after the Notorious Flier

[@FishAnything]

Wait... There aren't Flier in Michigan?

[@InTheWoodsToday]

Ive heard tales of them being by my familys cabin in Charlevoix. Never seen one but it would be so cool.

[@InTheWoodsToday]

I feel like ive been on this lake before! Nice fish all through the video, and i also love the spawn colors on them papermouths!

[@FishAnything]

Who knows?! So many lakes in Michigan and many of them look the same. You can absolutely text me and verify though haha

[@richjackson335]

love watching the ultralight fishing. I favor my ultralight when it out, the fights are great

[@FishAnything]

Such a fun way to catch them! Thanks for watching, Rich.

[@casttimefishing]

Awesome video. I haven't encountered spawning males yet this season. Plenty of slab female crappie but no tuxedo males. Love your content. Keep it coming!

[@FishAnything]

Thanks man. Interesting you haven't seen any yet. Must have had a short spawn window and timing didn't work out in your favor. Not sure where you live but we had some crazy hot weather this spring that threw timing off I think.

[@JeremyMartin-xq7pb]

I love the DT Jr on a 1/32 ounce head. That slow fall absolutely works for all species. Got me a 18.5 inch largie on the TFO ultralight the other day. Bent that poor rod in half.

[@FishAnything]

Thank you Jeremy! This little rig is probably my number 1 confidence bait for numerous species. Happy to hear you are having fun with it as well.

[@ryanr85]

Sweet

[@FishAnything]

Thanks for watching, Ryan.

[@calebott5909]

Love your videos! New subscriber, newer to fishing and been loving exploring with the ultralight gear. Would love if you could do a video about different setups and lures you like best for sunfish fishing! Thanks!!!

[@FishAnything]

Thank you for the suggestion, Caleb! I will definitely look into this. In the meantime, I have a ton of ultralight videos that you will see many of my favorite rigs/setups in. Hopefully they help!

[@JawhBoyLeaf]

Love the video as always! Going to try to get some shad with mule lures soon! Will tag you on IG if I get any. Getting a kayak soon. Can you do a video on your fish finder? Thanks 🙏🏻

[@FishAnything]

Please do! I would love to see some shad catches on the lures.

[@Jb_outdooradventures]

up north were im at were having a perch year for the past couple Years haven't caught to many they tend to come in waves probably due to survival rate. this year its every other fish almost ❤ also the water clarity has dropped a few feet turning more green every year blue algae has taken over lot of our waters to

[@FishAnything]

Interesting! Hope you get on some big perch! Always fun :)

[@TylerGoesFishing]

so many crappie

[@FishAnything]

I caught the snot out of them!

[@sly4139]

I was today years old when I learned why sometimes crappie are super dark. A few weeks back I got into a few crappie. One was real dark like that and it confused the heck out of me. Not saying much since I caught my first one last year

[@FishAnything]

Happy to help you learn some random facts :) I didn't know this until a few years ago either.

[@alexrockett1588]

I caught a very nice brem today hand size

[@FishAnything]

Sounds like a great time!!

[@mikerhym6084]

Brother crappy 😂😂😂😂

[@FishAnything]

Crappy, Crappie... Tomato, Tom-ah-toe...

[@user-og7le2pi1r]

What kayak do you have ? I’m ready buy my first kayak for local lakes an ponds. What would you recommend? P.S. yesterday on ultralight Okuma setup with 4lb trilene xI caught 3 bass - 21, 19 and 17 inches on donkey tail Dakota Sunrise !!!

[@FishAnything]

Heck yeah Christine! I have the Old Town Sportsman PDL 120... As far as recommendations go, it all depends on how you intend to use it and what your budget is. There are sooooo many nice kayak options these days across a wide spectrum of price ranges. Feel free to DM me on Instagram if you have it and we can discuss it deeper.

[@B_Lane]

when does the "Mule Ploppies for Crappies" line come out?

[@FishAnything]

Lol I don't know what this means so probably not anytime soon

[@orlandogarcia9751]

Question what kind reel is the one you’re using in this video? Thanks 🙏

[@FishAnything]

That is a Shimano Nasci (linked in the description)

[@Meadmon]

How far could you pedal on that kayak? Looking to upgrade my regular kayak.

[@FishAnything]

I go a few miles I imagine. Just depends on how much time I have! You can definitely cover some water.

[@alexrockett1588]

Where can I get spro 6lb braid been looking

[@FishAnything]

I always get mine from Discount Tackle. Affiliate link here: discounttackle.com/products/spro-finesse-braid-8x-flash-pink-164-yards?variant=39781706203225&aff=6

[@N44.]

qustion what is your fishfinder set up

[@FishAnything]

Lowrance Hook 2 5x

[@N44.]

@@FishAnything thanks

[@stevebrown7271]

Why do you still switch hands instead of reeling with your left, very inefficient in my mind 🤔

[@ericsullivan4381]

Preference to some people. Iirc his older videos he fished it the opposite. I could be wrong tho

[@FishAnything]

I get this comment/question very often - I might have to make a video on it... My thoughts - fish what is most comfortable for you. I switch hands because I like to cast right handed and reel right handed. I feel I can cast more accurately and farther with my right than with my left. That being said, my left has more coordination for working a bait. I have tried to switch and go ambidextrous but I have found that I lose a lot of coordination and likely cost myself tons of bites. The split second it takes to switch hands takes minimal effort and costs me virtually no fish, so I don't mind.

[@ericsullivan4381]

@@FishAnything pretty much this to me. I can’t set a hook to save my life with my left hand on an ultralight, so I reel with left. Anything top water I’m opposite