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The following article by Todd appeared on Crappie Pro's fishing tip web page:

Winter Fishing

There is one myth that is crazier than the rest: The myth is 'That all crappie return to deep

water in Winter". For the last 12 years I have caught limits of big crappie in water less than

10 feet, fishing 1 to 3 feet deep. More and more fishermen are catching on, but you will still

probably have it all to yourself. The best time is at night or when clouds are present. It is

important to have artificial light when fishing these conditions. The Hydro-Glow Light is one

of the best! All you need to get started is a Crappie Pro Slab Stik, Spinning Reel, and an

assortment of Crappie Pro Jigs. Any dock that has brush and at least 10 feet of water will

hold fish. Light from the Hydro-Glow will attract fresh water shrimp. The tiny creatures can

actually be seen if scooped up in a white cup. Ghost Minnows and Shad feed on these

shrimp. In the Winter after lakes have turned over, the water is all about the same

temperature. This allows crappie to be anywhere in the water column. The crappie around

docks suspend just below the styrofoam. On clear lakes, if the action is hot and then dies,

turn off your light and the crappie will start biting again. Do not leave your light off for long,

10 to 15 minutes maximum, or your ecosystem will fall apart. Catching these shallow Winter

Crappie is easy. Just experiment with colors and Kodiak Scents. The main key is

persistence. Some nights are great and some are slow. The great nights are truly

unbelievable. Successful Bass Anglers know that some Bass stay shallow all year. Well,

some Crappie do too.

Night Fishing - Dock Fishing

Fish fast but with slow action. Even though it may be cold, try not to shake too much. On a

fishing dock that has four equal sides, start at a corner and walk slowly around the edge,

keeping a pace that will keep your line somewhere between 45 to 65 degrees from the

water. This range will keep you from going too fast. Two Crappie Pro jigs, 1/16th on top

1/8th on bottom will allow you different depths and colors. Start about 3 feet deep and

work down in increments of 2 feet. Do not change depths until you get back to where you

started. Add some Kodiak scent and you will catch fish.

Night Fishing - Rip-Rap Or Dam Fishing

This is much harder than docks, but can be very exciting. Most lakes have lights on the

dam. If you can see well enough to walk along the rocks, you will be amazed at the action.

At night, shad move up to feed on the algae and organisms that live in the algae. Fish with

two Crappie Pro jigs and put on a cork about 3 feet above your top jig. Use a braided line,

such as TVF, because big saugeye, catfish, and striper roam these banks. If you have a 9 to

12 foot rod, just dab the jigs around like in the spring. The cork is just a visual guide. Fish

from the bank out to about 10 feet. Kodiak fish attractant really helps fish find your jigs at

night. This works really well below dams in the winter. Water below dams is so churned-

up, it all stays the same temperature. These two night-fishing methods will catch big crappie.

Just remember to fish shallow.

The following article appeared in the Outdoor section of The Sunday Oklahoman,

September 16, 2001:

Fishing strong in metro

Capital city area yields good number of crappie

By Ted Harbin

Staff Writer

Todd Huckabee enjoys fishing in Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma City angler is often at Grand Lake, Lake Eufaula or at other state waterways.

He has one question: Why don't more people from the metro area stay closer to home?

"I wonder that all the time," said Huckabee, who competes in professional tournaments across

the country. "People look at Thunderbird and think it's just a dirty lake that people ski and jet

ski in. But there's a fair number of fish."

In his goal to prove his stance, Huckabee took out on a windy Sept. 6 to three area lakes, all in

close proximity to his home in southeast Oklahoma City. In seven hours of fishing, two people

caught 119 fish, including 58 keepers.

"That was pretty slow for catching crappie," Huckabee said.

The morning began at Shawnee Twin Lakes. After launching into the north waterway, fishing

commenced at 7:45 over a retired bridge that once crossed a creek now covered in lake water.

It's a perfect spot for crappie, or most other fish, Huckabee said.

"When you get a spot like this, where there's a change in water depth and there's cover for the

fish, you can find the fish," he said. "I've probably caught 6,000 fish out of that spot this year."

The reason is simple to Huckabee, 27, who's been fishing much of his life and has competed in

tournaments the last 11 years.

"My dad always knew how to crappie fish," said Huckabee, a 1992 Westmoore graduate. "As

far as crappie fishing goes, I've been blessed to know how to find them.

"There are millions of crappie at each of those lakes," he said of Shawnee Twin, Wes Watkins

and Thunderbird, the three areas he was fishing that day.

To attract the crappie, Huckabee attached two jigs to light line and guided his boat over certain

targets by using a trolling motor and electronic fish finders. He made the jigs dance by

maneuvering the line through the waters.

It worked, and worked well, In three hours, the catch was 75 crappie, including 33 keepers.

"It's typical to get a limit within 2 or 2 1/2 hours here," he said. Each angler is allowed to keep

37 crappie per day.

Meanwhile, there were no other anglers around.

"A lot of people think as soon as it warms up and the crappie leave the banks, they disappear,"

Huckabee said. "That's just not true.

"In the summertime when the forecast for every day is the same, it's actually more stable for

feeding. The fish don't have a change in feeding pattern."

The trick, then, is going where the fish are. Looking for structures with cover where there's a

change in depth is key, he said.

After the three hours were up, the fishing transferred to Wes Watkins. But the fish weren't biting

nearly as well. Using the same plan, Huckabee headed for a couple of areas on the lake that

should hold fish.

"It's been slow this summer," he said of the reservoir. "The fish are smaller. There's not as much

water as other lakes, like Thunderbird, and the fish tend to get stagnant."

The stay was one hour, and Huckabee kept two of the six fish caught. The stop was followed

by the relatively quick drive to Thunderbird. There, he tried three different spots while

traversing the lake's rough waters, which were created by high south winds.

"I'd say we were in a foot and a half swells coming across there," Huckabee said. "You need to

stay over the areas where the fish are. You can't stay over the exact spot when it's that windy."

The first casts at Thunderbird were near the dam along the southern edge. He pointed on the

fish finder to an old submerged intake tower, which is one of his favorite spots on the lake. The

result was 17 keepers.

But there are other locations on the lake. He maneuvered the boat northward to a spot near a

boat ramp in which he hoped the catch would include saugeye, another game fish that swims

near crappie. He tried a few casts with a crank bait, but they were unsuccessful.

Another crossing of the rough waters and Huckabee, who began competing heavily in

tournament fishing four years ago and said he will likely compete in 40 tournaments this year,

pointed to a fishing spot that goes largely unused. There on the edge of a cove were three

buoys that displayed the signs "fishing area."

"I really don't know why more people don't fish there," he said. "The wildlife department

creates habitat and puts the buoys in place so people will know about them.

"They'll move the buoys away after a while, but he habitat is still there."

After three hours on Thunderbird, the catch was 38 with 23 keepers. But there will be other

days. Huckabee said he enjoys being on the water and sharing his talents. He also likes the

challenge it gives him.

"In fishing, everything can be refined," Huckabee said. "Even when I'm catching fish, I'm

wondering what I could be doing differently to be catching bigger fish."

Besides his tournament experience, Huckabee said he enjoys acting as a guide, showing people

the fun of catching a lot of fish - especially when those anglers are children.

"It's great to see kids catch 80 fish in a day and know I'm the reason that happened," he said. "I

get a lot more joy out of that than tournament fishing.

"But I enjoy that, too, because tournament fishing is pure adrenaline. I think I'd miss either one

of they took one away."