Cha$ing crappie for ca$h

If you ever wanted to try your hand at professional crappie fishing in Louisiana, there will be no better time than 2020.

And even if you don’t want to fish a pro event, you can learn a whole lot by watching and talking to the pros as they hit this area as part of the American Crappie Trail and the Crappie Masters 2020 competitive schedules. Plus there is a new Crappie Masters club tournament format and a first-of-it’s kind Pro-Am ACT event on D’Arbonne.

The ACT does not have a regular tour tournament scheduled on D’Arbonne for the first time in several years. But they have scheduled one of their new ACT Pro-Am tournaments for Lake D’Arbonne on Sept. 12 & 13. There will be three Pro-Am events where crappie fishermen who have not won money can fish as an amateur in the boat with a known pro. Not only will it be a learning experience, but it will also be a chance to win some money. Pro-Ams will be held on the Alabama River in February, Grenada Lake in April and Lake D’Arbonne in September. ACT also has a regular season qualifier on the Ouachita River Aug. 28-29. Hopefully things are in the works to get another ACT national championship here, but there are lots of other cities and parishes out to pick this tourism and publicity plum! It’s gonna take some work and coordination.

Videos explaining the new Pro-Am format are available on the American Crappie Trail Facebook page.

Crappie Masters will be hosting a regular event on both the Ouachita River and D’Arbonne and their National Championship on the River in 2020. The CM National Championship is going to be a big deal. That event will be the richest crappie tournament ever with a $125,000 cash and prize payout. Of that, $110,000 will be straight cash! First place? $35,000. Cash. You can buy a lot of Bobby Garland lures and B’n’M poles for that!

Here’s a little breaking news, too. The CM National Championship in 2021 will also be back on northeast Louisiana on Lake D’Arbonne.

Here’s something new with Crappie Masters. There will also be a Crappie Masters club tournament set of events in both north Louisiana and south Louisiana with lower entry fees and more events. The north Louisiana schedule is listed below. The attention to crappie has never been as intense, whether you fish competitively or just for fun.

Here’s the deal. Both of these circuits are growing on the increased interest in crappie fishing and they are following the same path that bass tournaments did years ago. And those are still expanding. Bottom line. People wanna fish. And they love to compete! We will have lots more details on both as they get closer. Hook up your kill switch. Zip your life vest. It’s gonna be a wild ride!

Here’s the schedule for the new north Louisiana Crappie Masters club tournament activities. Entry fees for these events will be $100 You can learn more about them on their Facebook page.

Meet and Greet, Catfish Charlie’s Dec 7 @ 2pm

Claiborne Show Down, Lake Claiborne State Park Jan 18 @ 5am

Battle on the Bone, Lake D’Arbonne State Park Feb 15 @ 5am

Caney Crack Down, Jimmie Davis State Park Mar 21 @ 5am

Ouachita River Rumble Forsythe Park April 25 @ 5am

Red River Rumble, Red River May 9 @ 5am

Grand Bayou Smackdown, Grand Bayou Lake June 20 @ 5am

D’Arbonne Rematch, Lake D’Arbonne State Park July 25 @ 5am

Ouachita River Part Deux, Forsythe Park Aug 08 @ 5am