Greg Hammett is particular about his rods and line.
He uses 11-foot B&M crappie rods and 10-pound Berkley Trilene Big Game Solar line, whether he’s fishing with shiners or jigs.
His reels, however, are a hodgepodge salvaged from other fishing gear.
“Most of them are actually my old bass reels, and are mostly Shimanos of different types,” Hammett explained.
As for bait, Hammett advised Cypress Bayou newcomers to keep it simple.
“Shiners are best because there’s a lot of white crappie here, and they are more live-bait oriented,” he said.
When fishing with shiners, Hammett uses a simple rig consisting of a single hook tied above a bell sinker.
Hammett also uses jigs he ties himself.
“It gives me something to do on rainy days and gets my fishing juices going,” he said.
An unusual feature of the jigs are double hooks he makes by soldering two hooks together.
“Since I started using double hooks, I just about put up my net,” he said. “I hardly ever lose a fish.”
Like many other Cypress Bayou fishermen, Hammett ties multiple jigs to each line so he can cover more of the water column.
“There’s not a lot of structure in the lake to hang up on, so I like to use three jigs on each pole,” Hammett said. “It’s what people around here call a ‘Christmas tree rig.’”