Was fortunate enough to get out fishing today. Found some decent crappies and gills in shallow, 4 fow and less. My buddy gave me a hard time today because I "swung" a nice 13"er in the boat. He said "I can't believe you swung it in like that." In certain instances I will use the net and a lot of times I will reach down and try to lip them, but I don't see anything wrong with "swinging" them in. What do you all do? Any tips for "swinging" success? Thanks. Good fishing everyone!

I wouldnt swing a 13' crappie, but 13-15'' walleyes get swung everytime lol.

I'll swing a big crappie. I'm not gonna keep it so if it gets off on the swing thats ok with me unless I want a pic really badly. If it gets off, I say bummer, and keep fishing.

Anyway I can get them in the live well works for me

I keep a small net handy when fishing old paper lips. Lost a few too many trying to swing them in the boat.

It depends on how the hook is set if i see it is buried I will swing it...come to think of it I can't remember netting a crappie......

im sittin like sandman on this one i have a little net i forgot what its called but it is a trout net from frabill and its all black and plastic netting and it works perfect for smaller fish like panfish and bass

I'm with K Dawg on this one. I would absolutely swing that bad boy in the boat....I use C.P.R. a good 95 percent of the time I am on the water. If it gets off the line, no biggie.....it wasn't good enough for me anyways.

One thing to consider is to beef up the backbone of the rod you're using. This allows you to swing the fish in easier and with less recoil. I like to use mostly light or medium light rods for most of my crappie fishing. A fast tip and a moderate backbone is important in my opinion...