Wally Marshall or his line of fishing equipment is nearby. The problem with crappie tournaments is that circuits tend to come and go. Industry support for crappie tournaments is not on a par with bass tournaments, and prize money is a fraction of what anglers win in a big bass tournament. Marshall and his partners have won a dozen tournaments. Though Marshall enjoys fishing for anything that'll bite, he decided to specialize in crappie after the response to seminars he did for Barlow's Tackle Shop in Richardson.
Crappie fishing is like a secret religion that people keep for themselves.
Fishermen don't release legal-sized crappie. There's only so many crappie to go around and the successful fishermen don't like to share their secrets. In 1993, Marshall started calling himself Mr. Crappie and sold a few jigs under the Mr. Crappie label. In 1996, he trademarked the name. Mr. Crappie shrugs when he tells the story.