Tips to help make you a better Crappie fisher:
* Crappies will take a variety of natural baits, but prefer small minnows. Best artificial baits are
Pinkies, streamers, spinners, small spoons, twisters, poppers, and high-riding hair flies. If using a
cane pole, anglers recommend a long monofilament leader, one or two hooks tied near the
bottom, and enough weight to get the bait down to the needed depth. Hooks should be No. 6 to
No. 10, and line should be 2- to 6-pound test. With this gear, using either cane pole or spinning
rod, try drifting across a lake in early morning or just about dark on any summer eve. Fish from 10
to 20 feet deep. If you catch a Crappie, anchor and keep fishing. Use a landing net because
Crappies have thin mouths, which are easily torn. If drift fishing in the evening or at night, use pork
rind, a strip of perch meat, or a bucktail fly skittered over the surface. If trolling try Flatfish or small
spoons.
* When fishing a jig, use a loop knot for best results. It allows the jig to move more freely when
casting and provides an enticing subtle movement when fished vertically.
* When fishing vertically, keep up with the exact depth you're fishing at all times. Start with lures at
a variety of depths. When you find a depth that's producing, focus on that depth. Old timers used
to use a rubber band on their spinning reels. Once you catch a fish, just put a rubber band around
the spool of the reel. Then you can return to that depth quickly and exactly.
* While many fishermen rely on the shallow water of spawning crappie for good fishing, crappie will
almost always be found in the deeper depths. In a typical year there may be only two to three
weeks when shallow water will provide more consistent fishing.
* When the Crappie seem to disappear from the area you've been fishing, move out to deeper
water, but fish at the same depth. Crappie will often suspend out from structure or dropoffs, but
maintain the same depth. This is often the case in summer.
* Good prespawn fishing often occurs toward the end of warm spells, before an approaching cold
front hits. During this time, male crappie start fanning out nests in the shallows. Females also
move shallow, looking for food. Therefore, focus fishing efforts on shallow waters where spawning
will occur. When the cold front arrives, crappie return to deeper waters, holding near distinct
bottom structure where cover is abundant. If conditions are sunny and windy, wave action cuts
light penetration, and crappie remain near mid-depth structures. A few days after the front passes,
the wind usually calms, allowing greater light penetration and driving crappie to deeper structure
and cover. If weather remains sunny and begins warming before the passage of another cold
front, crappie gradually begin migrating back to shallow waters. Rainy weather - especially a warm
rain - sends them scurrying to shallow reaches.
* Trolling with several poles lets you "sweep" an area at several depths to find scattered prespawn
crappie. Put each pole in a rod holder. Use minnows and/or jigs in a variety of colors and styles.
Two baits might be set 10 feet deep, two at 15 feet and two at 20 feet. This permits you to test
different baits and depths. The dropper rig is popular for prespawn trolling. Attach a 1- to 3-ounce
sinker to the end of your line. Above this are one to four 12-inch dropper lines a foot apart. Each
dropper connects to the main line via a loop knot or swivel. A different type or color of bait is tied
to each dropper, and the rig is trolled.
* Small spoons - 1/6- to 1/4-ounce - are very productive for catching suspended prespawn
crappie. Using sonar, the fisherman looks for the arched signature of crappie suspended above
humps, points and breaklines, then a jigging spoon is free-spooled to the fish. The lure is jigged
by raising the rod tip with an upward pull then quickly lowering the rod so the spoon falls on slack
line. Crappie usually strike as the lure drops.
* Small safety-pin-style spinners are a boon when searching for scattered prespawn crappie. Fan
cast in a big circle. As you retrieve, work the lure slowly over, through and beside woody cover.
When fishing shallow brush, blowdowns and other visible cover, cast beyond the cover and bring
the lure through it or alongside it. Bump the cover with the lure; this seems to excite crappie into
biting.
* Scan your sonar for shallow underwater ledges. These aren't deep drop-offs falling 10 feet or
more, but rather shallow ditches, cuts and gullies near bankside bluffs or coves. Ledges are
especially productive when found near weedbeds, timber stands or other crappie cover.
Medium-sized (1/16- to 1/8-ounce) jigs are ideal lures for fishing ledges. Work a lure down the
drop-off, hopping it stair-step fashion. Around river ledges, allow lures to drift naturally and
bounce along the ledge.
* Fisheries agencies often construct fish shelters by sinking reefs of trees and brush in waters
lacking good cover. Buoys mark the locations of most shelters. Others are marked on maps and
can be pinpointed using sonar. All such shelters are likely to harbor crappie concentrations during
the prespawn. Use sonar to determine the shelter's position; then use a countdown technique to
pinpoint feeding fish. Position your boat a cast away from your marker buoy and cast a
1/16-ounce on 4-pound-test line to the buoy. Now count the jig down until you get a hit or contact
brush. If you get a hit, use the same count next cast. If you contact brush, use a shorter count.
* Prespawn crappie often hold on points sloping toward bottom channels. Among the best lures for
fishing these areas are small, deep-diving, baitfish-imitating crankbaits. It's difficult to keep
crankbaits at favored depths and still move them slow enough to entice lethargic crappie. Using a
neutral buoyancy or sinking crankbait eliminates these problems. Use light line - 4- to 6-pound-test
- crank the lure down to the proper depth, and then slowly crawl it across the bottom. Fish
crankbaits around cover on each point, retrieving the lure from shallow water to deep, or working
across the point toward the deepest side. Crappie move up and down points as weather and water
conditions change, and they may be difficult to pinpoint. But when the first fish is found, you might
take several on consecutive casts.
* River crappie are nomads, moving here and there as seasons change. They begin spawning in
water that's 62 to 65 degrees, and they leave cooler water as soon as possible. The thing is, water
temperature isn't the same everywhere in a river. It fluctuates from one spot to another, and that
can make it tough to find fish. Crappie may move out of the main river and into a warmer tributary.
Or they may move to water that's a little muddier, because silty water warms quicker than clear
water. It's important to find areas with the proper water temperature in order to find fish. Start your
search in areas with little current - big backwaters, side channels and other places where current
is reduced. If that doesn't produce, try fishing cuts connecting backwaters and the main river, or
work your baits around heavy cover in the river proper. Change lures, tactics and locations as
often as necessary to establish a fishing pattern.
* Don't overlook the opportunity to take loads of crappie in tailwaters below big river dams. River
crappie move upstream in late winter or early spring, searching for spawning sites. When they
reach a dam, they congregate and mill around the area for a while, and you have an excellent
chance for extraordinary catches there. A jig/minnow combination often outproduces a jig or
minnow alone in this situation. Use a leadhead heavy enough to get down in the current, and cast
the rig around wing dams, boulders, lock walls, sandbar edges and other current breaks where
crappie can rest and feed.
* Crappie can see colors well and many anglers like to use colorful lures to fish for them. However,
like all fish, their ability to see is influenced by water depth, light levels, water clarity and water
temperature. Also, a crappie's willingness to attack lures of different colors and presentations
depends upon the fish's activity level.
Copyright© 2006 BobberStop.com
* Crappies will take a variety of natural baits, but prefer small minnows. Best artificial baits are
Pinkies, streamers, spinners, small spoons, twisters, poppers, and high-riding hair flies. If using a
cane pole, anglers recommend a long monofilament leader, one or two hooks tied near the
bottom, and enough weight to get the bait down to the needed depth. Hooks should be No. 6 to
No. 10, and line should be 2- to 6-pound test. With this gear, using either cane pole or spinning
rod, try drifting across a lake in early morning or just about dark on any summer eve. Fish from 10
to 20 feet deep. If you catch a Crappie, anchor and keep fishing. Use a landing net because
Crappies have thin mouths, which are easily torn. If drift fishing in the evening or at night, use pork
rind, a strip of perch meat, or a bucktail fly skittered over the surface. If trolling try Flatfish or small
spoons.
* When fishing a jig, use a loop knot for best results. It allows the jig to move more freely when
casting and provides an enticing subtle movement when fished vertically.
* When fishing vertically, keep up with the exact depth you're fishing at all times. Start with lures at
a variety of depths. When you find a depth that's producing, focus on that depth. Old timers used
to use a rubber band on their spinning reels. Once you catch a fish, just put a rubber band around
the spool of the reel. Then you can return to that depth quickly and exactly.
* While many fishermen rely on the shallow water of spawning crappie for good fishing, crappie will
almost always be found in the deeper depths. In a typical year there may be only two to three
weeks when shallow water will provide more consistent fishing.
* When the Crappie seem to disappear from the area you've been fishing, move out to deeper
water, but fish at the same depth. Crappie will often suspend out from structure or dropoffs, but
maintain the same depth. This is often the case in summer.
* Good prespawn fishing often occurs toward the end of warm spells, before an approaching cold
front hits. During this time, male crappie start fanning out nests in the shallows. Females also
move shallow, looking for food. Therefore, focus fishing efforts on shallow waters where spawning
will occur. When the cold front arrives, crappie return to deeper waters, holding near distinct
bottom structure where cover is abundant. If conditions are sunny and windy, wave action cuts
light penetration, and crappie remain near mid-depth structures. A few days after the front passes,
the wind usually calms, allowing greater light penetration and driving crappie to deeper structure
and cover. If weather remains sunny and begins warming before the passage of another cold
front, crappie gradually begin migrating back to shallow waters. Rainy weather - especially a warm
rain - sends them scurrying to shallow reaches.
* Trolling with several poles lets you "sweep" an area at several depths to find scattered prespawn
crappie. Put each pole in a rod holder. Use minnows and/or jigs in a variety of colors and styles.
Two baits might be set 10 feet deep, two at 15 feet and two at 20 feet. This permits you to test
different baits and depths. The dropper rig is popular for prespawn trolling. Attach a 1- to 3-ounce
sinker to the end of your line. Above this are one to four 12-inch dropper lines a foot apart. Each
dropper connects to the main line via a loop knot or swivel. A different type or color of bait is tied
to each dropper, and the rig is trolled.
* Small spoons - 1/6- to 1/4-ounce - are very productive for catching suspended prespawn
crappie. Using sonar, the fisherman looks for the arched signature of crappie suspended above
humps, points and breaklines, then a jigging spoon is free-spooled to the fish. The lure is jigged
by raising the rod tip with an upward pull then quickly lowering the rod so the spoon falls on slack
line. Crappie usually strike as the lure drops.
* Small safety-pin-style spinners are a boon when searching for scattered prespawn crappie. Fan
cast in a big circle. As you retrieve, work the lure slowly over, through and beside woody cover.
When fishing shallow brush, blowdowns and other visible cover, cast beyond the cover and bring
the lure through it or alongside it. Bump the cover with the lure; this seems to excite crappie into
biting.
* Scan your sonar for shallow underwater ledges. These aren't deep drop-offs falling 10 feet or
more, but rather shallow ditches, cuts and gullies near bankside bluffs or coves. Ledges are
especially productive when found near weedbeds, timber stands or other crappie cover.
Medium-sized (1/16- to 1/8-ounce) jigs are ideal lures for fishing ledges. Work a lure down the
drop-off, hopping it stair-step fashion. Around river ledges, allow lures to drift naturally and
bounce along the ledge.
* Fisheries agencies often construct fish shelters by sinking reefs of trees and brush in waters
lacking good cover. Buoys mark the locations of most shelters. Others are marked on maps and
can be pinpointed using sonar. All such shelters are likely to harbor crappie concentrations during
the prespawn. Use sonar to determine the shelter's position; then use a countdown technique to
pinpoint feeding fish. Position your boat a cast away from your marker buoy and cast a
1/16-ounce on 4-pound-test line to the buoy. Now count the jig down until you get a hit or contact
brush. If you get a hit, use the same count next cast. If you contact brush, use a shorter count.
* Prespawn crappie often hold on points sloping toward bottom channels. Among the best lures for
fishing these areas are small, deep-diving, baitfish-imitating crankbaits. It's difficult to keep
crankbaits at favored depths and still move them slow enough to entice lethargic crappie. Using a
neutral buoyancy or sinking crankbait eliminates these problems. Use light line - 4- to 6-pound-test
- crank the lure down to the proper depth, and then slowly crawl it across the bottom. Fish
crankbaits around cover on each point, retrieving the lure from shallow water to deep, or working
across the point toward the deepest side. Crappie move up and down points as weather and water
conditions change, and they may be difficult to pinpoint. But when the first fish is found, you might
take several on consecutive casts.
* River crappie are nomads, moving here and there as seasons change. They begin spawning in
water that's 62 to 65 degrees, and they leave cooler water as soon as possible. The thing is, water
temperature isn't the same everywhere in a river. It fluctuates from one spot to another, and that
can make it tough to find fish. Crappie may move out of the main river and into a warmer tributary.
Or they may move to water that's a little muddier, because silty water warms quicker than clear
water. It's important to find areas with the proper water temperature in order to find fish. Start your
search in areas with little current - big backwaters, side channels and other places where current
is reduced. If that doesn't produce, try fishing cuts connecting backwaters and the main river, or
work your baits around heavy cover in the river proper. Change lures, tactics and locations as
often as necessary to establish a fishing pattern.
* Don't overlook the opportunity to take loads of crappie in tailwaters below big river dams. River
crappie move upstream in late winter or early spring, searching for spawning sites. When they
reach a dam, they congregate and mill around the area for a while, and you have an excellent
chance for extraordinary catches there. A jig/minnow combination often outproduces a jig or
minnow alone in this situation. Use a leadhead heavy enough to get down in the current, and cast
the rig around wing dams, boulders, lock walls, sandbar edges and other current breaks where
crappie can rest and feed.
* Crappie can see colors well and many anglers like to use colorful lures to fish for them. However,
like all fish, their ability to see is influenced by water depth, light levels, water clarity and water
temperature. Also, a crappie's willingness to attack lures of different colors and presentations
depends upon the fish's activity level.
Copyright© 2006 BobberStop.com
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| Crappie Fishing Tips |
