Crappie Fishing Tips

Fishing for crappie Choosing the right weight and style of sinker to get your minnow or artificial lure where the fish live is one of the fundamental challenges of crappie angling.

The variables involved in sinker selection are seemingly endless. You need to factor in the depth of the fish, the amount and type of cover, wind velocity, boat speed and more. Too much weight can spook the fish or put your presentation too deep. Too little weight may keep your presentation too high in the water column and make it too hard to cast your offering into the wind.

"Spider-rigging is unquestionably the hottest presentation tactic in crappie fishing, and heavy sinkers play a huge role in this multi-pole approach,

One of the most proficient "spidermen" in the country, you can employ a mixture of lead sinkers and tungsten weights on his poles.

"Spider-rigging is a vertical approach, meaning it puts your lures straight down under the boat,". "This method demands a heavy sinker in order to position your lure close to isolated pieces of cover and suspended crappie."

In winter, spring and fall, most fishing poles are rigged with 1- and 2-ounce Xcalibur Tg sinkers.

"The Tg weight is a barrel-shaped tungsten sinker with a hole running completely through it, similar in style to the sinkers bass anglers favor for their Carolina plastic-worm rigs," he notes. "It has a sleeve running through it that protects your line."

Whitehead claims tungsten sinkers are superior to lead because they are harder, environmentally friendly and more compact.

"They're considerably smaller than lead sinkers of equivalent weight," he says. "Tungsten sinkers cost more than lead sinkers, but as long as you're not fishing places where break-offs are frequent, I feel the added expense is worth it because their smaller size allows a stealthier presentation. This is especially beneficial in clear water, where crappie are likely to be extremely spooky."

Whitehead uses both lightweight tube jigs and crankbaits on his spider rigs, depending on the season and crappie location/mood.

During post-spawn,

"After crappie leave their shallow spawning areas in the backs of coves and start gravitating toward the main lake, they often go into a suspending mode and can be hard to catch," he says. "Plus, the lake is starting to clear up now that the rainy season is over, making the bite even tougher. Catching post-spawn fish in clear water usually requires that you downsize your presentation."

remove the super-heavy sinkers from his spider rigs and replaces them with less obtrusive ¼-ounce to 5⁄8-ounce weights.

"During post-spawn, crappie are extremely finicky, so I'll slow-troll a combination of tube jigs and live minnows, watching my graph for scattered schools of fish," he says. "You'll often find them suspending around a migration route leading from shallow to deeper water, such as a submerged ditch or shallow creek channel."

bobber fishing.

"Using a small sinker below the bobber gets your minnow or tube down quicker and keeps it where you want it. "When bobber fishing, use tiny 1⁄16- and 1⁄8-ounce Tru-Tungsten bullet worm weights, depending on how deep the fish are suspending. You can also use their Peter T pegging system, which allows you to peg the sinker so you can position it anywhere along the line you desire without the line abrasion you get from pegging with a toothpick."

To keep break-offs to a minimum, we recommend braided line when fishing with costlier tungsten sinkers.

use 20-pound Spider Wire with tungsten weight "This super-strong line minimizes break-offs, yet its slim diameter helps you maintain a low profile in clear water." If the water is a little murky or muddy, I like using a combination of bright and dark jigs. Like a two toned lure with a blaze orange head and black or brown body. Sometimes I'll also add some sound to my baits by using a spinner blade or shot. Don't get to loud with your sound, Crappie are spooky fish.

During early Summer mornings, I use a spider rig to find Crappie that aren't schooled up. Once the Sun get's up and the heat turns on, I use my fish locator to find schools of Crappie along deep water channels or over suspended timber.

Another good tactic to find scattered fish is suspending a jig from a slip float rig. Set out several rods, I like to use 6 or more, and drift along the lake until you start picking up fish.

Catchng these tasty fish isn't hard. You just have to change tactics and get out of spawn mode. Just remember, Crappie have to eat year round. You just need to be there when they get hungry and give them what they want to eat!

If you want to catch fish, really catch fish, live bait is the only way to go. You may catch some fish on dead cut bait, but in general they will be smaller and fewer in number. We've proven this to ourselves more times than I can remember. Shiners and shad live longer if hooked through front lips or bottom lip through nostril. Care must be taken not to break the neck of the bait.

Shiner minnows are my favorite minnow to use, I prefer the smaller variety about 1 1/2" in length. Many crappie anglers would argue that bigger is better, but the truth is I like to catch fish and I am not interested in only fishing for the large slabs. If you are one of the anglers who only fish for slab crappie then bigger is probably better,but I prefer to catch a lot of fish. Now the reason I like the shiners whether using small or large minnows, is they reflect light like small mirror in the water. Crappies are easily attracted to changes in light patterns,so the shiner minnow is fish attractor and a live crappie bait food source at the same time.

 

  Winter is also a good time to take a hard look at what you're carrying in your tacklebox. Is there something in there you don't use? Something you've needed? Winter allows you the time to research new lures, or even a new tacklebox.

 

#1 Fishing Crappie Tip It is very important that you catch your bait from the same area you are going to fish, or purchase your bait from the local bait shop. Crappie will reject any live bait like minnows that are not native to their habitat.

 

#2 Fishing Crappie Tip If you fish from a boat and have a fish finder you need to be able to identify large schools of crappie when they show up on your fish finder. When you spot what looks like a upside Christmas tree on the screen this a large school of crappie.

 

#3 Crappie Tip When you identify a large school of crappie don't rush in to fish!cast to the outer edges of the school, you don't what to sppok the crappie

 

#4 Fishing Crappie Tip When you locate a school of fish, start by line to the bottom. Slowly crank in your reel counting every turn until you get a hit. Now mark your line with a permanent magic marker , preferably a bright color. The reason you mark your line is so you can go right back to the same depth the next time you drop your line. Repeat this step until the crappie school moves.

 

#5 Fishing Crappie Tip Remember that the crappies eyes are located on the top of their heads they allways rise to the bait they cannot see anything below them. Tht is why you will find crappie suspended at various depths.

 

#6 Crappie Fishing Tips Use an ultra-light rig that weighs only a few ounces. Crappie are not heavy hitters. Many time they just suck on the bait and if you do not have light tackle you will never feel the hit.

 

#7 Crappie Tip use 2-4 pound test line , always make sure your is located on a loop, not held tight on the hook ring. The hook needs to move freely to give the bait some play. Remember the more natural the bait looks the more fish you will catch.Where you find structure you will find crappie. If you prepare correctly you can prepare your own crappie “honey holes” .The key is to create crappie holding areas that only you have the location. You can sink brush, plastic and even home made pvc brush piles. The very best brush to sink is “willow tree” branches. They seem to create month long crappie honey hole swarms, I am not sure why, it just my experience. Make sure you cut long cuttings with at least 7 to 10 branches at least 3 foot long with lots of small little branches. You don’t want your structure to shift once it has settled on the bottom. Crappie are very similar to bass because they like to stay hidden waiting for unsuspecting prey.

 

  When searching for crappies, a four-color flasher like the Vexilar FL-8 is one of the modern ice angler?s best friend and tool for the job. It can show you depth, fish, your lure, bottom composition, and structure with incredible accuracy. When you get really good with one, you can anticipate the strike of a crappie moments before you feel it. The temperature of the water regulates the body heat of the crappie, remember crappies are cold blooded.