Crappie Artificial Bait Guidelines – Secrets of Crappie Fishing 4

In-fact, you may never use live bait again. Please refer to the guidelines below these are some of the oldest crappie fishing secrets and have been handed down from father to son for years.

Guideline#1 Water clarity determines what kind of crappie fishing jig you want to use.

#1.a Look into the body of water you are fishing and if you can see 3-4 feet below the surface, the water is considered clear and you will want to use dark colored crappie jigs. Crappie can see very well in clear water so you need to spice up the movement of your jig in these water conditions. You need to “entice” the crappie to hit your crappie fishing jig.

#1.b if the water color is darker and you can’t see 3-4 feet below the surface use a lighter colored lure so the the crappie can see it. Make sure you ad this tip to your artificial crappie baits usage list.

#1.c Real dark and murky water means use some “flash” to make your crappie jig look like a minnow. Tie a 1/2 inch to 1 inch blade above the crappie fishing jig.

Guideline#2 I recommend you use a slip bobber, you can a good one to use is called “Mr crappie and you can purchase them at bass pro shop on-line. The slip bobber is unique because it will not come out of the water when you are jigging for crappie. this is a little used crappie fishing secret form the past.

Guideline#3 Place a small “split shot sinker” right above your slip bobber, this will control the depth of your crappie fishing jig. You want to work the depths between 4 and 8 feet. you can do this by readjusting the depth by sliding the “split shot sinker up or down the line until you get to your desired depth. Keep working these depths until you start catching crappie.

Guideline#4 “Pop” or jerk your slip bobber so it makes a 3 to 4 inch movement through the water, make sure you do this gently.

Guideline#5 If you do not get any bites, adjust the depth. The colder it gets, the deeper you will need to go. The warmer it is, the closer the fish will be to the surface. This is a little used fishing secret.

The majority of crappie anglers grow up learning classic crappie fishing, while enjoying cool spring mornings with low fog cover that lingers along the surface before burning away after rigging bobbers and casting minnows into a brush pile and then waiting for a bite.

Recently, I have been messing around with a new way to fish for crappie by using crankbaits. The shad start running the shorelines in large schools offering slab crappie a good meal in the fall, where I fish. During this time, using small crankbaits that look like shad can lure in slabs below structures as well as crappies that tend to follow shad schools.

My favorite crankbait resembles a shad. Although smaller crankbaits work well, I switched to using large crankbait when running large shad, with good results. Color is a subject of debate while fishing for crappie. Some folks use shad colors with various crawfish patterns and different colors as well to get good results. Crappies seem drawn to chartreuse as well, even while using crankbaits.

Shad tend to run shallow while running the shorelines, meaning big slab crappies lurking at brush piles or suspended off the shoreline awaiting their next meal will use the shoreline to save their energy and not have to chase schools out in open waters. This is why it is a good idea to use shallow running crankbait. There are exceptions of course, some individuals use deep runners with good results.

The best way to catch these solitary big slabs is by covering a lot of water. You can catch them with a bobber and a minnow during the fall, while the shad are in the shallows. However, to catch the larger fish with crankbait rigged on a medium light 7-foot spinning reel using a 6-pound test line is ideal. Of course, you can catch smaller fish as well as large crappies with crankbait.

Target the visible structures along the shorelines by pitching your crankbait as close to the shore as you can. Many strikes take on the first twitch of the crankbait about a foot off the shoreline. You crankbait should be close to the shore, since these crappies target shallow running shad and then expect to catch them right up to the bank. Fishing off a large log, during the last season, I caught thirty large crappies; however, my crankbait was about a foot from the shoreline. The crappie were waiting just below the waters surface, out of sight and hit the crankbait as soon as I moved it along, however if the bait landed a foot or two further out in the water, I got no action at all. Catching thirty large crappies from one pile of brush is common during the spring; however getting this kind of catch in the fall was incredible. I think the crappie were just simply following the shad school along the shoreline and waiting to make their move on the others and that the log offered a great angle for my ambushing them unaware.

Covering a lot of water is essential since, generally crappies are solitary creatures. They tend to stake out their very own ambush points and they scatter all over the area. Simply cruise the shoreline, casting along at every rock, log, stump or stake bed you find. Allow the crankbait to float along for a few moments before applying the first twitch. Simply use a twitch and then allow the bait to sit for a few more seconds before pulling the crankbait back in several inches below the surface of the water.

Sometime, a fish may strike and you do not know it. At first reeling in a big slab may feel similar to reeling in a large wet sock, so ready you for setting the hook. Slinging crankbait for crappie is fun and effective, therefore when you want to try a new means of catching your favorite type of panfish, give crankin for crappies a try on your next fishing trip.

The right color for lures is something people disagree about. Some think it’s completely irrelevant while others will tell you that it can make the difference between a successful day’s fishing and one which sees you bringing in little to no fish.

Choose the color of your lure depending on the weather and how clear the water is. The light the fish have available to them determines how the color of a lure will perform on a given day. On an overcast day, there is little light below the surface while a sunny day and clear water is quite the opposite.

When fishing clear waters, you’ll want to match your lure to the colors of the natural prey of the fish you’re trying to catch. Lures which mimic the light, translucent colors of baitfish in silvery white hues generally work well for crappie fishing; if you’re going after bottom feeders, then shades of green and brown are the way to go.

In murkier waters, then the important thing is that your lure be visible to fish. You can use lures which vibrate so that fish can find it that way, but what you really want is brightly colored lures which will be easy to see in low light conditions. The darker the water, the brighter the color is a good rule; try orange, white and yellow. In extremely low visibility (2-4’), you’ll want to go with bright fluorescent colors like hot pink, hi-vis blue, lime green or chartreuse. With brown or dark green water, try combinations like black with chartreuse, pink with yellow or even something glittery.

Muddy water calls for live bait. Under these conditions, crappie use odor, sound and vibration to find food more so than visual cues. With live bait, they can follow the scent of the bait. If you’re using jigs in muddy water try attractants like Kodiak paste or Berkley Crappie Nibbles. Colors to try include dark blue, dark red, brown, black or yellow/white combos.

Check the weather before you head out and decide which colors of lure to bring with you. You’ll generally do the best on sunny days with chartreuse, silver or sparkly lures. These lures will catch the sunlight and draw crappie. Cloudy days are more of a challenge, but lures which combine light colors with darker ones are a safe bet. This contrast seems to work well to get the attention of crappie and get them on the hook.

This is a question that is commonly asked by novice anglers planning their first crappie fishing excursion. Unfortunately, there is no single right answer to this question, which is why it is almost invariably answered with another question: What are you using for bait?

Minnows call for a #2 light wire Aberdeen hook, since you don’t want to kill the minnow before it can attract crappie. This smaller hook also allows for more movement, ideal for slow trolling for crappie. I almost never use a #4 or #6 with minnows, unless I’m just dunking the bait in brush piles to see if there’s any response while trying to avoid getting snagged.

If you’re using minnows with a jig, I still say a #2 hook is the answer. If you want to use a jig with spikes or waxworm though, then go with a #4 or #6 hook instead. With Roadrunner jigs, a 1/8 oz jig with minnows, 1/16 for tubes, grubs and other smaller baits.

I should also mention that hook gap is actually more important than hook size. A live bait hook with a bigger gap lets you go with a smaller size like#6. A small hook is easier for your bait and reduces the odds of losing a crappie by tearing off their lip! Crappies have very soft, easily injured mouths. If you’re doing catch and release, then a smaller hook is better since it causes less damage and gives the fish better odds of surviving the experience.

00 sizes are good for Roostertail, Mepps and other French type spinners. You can go as high as 0 or even 1 if you have especially large crappie in your local waters. 1/8 oz Roostertail or Panther Martins are fine, but anywhere up to ¼ oz works pretty well.

With a Daredevil, go for size 0. If you use crankbaits, you want ultralight models (Rapala or Heddon are good ones); but something like a 1/8 oz Lazy Ike is murder on crappie.

Finally, for all the fly fishers out there, I recommend Clouser Minnow flies and Crappie Candy sized 8-12 depending on your local stock. Tied on a straight-eye streamer hook, these are about as good as crappie fishing gets.