Crappie courtesy of www.wibigfish.com
Crappie
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Crappie Description
Crappie are generally considered the most desirable panfish, which is sort of like being the tallest midget. This is likely due to their striking body color patterning and the fact that they taste good. They can be ridiculously easy to catch when you find them during some parts of the year, particularly in the spring, and then sometimes very tough to find and catch during other parts of the year such as the winter.
Crappie have very soft, thin mouths so you can’t pull on them too hard or you will pull the hook out. Despite being about the same size, their mouths are much larger than Bluegill. There are two species, the White Crappie and the Black Crappie. However, color is not the definitive way to tell which is which. Actually, I don’t know how to tell which is which but I can’t say it matters much to me.
Crappie Tackle
Ultra light spinning gear with 2-4lb test line is the way to go for Crappie. Click here for tackle recommendations.
Crappie Techniques
Crappie will bite bait or lures. Whatever you use, make sure you use a light drag to avoid tearing the hook out of their mouth. Look for them around structure, especially shallower structure like sunken trees in the spring when they spawn. My biggest ones have generally been caught incidentally when I was fishing for Largemouth bass. If you specifically want to target them, an electronic fish finder will come in really handy, especially during times of the year when they are not up shallow.
Crappie Lures
Crappie will often bite small 2”-3” plastic grubs fished slowly through the school once you find them. Experiment with colors but I usually like chartreuse or white. Also experiment with depth to find where they are, then keep swimming the grub through that depth.
Crappie also bite small skirted mini tube jigs. You can fish them with or without a bobber. The bobber can help suspend the jig at the right depth once you find them. I don’t like to give them a ton of action; just suspend them in front of the fish once you figure out the depth they are at and occasionally twitch the jig.
Anything that looks like a small minnow and can be fished relatively slowly should catch some Crappie.
Crappie Baits
Crappie supposedly readily bite small minnows fished under a bobber although I have never fished for them this way. They will also bite a worm. They are less apt to peck the worm off your hook like Bluegill do, so I would go with a whole small or medium size worm.
Where to get the big Crappie
Large Crappie are found in so many lakes and rivers throughout the country it’s hard to pinpoint one or two trophy locations. In general, because of the longer growing season, they get bigger in the Southern half of the US. My largest ones have mostly come out of Lake Barrett, near San Diego, California.
Other Crappie Resources
The above barely scratches the surface on how to catch Crappie. The resources below will provide a wealth of information:
This guy will put you on the crappie: www.wibigfish.com
In Fishermen has produced a great book entitled Crappie Wisdom that has everything you need to know to catch these.
HOME
Crappie Description
Crappie are generally considered the most desirable panfish, which is sort of like being the tallest midget. This is likely due to their striking body color patterning and the fact that they taste good. They can be ridiculously easy to catch when you find them during some parts of the year, particularly in the spring, and then sometimes very tough to find and catch during other parts of the year such as the winter.
Crappie have very soft, thin mouths so you can’t pull on them too hard or you will pull the hook out. Despite being about the same size, their mouths are much larger than Bluegill. There are two species, the White Crappie and the Black Crappie. However, color is not the definitive way to tell which is which. Actually, I don’t know how to tell which is which but I can’t say it matters much to me.
Crappie Tackle
Ultra light spinning gear with 2-4lb test line is the way to go for Crappie. Click here for tackle recommendations.
Crappie Techniques
Crappie will bite bait or lures. Whatever you use, make sure you use a light drag to avoid tearing the hook out of their mouth. Look for them around structure, especially shallower structure like sunken trees in the spring when they spawn. My biggest ones have generally been caught incidentally when I was fishing for Largemouth bass. If you specifically want to target them, an electronic fish finder will come in really handy, especially during times of the year when they are not up shallow.
Crappie Lures
Crappie will often bite small 2”-3” plastic grubs fished slowly through the school once you find them. Experiment with colors but I usually like chartreuse or white. Also experiment with depth to find where they are, then keep swimming the grub through that depth.
Crappie also bite small skirted mini tube jigs. You can fish them with or without a bobber. The bobber can help suspend the jig at the right depth once you find them. I don’t like to give them a ton of action; just suspend them in front of the fish once you figure out the depth they are at and occasionally twitch the jig.
Anything that looks like a small minnow and can be fished relatively slowly should catch some Crappie.
Crappie Baits
Crappie supposedly readily bite small minnows fished under a bobber although I have never fished for them this way. They will also bite a worm. They are less apt to peck the worm off your hook like Bluegill do, so I would go with a whole small or medium size worm.
Where to get the big Crappie
Large Crappie are found in so many lakes and rivers throughout the country it’s hard to pinpoint one or two trophy locations. In general, because of the longer growing season, they get bigger in the Southern half of the US. My largest ones have mostly come out of Lake Barrett, near San Diego, California.
Other Crappie Resources
The above barely scratches the surface on how to catch Crappie. The resources below will provide a wealth of information:
This guy will put you on the crappie: www.wibigfish.com
In Fishermen has produced a great book entitled Crappie Wisdom that has everything you need to know to catch these.
Click on any pic in the gallery below to enlarge
