Crappy Bait?

[GA_gal]

My husband is a Bass fisherman, but I don't really care anything about it. Last year when we were fishing every weekend, I focused more on Bream. This year, I'd like to try fishing for Crappy. What kind of bait should I use?

[briansnat]

Crappie are a much like bream in that they haunt many of the of the same areas and will bite on a lot of what bass do, but because of their small mouths tend to prefer much smaller things. Small spinners, spoons and jigs work well, as do smaller crankbaits like Rapalas, Bombers. If you want to use live bait small shiners and worms are ideal. If there are waves or ripples on the lake a small jig fished on a bobber can be effective as the waves will provide enough action in the jig to entice crappie.

I never fish intentionally for crappie, but when I do catch them it is usually when I'm trolling or casting for trout in the spring and fall. It's those times I'm using the smaller lures that will attract crappies. When I'm bass fishing I rarely catch a crappie because I tend to use larger baits.

Just google crappie fishing and you'll find websites entirely devoted to crappie fishing where you can probably get advice from the experts.

[dinosaur]

The crappie's mouth is about twice the size of a bluegill's (bream) and as such the crappie is more predator than prey. It feeds mainly on minnows and other small fish. Ergo, the best bait is fathead minnows.

[LunaticFringeInc]

Minnows are tough to beat for Crappie. They are also kind of expensive too. But few Crappie can pass up a minnow tight lined or fished under a bobber. Unfortunately small Bass and Catfiosh are just as gulible for them as well.

I prefer to target them with Jigs. It takes some practice to get the technique down effectively and it takes some time to get to know where the Crappie will be on any given day, but once you have cracked those 2 codes, you can really clean up on the fish and fill a stringer post haste.

This technique really is worth the investment of your time and efforts to learn and master. Once you know what Jig they are finding appealing all you need is your light action spinning rod with 4 lbs test flourocarbon line and about 3-4 jigs for a limit of Crappie.

Jigging for Crappie can be flustrating at times as they can be more picky than any trout a fly fisherman has ever encountered. So I carry a butt load of Jigs with me, about 200 minimum in various sizes and color patterns. The best way I have found to do this is to buy a small worm bag with the heavy duty zip lock slips inside it and but an extra pack of slips and put each of the various jigs in i. It keeps it organized and it will usually fit in a waist belt with a belly bag on it, keeping things light and compact. Most of my Jigs are in 1/16th and 1/8th ounce sizes. I tie most of my own jigs, but when I buy commercially tied ones they are usually the Shinee Hinee jigs available at wally world. I do put a little scent on my Jigs not so much because I will get more bites but the fish that do bite will usually hang on a second longer allowing me to get a better hook up ratio.

[Marshmallow]

My father used to fish all the time in the local waters. We mostly have rivers, but he'd travel to the ocean and sounds some of the time. He used to talk about catching crappies, and I know he brought them home for us to eat. For the life of me, I can't remember what they even look like.

[wvbreamfisherman]

The little Trout magnet mini jigs are killers for crappie around here. The hot pink and yellow seem to be the best, but sometimes you have to play around a bit to find the color they like that day. They work especially well for me during the spawn in the spring.

Trout Magnet Fishing Lure and Online Store | Troutmagnet.com

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


Yes, A few times I've fished with crappy bait.

[GA_gal]

Thanks for the input everyone. I think I'm going to try a mixture of minnows and Jigs when spring rolls around and we start fishing heavily again. I'd like to get the hang of enticing them with a Jig, but once my patience runs out, I'd like to have the minnows to fall back on.