Want to start crappie fishing

[Doug Taylor]

I want to start crappie fishing and was wondering what are some good lures to catch then on and where to look. I live in Kentucky and I'm about 15 mins from one of the best lakes for crappie and want to get in on the action. also right now the lake I'd at winter pool and there's not much cover. how do I fish for them at  winter pool and how fo I fish for them when it's not at winter pool 

[dwh4784]

Crappie are super easy to catch once you find them. I know nothing about fishing for them in winter though. I would normally use a small tube jig, 1/16 or 1/32 I'm not really sure, about an inch long. Put it under a bobber (I like the ones that lay on their side and stand up with a bite) and reel in one after another. This is back when I had a bass boat and kept a crappie setup on board just in case I ran into a bunch of them. I never really target them anymore, but have also caught them on smaller inline spinners and road runners when fishing to catch anything that swims. Mepps makes an inline with a mirabeau tail and black blade that seems to be a crappie slayer.

[Jig Man]

I only fish for them in the winter.  I catch them to eat.  Vertical fishing is the way I do it.  They usually are some where between 25-35 feet deep very close to the bottom.  Generally I use a 1/4 oz head on a bait that I make but sometimes I have to go to 3/8 oz as I have caught them as deep as 70'.

I have no idea where you live or how deep they go in your area.  I am in Southwest Missouri.

[Yakalong]

I will crappie fish in the winter. It will be vertical as well with crappie jigs and crappie nibblers. I fish off docks mostly and the crappie will vary in depths from 15-50 ft in depth. It's just a matter of finding them and then having fun 

[slonezp]

I've caught them as shallow as 1ft and as deep as 30ft. I normally use live bait but jigs with Gulp minnows work well also. Like any other fish they are attracted to cover and structure. I don't have the opportunity to fish for them during the winter BUT I do use intel from ice fishermen to   find them immediately before and immediately after ice out. 

[Insanity]

HI neighbor clarksville tn here. 

Check out youtube they have some great videos on fishing the creek mouths of the main river channel. In winter. They will be there all winter. Just moving up and down the creek channel as conditions change. One video shows the guy fishing next to Paris landing bridge and oops the gps on his fish finder of the channel he is fishing. There's several rite there. To get an idea of what your looking for look at navionics Web site for the lake map. You can use it for free.  I have there app on my phone. Best ten bucks I ever spent on fishing. 

You tube Also shows the jigs they use on ky lake 

[hunterPRO1]

bettle spins and small grubs

 

[jr231]

Baitfish imitators!

They're predators like bass. And will eat any fish that it can choke. This is why they are not a good mix with bass in small ponds. 

You've been given alot of good suggestions. 

 

[CoBass]

Lots of good suggestions so far. I would add that a light or ultralight spinning rod and 4-6 lb line is what I have found to work best on crappie. Also, they have very thin mouths so when you get a hit, don't go with a big hook set like you do with bass. Just reel into the fish and slowly raise your rod tip to avoid ripping the bait out of their mouth. 

[Bear141]

My favorite jigs for crappie are Bobby Garland baby shad.  These things awesome, you can also fish them under a bobber for less experience angler. My favorite colors are electric chicken for stained water and white or blue  for clearer water.  Another good jig is chubbys mini mites. These work great tipped with wax worm or small minnow.  Good luck.

[Doug Taylor]

On 11/25/2016 at 5:46 AM, Jig Man said:

I only fish for them in the winter.  I catch them to eat.  Vertical fishing is the way I do it.  They usually are some where between 25-35 feet deep very close to the bottom.  Generally I use a 1/4 oz head on a bait that I make but sometimes I have to go to 3/8 oz as I have caught them as deep as 70'.

I have no idea where you live or how deep they go in your area.  I am in Southwest Missouri.

I live in canada ky which is close to the border of WV and virginia. My home lake is fishtrap lake and at winter pool there's not much cover and max depths would be 20 ft at winter pool

 

On 11/25/2016 at 11:17 AM, Insanity said:

HI neighbor clarksville tn here. 

Check out youtube they have some great videos on fishing the creek mouths of the main river channel. In winter. They will be there all winter. Just moving up and down the creek channel as conditions change. One video shows the guy fishing next to Paris landing bridge and oops the gps on his fish finder of the channel he is fishing. There's several rite there. To get an idea of what your looking for look at navionics Web site for the lake map. You can use it for free.  I have there app on my phone. Best ten bucks I ever spent on fishing. 

You tube Also shows the jigs they use on ky lake 

How the lake is set up the levisa river from Virginia feeds and forms the lake. But in winter pool there's no way to get close to where the river feeds the lake and most of the hollers that branch off to form coves are inaccessible as well

[scaleface]

Jigs and a sentimental favorite of mine are cheap marabous . Yellow ones and white with a pink head  work real well . The feathers I believe are usually a little long so I cut them back a bit . They just have a subtle action that works real well when the crappie are shallow and feeding by sight . A killer combo is a marabou jig and Mister Twister trailer . 

 

When I was a boy the marabou jig were the only artificial lures I owned  for fishing the Mississippi river and its back waters . I supplied supper for the family many times with them .

[clark9312]

On 11/24/2016 at 9:11 PM, Doug Taylor said:

I want to start crappie fishing and was wondering what are some good lures to catch then on and where to look. I live in Kentucky and I'm about 15 mins from one of the best lakes for crappie and want to get in on the action. also right now the lake I'd at winter pool and there's not much cover. how do I fish for them at  winter pool and how fo I fish for them when it's not at winter pool 

Just curious where you live? I also live in ky. We had a good trip the Monday after Christmas. We had close to 30 keepers (crappie) and probably threw that many back. We were catching them in 2-5 ft. 

[tander]

Get you a 11 ft. jig pole, smallest you can find underspin reels loaded with 6 pound hi vis line and a sackfull of 1/16 hair or rubber jigs. Verticle fish tree tops or piers. Vary the depth until you find them. Load the boat, fry them up.

[bassh8er]

A small tungsten jig tipped with a wax worm or 1" Gulp Alive Fish Fry caught me 1,292 crappie last year, both through the ice and in open water.

 

I like to find submerged trees, or standing timber, and vertically jig them.  The key in a boat in open water is to stay as vertical as possible.

 

I also started trolling cranks for them last year but prefer jigging.