Crappie 101

[TOXIC]

On 11/13/2018 at 9:28 AM, TOXIC said:

Forgot to put up the pic of the float setup.....

 

 

@Catt Here is my float setup although I don't think you need any help.....  Line through float to a pinch weight to a Crappie jig.  I adjust the float to the depth I want with a piece of fishing line tied on above the float.  My buddy uses a clip on float and just sets it to the depth he wants.  I like to cast so my setup puts the float right down at the bait for casting.  As for my trip this last weekend, we had a tough go.  Raining, cold barometric pressure and tide was wild and although we marked HUGE schools of them, we couldn't get them to bite well.  We tried everything.  We caught a few nice ones but not the 40-50 fish days we are used to.  Got reports from friends who were also out and they had it tough as well.  I'll be back out there again soon.  You can bet on that.  I've been holding off filling the freezer until the water gets colder.  It was in the high 40's which is perfect.  We just had a bad day conditions wise.  

[Dorado]

May someone post sonar pics of crappie schools? 

 

I kept graphing feeding fish the other day but I couldn’t tell if they were smaller Largemouths or Crappies. How do you distinguish? 

 

I found a couple schools of fish vertically stacked..... those were probably crappie this time of year right?

[Team9nine]

28 minutes ago, Dorado said:

May someone post sonar pics of crappie schools? 

 

I kept graphing feeding fish the other day but I couldn’t tell if they were smaller Largemouths or Crappies. How do you distinguish? 

 

I found a couple schools of fish vertically stacked..... those were probably crappie this time of year right?

 

 

 

 

[TnRiver46]

14 hours ago, Catt said:

What plastics y'all like?

 

What bobbers y'all like?

 

Y'all ever throw Minnows?

 

Plastics : bobby Garland baby shad

 

Bobbers: I despise every bobber I have ever tried. I've caught more crappie with Texas rigged creature baits than I have with a stupid bobber 

 

Minnows: they work great but I don't use them. I live close to the lake so driving to go get minnows would slow me down. Sometime I catch crappie with shad I have netted 

[Catt]

6 hours ago, TOXIC said:

I don't think you need any help....

 

Actually I haven't fished White Perch (what we call em) in 35 yrs.

 

We catch down here in shallow water marshes with a small bobber & a jig like yours. The bobber is set at or above 24", we would cast the rig out, let it sit, then pop it, let sit, & repeat.

 

Then there's Toledo Bend

 

Most of our White Perch fishing was done at night. When I started back in the 70s we would tie a Coleman lantern to a tree & straight line minnows. @TnRiver46 on Toledo they sell shiners by the pound...ya wanna guess how many shiners it takes to weigh a pound!

 

Now days on Toledo it's pontoon boats, some enclosed with heat & air, with a door built in the floor.

 

Anyway I gearing up ?

[Mobasser]

15 hours ago, Catt said:

 

Actually I haven't fished White Perch (what we call em) in 35 yrs.

 

We catch down here in shallow water marshes with a small bobber & a jig like yours. The bobber is set at or above 24", we would cast the rig out, let it sit, then pop it, let sit, & repeat.

 

Then there's Toledo Bend

 

Most of our White Perch fishing was done at night. When I started back in the 70s we would tie a Coleman lantern to a tree & straight line minnows. @TnRiver46 on Toledo they sell shiners by the pound...ya wanna guess how many shiners it takes to weigh a pound!

 

Now days on Toledo it's pontoon boats, some enclosed with heat & air, with a door built in the floor.

 

Anyway I gearing up ?

Catt, the jigs we use most are Bobby Garlnd shad and tube jigs by different companies. BPS, Southern Pro, and Arkie all make good tubes. I get most of my crappie tackle at Academy. They have a good selection of tackle for crappie. Big Bite Baits makes some good plastics too. Floats- we use the quarter size weighted floats by Comal tackle and simple slip floats much like Toxic uses. We rarely if ever take minnows. Sometimes I think they may be better, but when the bite is hot you can catch 3 to 1 with jigs, not having to bait up each time. One thing that's fun about all this is you really don't need fancy tackle for crappie. Everything from cane poles to nice graphite rods can work depending on the season.

[Dorado]

@Team9nine Last outing, I could see my split shot rig appear as a solid line in my sonar (typically 15ft down). After strolling over schools of fish..  I would often see solid streaking arch-like lines immediately appearing to hone in extremely close to that line without getting bite. I only use artificials, so should I change colors first? Then size? Change from baby shad profiles to Grubs first then color?

[Todd2]

@Team9nine 's screen captures are text book Crappie 101 in my limited experience. I've been getting over that stuff with a Slider Jig on the bottom, with a minnow about a foot or so up the line. Like a drop shot. Most of the time, they hit the minnow, but my bigger ones last Sunday were on the jig. Blue/Chartreuse. Didn't catch any black bass but did land a nice hybrid striper. Those brush piles hold all kinds of stuff.

[Team9nine]

9 hours ago, Dorado said:

@Team9nine Last outing, I could see my split shot rig appear as a solid line in my sonar (typically 15ft down). After strolling over schools of fish..  I would often see solid streaking arch-like lines immediately appearing to hone in extremely close to that line without getting bite. I only use artificials, so should I change colors first? Then size? Change from baby shad profiles to Grubs first then color?

Always a guessing game, which is part of the fun to me (figuring out what will make them bite). My first option would be to play with action. Much like ice fishing, it becomes a game of cat and mouse, and can you do something to trigger a bite. Try light shaking, slow lifts, lift and drops, etc. Only if those didn't work would I switch baits or colors.

 

Many guys will tell you how color selective crappie can be, but if I'm already using a known productive color, I'd probably try shape/bait change first. I usually start with both tubes and curlytails tied on. I'll try both and see how the fish react before switching through colors. No real right or wrong way. Having a second person in the boat can speed up the process of elimination, as can multiple rods or multiple baits.

[Dorado]

26 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

Always a guessing game, which is part of the fun to me (figuring out what will make them bite). My first option would be to play with action. Much like ice fishing, it becomes a game of cat and mouse, and can you do something to trigger a bite. Try light shaking, slow lifts, lift and drops, etc. Only if those didn't work would I switch baits or colors.

 

Many guys will tell you how color selective crappie can be, but if I'm already using a known productive color, I'd probably try shape/bait change first. I usually start with both tubes and curlytails tied on. I'll try both and see how the fish react before switching through colors. No real right or wrong way. Having a second person in the boat can speed up the process of elimination, as can multiple rods or multiple baits.

As always, solid response. Can’t wait to get back out there again. This is going to get addicting 

[Catt]

1 hour ago, Team9nine said:

Always a guessing game, which is part of the fun to me (figuring out what will make them bite). My first option would be to play with action. Much like ice fishing, it becomes a game of cat and mouse, and can you do something to trigger a bite

 

To me the "hunt" is just as satisfying as the catch ?

[greentrout]

my favorite sac-a-lait float with a minnow...spinning...

 

 

[tander]

Around these part most people use a jig pole of anywhere from 11-8 foot with a hair or tube jig. Slater Jigs is a MS company that has been in business a long time making hair jigs. Nothing better than fried crappie,

[Catt]

From a friend of mine in New Jersey 

 

11 yr old female angler caught this 19 1/2" 4 lb SLAB from a private pond in NJ !

 

Congrats that's a BEAUTY!

 

[Heartland]

What an amazing catch, beautiful fish, did they say if she got to go back in and enjoy her pond?

[Mobasser]

6 hours ago, Catt said:

From a friend of mine in New Jersey 

 

11 yr old female angler caught this 19 1/2" 4 lb SLAB from a private pond in NJ !

 

Congrats that's a BEAUTY!

 

This is a very nice fish! 191/2 inch is a huge crappie anywhere in the country!

[greentrout]

9 hours ago, Catt said:

From a friend of mine in New Jersey 

 

11 yr old female angler caught this 19 1/2" 4 lb SLAB from a private pond in NJ !

 

Congrats that's a BEAUTY!

 

how close to the state record...that is one big slab paper mouth ... congrats to the young lady ...

[Todd2]

32 minutes ago, greentrout said:

how close to the state record...that is one big slab paper mouth ... congrats to the young lady ...

If my Googling is correct, the Black Crappie state record in NJ is 4lbs 8oz....

[Catt]

10 minutes ago, Todd2 said:

If my Googling is correct, the Black Crappie state record in NJ is 4lbs 8oz....

 

I think that's right!

 

I'll text Diane (Reelwoman) Johnson & find out details. 

[slonezp]

On 12/2/2018 at 8:50 PM, Catt said:

What plastics y'all like?

 

What bobbers y'all like?

 

Y'all ever throw Minnows?

 

Kalins crappie scrubs, and 1-1/2" Gulp minnows are my goto plastics. Can't beat a Rocket Bobber for shallow water. I use minnows probably 50% of the time. Tend to catch less bluegill that way. Don't get me wrong, I love a good fight from a bluegill but crappies taste better.

[Crestliner2008]

Some very excellent information on crappie fishing here. Most of it appears to be related to single pole fishing along with targeting docks or brush. There are lot of crappie out deep, away from visible structures, that can be very vulnerable to several presentations.

 

Drift fishing is one of them. With multiple poles one can economically drift with the wind in relatively open water. We've done this for many years now, quite successfully too. A very relaxing & productive way to present various styles & colors of jigs. In a 15 mph wind, it would appear that our jigs are water skiing - yet, we've killed them doing this. And we usually net a mixed bag of crappie, white & yellow perch and even bluegills. Largemouth bass and rainbow trout love this fast, windy presentation too.

 

With the wind being less than predictable as of late, we've rigged two boats up for side pulling in similar fashion to drifting. This technique has been around a long time and is a proven technique. We've mounted our TM midships (a bit more aft actually) and mount our rod holders off the opposite side. Pulling in this fashion at speeds between .5 - 2.0 mph (gps) we've been able to move between open water schools of bait & crappie quite efficiently. Up here in MA, we are only allowed 2 rods per fisherman, so side pulling allows us a wider path of drift, as well as change of baits.

 

Just a slightly different perspective on the excellent information presented here, as always on Bass Resources.

[greentrout]

i'll be throwing that float i posted above...can throw it a mile ... got some good spots i can reach from the bank...during the winter...love to speck fish...

 

good fishing...

 

[Team9nine]

Crappie were biting yesterday - 125 or so to the boat in an afternoon. Enjoying this final open water fling. Planning on going again today.

 

m

[Todd2]

4 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

Crappie were biting yesterday - 125 or so to the boat in an afternoon. Enjoying this final open water fling. Planning on going again today.

 

Wow, 125 is crazy. I've found some deep standing Timber that's hot right now but nothing like that. Go get em! 

 

On a side note, with Winter drawdown, I'm finding a lot of deep diving crankbaits on this Timber that is normally hidden. Also a new Summer Bass spot. ?

 

[Team9nine]

29 minutes ago, Todd2 said:

Wow, 125 is crazy. I've found some deep standing Timber that's hot right now but nothing like that. Go get em! 

 

On a side note, with Winter drawdown, I'm finding a lot of deep diving crankbaits on this Timber that is normally hidden. Also a new Summer Bass spot. ?

 

A couple of our reservoirs get pulled 20 ft or more for winter pool. Amazing what you can find walking the banks if you're one of the first through the area.

 

Been a good weekend so far, and planning on going one more time this week. Best trip this year was just over 400 crappie, but we've also had a couple 300 fish days, too. Can't complain at all. I still say it's the best way to get good at offshore fishing.