Crappie Fishing Help?

[Avid Angler FL]

Ok, so a friend and I went to a small local lake the other night, and the lake is about 5-6 acres, give or take. We were fishing from the bank, and I tied on a Storm Hopper Popper topwater bait on my ultra-light. The bait color was firetiger (if it even matters since it was so dark), and on my first cast, I began popping the bait every few seconds, keeping the pops short and subtle, when suddenly something slammed it! We thought it was a little largemouth, but upon further examination, it turned out to be my first Crappie! It was a black crappie from what I could tell, and it was about 10 or so inches. We had heard rumors of crappie in the lake, but didn't know for sure until now. My question is this: Where should the crappie be concentrated at, and what presentations would be best? I have a large assortment of ultra-light baits, ranging from tiny topwaters to small cranks, and an abundance of Beetle Spins, and some jigheads and Gulp Alive minnows. I also have a wide selection of aberdeen hooks, floats, and split shot. And getting live bait isn't an issue. If anyone has any tips, then PLEASE let me know! I would love to catch some more slabs out of this lake! -Garrett

[tomustang]

Best bait I use for crappie are small tubes, mainly white in color

[Avid Angler FL]

Best bait I use for crappie are small tubes, mainly white in color

How do you fish the tubes though? I bank fish due to lack of boat, so I don't know how exactly I should work the tube or where to work it.

[Packard]

I like the Rage Tail Crappie Grups tipped off with a small vmc jighead. You can get them at Dick's, Bass Pro, Gander Mtn, and Cabelas.

[Avid Angler FL]

Looks like a nice little jig, but how would you fish these from the bank??

[Packard]

I just work them similer to a T-rig.

[tomustang]

Any way you want, tubes are a very versatile lure

[Avid Angler FL]

Yeah, but does jigging it vertically in about 1-2 feet of water yield any results, or am I probably wasting my time? by the way, I've been trying the jigging thing at night...

[zero limit]

Minnows under a slip float, Keep trying differnt depths if nothing move down the bank and repeat, Fall and spring, Dusk and Dawn are best/eaisest times of year to catch Crappie, But they have to eat all year,I beleive they are deep in hot summer weather.

[Avid Angler FL]

Yeah me and a friend are going down to the lake later tonight. We'll probably catch some mosquitofish (minnows) from the lake and use those on size 2 Eagle Claw red crappie hooks, under a slip float. The best thing about that is you could catch ANYTHING with this setup!