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Fishing for Crappie / Crappies

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Some of the best-eating panfish around are crappie. They can get to a fairly big size in some bodies of water and some believe there is nothing better than getting into a school of them, quickly filling a limit, and heading to shore for a shore lunch. It seems every bait and tackle shop has at least one wall lined with crappie jigs in all colors. Tipping these with a minnow or grub is often the quickest way to an easy meal.

Minnows should be small, approximately 1 to 1.5 inches. Check the regulations in your area to see if harvesting your own minnows from a lake to use on that lake is legal. Always remember, however, only release live minnows into the same body of water from which they came. Left over minnows from the bait shop should be thrown in the trash. Grubs, meal worms and wax worms are also good, and usually more popular for ice fishing.

Those who do not wish to deal with live bait will also find a wide variety of soft plastics designed especially for crappie fishing. These also come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but anglers should keep in mind the available forage in the lake. Artificial lures and bait should match as closely as possible to what is naturally in the lake.

When looking for crappie, structure is important. Crappie like to hide in brush piles, fallen wood or even dock pilings. All of these things offer safety from predators both in and above the water. Food for crappies, in the way of smaller bait fish, are often found in these ares, too.

Crappie tend to like deeper water, from 10 to 15 feet. This can make them hard to find at times, but they tend to school up, meaning if an angler catches a fish or two, they will likely find more. In this light, good electronics are definitely a benefit. Schools of crappie will show up on fishing electronics as the angler idles or trolls over the spot. From there, it is just a matter of getting them to bite.

When crappie are deep, they usually suspend somewhere in the water column. Keeping the bait at the proper depth is important. The bait needs to be in front of the fish or in the 'strike zone' for the fish to eat it. For this reason, many crappie anglers use multiple rods and lines, where legal, and put baits at different depths until they find the 'sweet spot'.

Spinning tackle is ideal for crappie, spooled with 2 to 6 pound monofilament. Bait casting gear can be used for trolling for crappies and is very effective that way. Monofilament has some stretch in it, which is important when setting the hook. Crappies are called 'paper mouths' by many for a reason. Their mouths tear easily and setting the hook too hard can pull the bait right out of their mouth.

Some still use the old style cane poles for crappie and many even fly fish for them. No matter the gear, fishing crappies is a great way to spend some time and is a fish the whole family can enjoy catching.

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View more articles in our World Fishing Guide.