Archive for September, 2008

What Are Crappies?

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What are Crappie? Besides being one of the best tasting and fun to fish for they are a member of the sunfish family. The sunfish family includes bass, bluegill and redear sunfish. They can be found throughout North America and due to the fight they give on light tackle have become increasingly popular.

There are two species of Crappie the Black Crappie and the White Crappie. They are most easily identified by the number of spiny dorsal fin rays. The black crappie has 7 or 8 spiny dorsal fin rays, while the white crappie only has 5 or 6. The black crappie is distinguished by irregularly spaced black blotches or spots. On the White Crappie these spots tend to form vertical bars.

Black Crappie like clear water and can usually be found in ponds, reservoirs and slow moving rivers. White Crappie are more tolerant of the water conditions and can be found in muddier waters. Both crappie like structure and will congregate around areas with abundant aquatic vegetation, brush piles or other types of cover.

The world record Black Crappie is 6 lbs – 0 oz. The world record White Crappie is 5 lbs – 3 oz. You are much more likely to catch them in the ¼ to 1 lb size but because they are a school fish once you have found one there are many more where that one came from.

The spring spawning period is when a lot of anglers like to focus on crappie but in truth they can be caught all year long. The spawning period for both is when the water temperature is between 58-68 degrees. Black crappie nests are frequently found in gravel or in soft, muddy river or lake bottoms. White crappie nests are often located near structures such as brush piles, stumps or rock outcrops.

Crappie Fishing Lures

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 If you are ready to step up your fishing you will usually catch more fish using artificial baits rather then using live bait. Of course this statement is based on knowing what artificial lures to use. When you are fishing for pan fish smaller is better. Look for lures in the 1/4oz or smaller size.

List of pan fish fishing lures to use:

• Curly Tail Jigs
• Marabou Jigs
• Weedless Spinners, (they have a jig attached) smallest you can find
• Willow Leaf Blades: Silver Colorado Or Gold Blades

The above listed lures can be bought at any department store, bait shop, or online . Most of these artificial baits can be purchased for very little. Make sure when comparing prices that you compare prices for artificial baits in the 1/4oz or smaller range.

Suggested ways to use these crappie fishing lures:

When fishing a curly tail Jig, use a uniquely designed jig head with screw lock from Cabella's. It takes your bait to the bottom where the big ones are. It allows you to thread a plastic tube, or split tail onto the corkscrew and hook it through the tail. The innovative flat-bottom jig head helps the hook stand up at a 60deg angle. Your hooked bait stands up straight off the bottom and is free to move about. I recommend you use purchase and use a Karlins Lunker Curly Tail. This jig is a good choice to use when using a slip bobber rig.

When fishing Marabou jigs use the 1/8oz or 1/4oz size. A good way to fish this lure is use a slip bobber , place a split on the line so the jig falls to a set depth.

When fishing Weedless Spinner baits use the 1/16oz size . Use this bait when fishing low water visibility muddy or murky water.

When fishing the Willow Leaf Blade jigs, fish the lure very slow, again I repeat slow. If you use the 1/16oz jig, the hook will bend before you loose your jig, you can use over and over again. The larger sizes work well but they break the line when snagging. Also , put on a Karlins plastic tube Curly split tail 2" in length.

There are no guarantees that you will catch crappie with the lures shown above, but if you stick with purchasing small crappie fishing lures you up your chances of catching a good batch of crappie.

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