Spring Crappie Baits?

[mike rousseau]

Good day

 

So with the ice finally melting I've got 2 fish on the brain... Carp and CRAPPIE...

 

So far my best results for crappie have been with 2.5" gulp minnows in natural colors on a small jig head under a float..

 

But I'm wondering what you guys like for spring crappies...

 

I like my gulp but I'm looking for some other options... Gulp isn't very durable...

 

I'm looking to get more into panfish for my son (3yrs old)... He's not really big enough for carpin yet...

 

Thanks

 

Mike

[musky_hunter]

i like using tubes..cheap and durable.

 

if you find them the crappies will hit anything.

[Sinker]

FinS minnows. That is all.

 

S.

[dave524]

White maribou jigs beneath a float or if using a flyrod white maribou streamers.

[Rich]

When minnows are scarce or too darn expensive for me to bother at the beginning of the season i take smelts from the grocery store and salt them then cut them into small pinhead sized strips and add more salt.. pannies love it in a pinch

[bigugli]

I make micro bucktails that are just killer under a slip float.

I match colour of jig to the water colour and possible forage in the area. Blacks,whites, blue and chartreuse being the standard go tos.

Edited March 24, 2014 by bigugli

[BillM]

Live emeralds hooked through the dorsal with a #14 steelhead hook. Won't find much better then that if they are finicky... I do well on tubes and other assorted baits as well.

[Old Ironmaker]

Rich,

 

Did I read somewhere smelts were illegal to fish with? Maybe just whole smelt. Even dead were illegal. Something about dormant eggs in frozen smelt. They were killers for Pike in the Longlac area. Hook the frozen smelt on a large single hook and toss it to the weed edge or a weed less harness with trebles.

 

Crappie in the spring in upstate NY we use a micro tube bare or just a tiny piece of meat like a worm. I call them Clown color, they are all colors of the rainbow., some have stripes, some dots and some half and half. Some days just the plain Janes like smoke, pumpkin seed or solid white or black. Overcast solid plain Janes, opposite on bright days. They are so inexpensive in NY I've never bought them here. Also great through the ice for perch.

[Christopheraaron]

Size 8 black marabou streamers!!!

[OhioFisherman]

Far and away the best thing I used for Crappie was Emerald Shiners fished on a spreader under a float. Even on lakes here that didn't have a natural Emerald Shiner population they were the way to go. Bait stores here away from Lake Erie tended to sell fat head minnows or creek chubs for bait, the Emerald Shiners would catch more Crappie if you could find them or bring them.

 

Lures? A two inch sassy shad or power grub on a 1/8 ounce jig head, a Road Runner, small tubes.

[crappieperchhunter]

FinS minnows. That is all.

 

S.

X2. If the FinS minnows or smaller shad bodies aren't working that means there are no fish! Lunker City makes them. Arkansas Shiner is my #1 color choice. I also think there jigheads are the best jigheads on the market and I only fish the unpainted ones.

[BillM]

X2. If the FinS minnows or smaller shad bodies aren't working that means there are no fish! Lunker City makes them. Arkansas Shiner is my #1 color choice. I also think there jigheads are the best jigheads on the market and I only fish the unpainted ones.

 

I haven't used these, but something tells me I should! Great info guys.

[BowSlayer101]

i like the Fins minnows as well, I've had good success with a small buckshot under a float as well, as mentioned above, the crappies will usually hit anything they can fit into their mouths in the spring, I've caught them on spinners, crank baits, jigs, pretty much everything, experiment a little, sometimes i find only the small ones will hit the tubes or minnows so i try a spinner, sometimes its the opposite, all part of the fun!

[mike rousseau]

So from the sounds of it if I'm not catching I most likely need to move around more then switch baits...

 

I only know a few areas that hold crappie and they're pretty well known in this area (shore spots)... I really want to try to find a new area I can target by boat and get some privacy...

[BillM]

The one thing I've noticed about spring crappies is if you're 10ft outside of the 'zone' you aren't getting bit.

[mike rousseau]

The one thing I've noticed about spring crappies is if you're 10ft outside of the 'zone' you aren't getting bit.

Kinda makes it hard to find a new spot with 30+ miles of river and creeks/tribs... Lol

 

One thing going for me is they seem to hit the creeks and hold in back bays.... I just have to find more creeks with back bays/canals

[bassjnkie]

1.75" OMG Fry's or 2.5" Minnow Meenie's for Crappie from http://slamxbaits.com/..

[Sinker]

The one thing I've noticed about spring crappies is if you're 10ft outside of the 'zone' you aren't getting bit.

Yes, this. Sometimes the zone is much smaller than 10ft too.

 

You can fish a back bay and not have a float go down once, then find that one spot where you get one every cast. Sneaky fish those crappies.

 

I also like 2" white berkely power grubs, but the finS minnows usually work just as good. Colours vary depending on light conditions usually.

 

One thing that is for sure. If you catch one, there is more. I"ve never just caught one crappie. Fish that area really well, and figure them out, because they are there.

 

S.

[BillM]

Yup, you really gotta pick apart your spots.. You miss one little section and that's exactly where they could be I love spring crappie fishing!

[aplumma]

I tip a jig with a rubber tube and a meal worm and slow troll behind the boat. Once I get a bite I drop a marker and back off and cast back to the school.

 

 

Art

[dave524]

Really early look for black bottoms, the water is warmer. There is also big prespawn bluegills there.

[BowSlayer101]

So from the sounds of it if I'm not catching I most likely need to move around more then switch baits...

 

I only know a few areas that hold crappie and they're pretty well known in this area (shore spots)... I really want to try to find a new area I can target by boat and get some privacy...

i fish mostly from shore and my spots are hardly known, the most I've seen is 2 guys there and i knew both. You just gotta search for spots like that, in between boat channels, etc.

[moxie]

Tubes and small cranks, almost exclusively. Also found slowly swimming a small walleye type twister tail grub on a jig head works great to trigger strikes. Been a while since I've used live bait when targeting Crappie.

[porkpie]

I tie my own black and white marabou jigs with a bit of tinsel flash. They do double duty for steelhead and spring panfish, and the bulk of my spring panfish are caught on them. I seldom use live bait, but on rare occasion live emeralds rigged under a slip float are what it takes to get it done!

[buckster]

2" pearl white grub is my go to bait. I find that my baits vary depending on the lake. Anyone else find that?