Best Crappie Baits

Best Crappie Baits

By Ben Leal

Crappie…animals that forage for discrete, isolated resources are often characterized as either “ambush” (sit-and-wait) or “cruise” (active) searchers. Juvenile white crappie, Pomix annularis, search for zooplankton prey using a salutatory search (SS) strategy. Unlike ambush and cruise, SS involves…

Had you readers going there for a moment didn’t I… Well lucky for you this is not going to be an article about the biology and intricacies of what makes a crappie tick. We all know what makes em tick, don’t we? A nice big juicy minnow, or a nicely presented jig or soft plastic that entices these guys to bite. We’re talking about the spring bite. April…it’s a time we all look forward to as water temps warm and crappie move shallow.

Crappie generally start their migration from their winter haunts in deeper water when the water temperatures start warming toward the 45-50 degree range. They will congregate around entrances of creek channels until the water temps start to hover in the 50-55 degree range, where they will begin to make their way to shallower haunts. Crappie will use secondary creeks and bays, using the channels hidden beneath the water as highways. This is a great time to start trolling with small jig heads or casting a small Road Runner Crappie Thunder or the original Marabou. Colors that this angler tends to lean towards are black and chartreuse, and a pink jig head with a white body. Those two are my go-to bait colors, with the black and chartreuse being at the top.

That’s my short list; however the list goes on, so let’s explore some of the preferred baits used by anglers all across the state. Trying to choose the best crappie bait for any given day is truly luck of the draw. As we all know, whether you’re fishing for crappie, bluegill or bass, what worked one day may not work the next. Just like you, preference can change from one day to another. Obviously, you can catch crappie (as well as other fish) on just about anything if you put in enough time, but I’m here to tell you what works well for many crappie fishermen (including me). Ask any pro crappie fisherman what their favorite crappie rig is and they’ll probably mention minnows or jigs.

Jigs
These baits are probably the most popular and one that is at the top of any crappie anglers list. I would have to say that most crappie anglers keep a large number of jigs in their tackle boxes not only in size but in color. Plastic or feather, you can purchase these in a variety of sizes and colors. Chartreuse, white, black; a combination of the color with the jig head being white and the body chartreuse or black… the objective is to imitate the forage in the body of water you are fishing.

You can also try these jigs on a fly rod and when fish are shallow and you need a long reach, a fly rod will allow you to place that small jig in just the right spot. The Northland Fire-Fly jig is just but one example of a fly jig that you can use to hook into some nice crappie that is close to timber. Chartreuse and white typically work well in this case or even plain white. Again, the objective is to match the jig to the forage that crappie are feeding on, which is typically small minnows. Match the hatch!

Johnson Beetle Spin
How many of you can honestly say that this particular bait is the first one that you were introduced to, not only for crappie but for panfish in general. This is among the most durable products that fish hunters have ever come across. It should be noted that the beetle spin is convenient for both novice and avid angler alike. When you purchase these they usually come in a dual combination color. These are great baits for crappie and the occasional bass will hammer these and offer the young angler a great fight on light tackle.

These are perfect on light line and a long ultra-light rod, typically 6 1/2 to 7 foot will do the trick. The length of the rod will help in casting these relatively light baits. Run them along standing timber, and if you’re fishing the pre-spawn, cast out to deep water and run them up onto a shallow point. They will stage just off the drop off as they prepare to move shallow for the spawn.

The Rooster Tail
The first rooster tail I ever used was one that was made by Mepps. These also are available from Worden’s Lures as well as Yakima Bait Company. This is another great lure that you can use as a searching tool. As with the Johnson Beetle Spin, the long ultra-light rod will help with casting distance. They come in a variety of size and colors so varying your tackle box stock will be easy to do. These also can be cast a long standing timber and from deeper water. The downside, if there is any, is that you have a single treble hook that can easily get caught up in tree limbs.

The Minnow
I bet you all are saying, “What took you so long?” There is no doubt that a minnow suspended under a bobber on a thin hook can be one of the most productive ways to catch aggressive crappie. Kids and adults alike will enjoy plenty of fast action when the fish are shallow. You can also add minnows to a jig head, casting and retrieving the bait. I’ve used small jigs under a bobber with a minnow hooked just below the dorsal fin. The color and minnow combination is an effective way to chase after spring crappie.

These are but a few of the best crappie baits out there. These are what I would consider the typical baits used for chasing after crappie, but a quick search on Google and you’ll find 20 plus lures labeled as crappie lures.

Tips and tactics
Crappie can be voracious predators in the spring. Sounds kind of funny when you think of crappie; however, the pre-spawn and spawning periods make these fish aggressive and hungry. Minnows in many cases are the go-to bait this time of year. One important key is to find the depth that these fish are feeding at. Once you’ve done that, tie on a slip bobber and get your bait down to the fish at the same depth every time. This is a great time to get the kids involved too. Grab yourself a minnow bucket full of those tasty little crappie candies and head on out to the lake. Designate your daughter as “the minnow lady”. Just be careful when you give her that very first minnow, because as soon as that little minnow goes to wiggling in her little hand…a high pitch squeal will shriek from her little lips, the minnow will go sailing one way, and the bucket the other way. Of course, your son will be having the time of his little life watching this whole scene unfold before his eyes. “DAD! That was cool! Do it again.”

Another great option during this period, especially if you like to wander the shoreline of many of the smaller bodies of water in Iowa, is to tie on two small jigs in tandem on a light spinning gear. I usually tie on small tube jigs in this application. I’ll first start off with my go-to colors, one will be chartreuse and black jig, and the second will be a white and pink jig. These can vary in size and weight but typically with a two-jig system you’ll want to start out with the smaller size like 1/32oz or 1/16oz. This tactic can be a blast if you find yourself a nice pile of crappie that are bunched up and eager to jump on your bait. Toss your jig combo out there and see if you can’t catch a couple at a time. This really can liven things up if you have your kids with you. Remember Dad, do the casting, we don’t want any involuntary ear piercings when your son rips that rod around like he’s swinging for home plate. Your daughter will shriek again, your son will think its cool, but Mamma will NOT be happy…

Okay, beyond entertaining your kids and yourself because you know you had a good laugh at their expense, there are countless ways to fish for crappie. Trolling is an effective way to locate fish, however, make sure you have a way of marking where you get the bites. GPS works great, but in a pinch throw out a marker so that you know at least where your boat position was when you started catching them. You can use swim baits, jigs, and inline spinners. Another great option is…yep, a fly rod. I was out at a private pond one afternoon, commenting on the fact that I had never caught a crappie on a fly. That very next cast I felt a tug on my fly as it swam through the water, I set the hook and guess what? I pulled up a 15-inch crappie, much to my surprise. I’ve also spoken with anglers out at some smaller bodies of water that use the fly rod to place the smaller jigs just in the right spot. Rather than casting the fly, they’ll tie on a small caribou jig, usually white, and drop it down in the water using the length of the rod to reach out. I have two fly rod’s one is a nine-foot rod, the other a seven. That nine-foot rod would be great to reach a brush pile or some small structure in about two to three foot of water during the spawn. The possibilities are unlimited, use your imagination, and you’ll find the fish.

Crappie fishing, especially in April as the water warms can be some of the best of the year. Kids can “catch” and we can reap the benefits of our efforts with a fresh plateful of crappie filets. Remember to limit your catch, don’t catch your limit. Return larger trophy-sized fish to the water so help maintain the future of the resources you are enjoying…Tight lines all!