ay man anybody have an opion on whether when it comes to fly fishing for crappie, what is better to fish for them in either a lake or a pond or some sort? but all of my best crappies have came out of a pond. I just want to see whats yalls thoughts on that.
As a very broad, general rule, white crappie are more piscivorous (fish eating), and black crappie are more planktivorous (plankton eating). Evidently there are some subtle differences in gill raker anatomy that make white crappie less efficient when eating plankton, which means that a nice clear small pond is likely to have faster growing black crappie, and a more turbid lake with gizzard shad etc., will have better white crappie populations. As always, there are many exceptions.
James I have caught most of my Crappie on home made whie Bucktail jigs tied with red collars, sometimes tipped with mealworms or crawler pieces.#2 bluefox spinners are good but the Bomber 4f is killer, as well as the Rebel WEE R.
I am in Illinois, the water temp is now dropping into the 50's, what techniques, baits, lures, etc. do you guys like for gettin late fall crappies? Also what depths?
Wade -In New Jersey the air temp is in the upper 30's and the water below 50 degrees I'm guessing.Yesterday I got about 12 Crappies along with Bass Gills and Yellow Perch .
The Crappies were all caught on hand tied 32nd oz. Feather Jigs and a commercial 16th oz. Marabou Jig tipped with Crawler pieces or Mealworms. They were down about 5-6 ' over 8-10 ' of water and in or to the side of a fallen oak tree. This time of year my experience is find the best wood cover on the lake that will hold Crappie.I do this year after year on my home lake around this time of year.Good Luck!
Wade,
What part of IL do you live in? I don't know if you saw my blog post from a week ago, but I was fishing at Carlyle lake in IL & caught some nice Crappie in 5 - 6 feet of water, using one of my 1/20th oz. jig heads and a micro "red" plastic.
Just because the water is cool, it doesn't mean that they will not hit hard. There have been times when I busted thru a thin layer of ice with the boat, just to get to some spots. And when you find them, you're in for a lot of fun!
Was able to finally get out last Sunday 2-13-11 (first time since December) and was able to catch a handfull of some 8-9" Crappies and a 4lb Northern Pike (Catching that on crappie gear is a blast!) Nothing huge but February is such a dead month out on the ice that I was thankfull to get any. This is a small Northern Minnesota lake near Duluth. We have been hovering around 0 degrees for weeks but finally got a break. This outing on the ice was a balmy 45 deg! Had the whole lake to myself. Other than wishing I had a friend to share this with I could not have asked for a better outing. Love those Crappies through the ice!!
Have to get the boat out I have not caught an ice out Crappie from shore yet here in New Jersey. Its been mostly Yellow Perch Bluegills and Pumpkinseeds .With a lonely White Perch and some dink Bass. Jigs and spoons, Mealies and spikes slip floated.
Acme 1/6th FlashKing Wobbler took a couple 12"Crappie on NENJ 'SCupsaw Lake yesterday .More Crappie took to 32nd oz. Red,White and Yellow Jigs.Bucktails,Feathers,and Marabous all worked either tiped with a Crawler piece or a Chartruese or white Twister tail .
Greg, Caught them at Rend Lake, along hwy 154. From what I hear they are catching nice fish at Kincaid, but really deep. They doing real good at Rend, 10-15ft along bridges.
took these last weekend on Minnows and Jigs. water temp around 53. had just enough for a great supper for me and brothers families. Now thats a great memory
Nice crappie John. I finally made it out of the house Thursday the 1 st Day of March. Went to my little honey hole we placed all the trees in and bummer, nothing. So we moved to another place and you guessed it, nothing. Started into shallow water and started taking some nice crappie in 6 ft of water against the bank. Ended up with 16 nice crappie some of which would push the 1 1/2 pound range. It's going to be an early spring folks so get ready to go and smack them butts..LOL
Wish I was fishing shiners yesterday by a spillway where the Crappie were pushing the bait to the surface at a compression zone where debris and sand has built up over the years.I used spoons and casted to the bait boils and feeding fish from the dam for an hour and a half but only caught three or Four Crappie and two Gills.I also got several Bumps and one lost Crappie. They were just keyed in on the real thing I guess .Pictured are the spoons I threw.As you can see I experimented with sizes ,Shapes and sink rates .All spoons were tossed on four lb test .Spoon weights ranged from 10th oz Swedish Pimple to 1/6th oz .Acme Flash king Wobbler .
In retrospect two of those spoons may be 1/4 oz : the hammered silver Little Cleo(far rt. top) and the small silver(discontinued?) Wobble Rite on bottom .
Went out yesterday 5-5-12. Went for Gills but done a whole lot better on the crappies. Caught all my fish on a 1/16 oz red and white jig head with a red twister with a red tail. All my fish were caught in about 10 feet of water on the outside weed bed. Water temp was 64 degrees. Picture are on my pictures. All the fish I kept was 10 inches plus. Threw back many that didn't make the grade.
Crappie were hittin' yesterday at the wind blown dam at the south end of the lake around 2:30-4pm. 1/4 oz.Hammered Silver spoon and Slip floated Jigs at 3-5 ' took them and a few Yellow Perch
Thanks John for the update and continued good luck to you. Is the size there John I seem to catch bigger fish as the water get colder are you finding that to be true for you?
The numbers for sure on Crappie get better with the colder water Dick.I have caught bigger crappie this year than last too.That could be just luck though .What are you catching your Crappie on Dick ? Jigs,Jig spins and Spoons are getting them for me.Crappie will hit big spinners and 1/4 oz crankbaits too but Jigs take more in my experience.
Sorry John wasn't trying to avoid the question just wanted you to know I haven't been for awhile. I used small ice flies with waxies on them. I like chart with some red on it and put a waxie chaser on it. That's what worked for me. I fish clear water because that's what we have around here. Don't know when I'll be able to get out because of my circumstances here at home. Wish you all the luck keep us informed as to your progress. GOOD FISHIN....
No sweat Dick ,I don't know what your situation is at home but I hope it's not serious !?If it stops you from fishing I'm thinking it must be !I hope everything's alright . Clear water =small I see. You probaly slip float or fix float these light jigs to cast and present them I quess. I am still trying to work out the best gear for slip floating .It's a great way to fish and I've been doing it a lot lately for Perch and Crappie .Havent been seeing the Gills from shore for a few times fishing now .I want to get the boat out again and find them.
Approaching from this direction the fish inevitably swam toward deeper water which my boat was in . I lost more jigs,spoons than usual because of their tightness to cover on this outing even lost a crankbait after catching a few small Bass .I gamble sometimes with my gear and lost pretty severely this time .It would have been unaproachable perhaps if fishing from shore .I did retreive several hangups but I had to let lures sink farther into the snags to score fish.It is the way it goes on a late afternoon into dusk like this with a South wind and Bright Blue skies and an obvious boat fisherman predator. Several Crappies, a few Gills , A few Bass and a few Yellow Perch .No White Perch again!
John Sheehan
Course I'm talking here in Jersey at my home lake ,Cupsaw ,in Ringwood.Mar 28, 2010
crappiemike
NICE LOOKING PICS........
CM
Mar 31, 2010
Bruce Condello
May 1, 2010
Tobias Jackson Jr.
May 1, 2010
John Sikkila
May 1, 2010
Bruce Condello
May 1, 2010
John Sheehan
May 30, 2010
James Chavis
Jun 28, 2010
John Sheehan
Aug 22, 2010
Wade Jones
Nov 8, 2010
John Sheehan
The Crappies were all caught on hand tied 32nd oz. Feather Jigs and a commercial 16th oz. Marabou Jig tipped with Crawler pieces or Mealworms. They were down about 5-6 ' over 8-10 ' of water and in or to the side of a fallen oak tree. This time of year my experience is find the best wood cover on the lake that will hold Crappie.I do this year after year on my home lake around this time of year.Good Luck!
Dec 4, 2010
Greg Wade
What part of IL do you live in? I don't know if you saw my blog post from a week ago, but I was fishing at Carlyle lake in IL & caught some nice Crappie in 5 - 6 feet of water, using one of my 1/20th oz. jig heads and a micro "red" plastic.
Just because the water is cool, it doesn't mean that they will not hit hard. There have been times when I busted thru a thin layer of ice with the boat, just to get to some spots. And when you find them, you're in for a lot of fun!
Best,
Greg
Dec 4, 2010
John Sheehan
Jan 4, 2011
John Sheehan
Jan 10, 2011
John Sheehan
Genz worm and smallest jig/rap tipped with salted Shiners tails or heads caught Crappie
Feb 13, 2011
Nathanael Deloach
Feb 16, 2011
John Sheehan
Have to get the boat out I have not caught an ice out Crappie from shore yet here in New Jersey. Its been mostly Yellow Perch Bluegills and Pumpkinseeds .With a lonely White Perch and some dink Bass. Jigs and spoons, Mealies and spikes slip floated.
Mar 21, 2011
John Sheehan
Apr 28, 2011
John Sheehan
Sep 11, 2011
John Sheehan
Sep 22, 2011
Dwayne Denison
Great day today, caught limit of 20 all about size in pics
Oct 28, 2011
John Sheehan
Nov 2, 2011
Dwayne Denison
Nov 2, 2011
John Sheehan
Those are white CrappiE .I only catch Black Crappie here in NJ.
Dwayne-They hit plain jigs or tipped with bait?
Nov 18, 2011
Dwayne Denison
John, plain jigs. 1/16 oz with red sickle hook. We were using tube jigs, red/char.
Nov 18, 2011
Greg Wade
Nice catch Dwayne!
Did you get those at Kincaid? I haven't been out in a long time, but the water temps should be about right for a real good Crappie bite!
Nov 18, 2011
Dwayne Denison
Greg, Caught them at Rend Lake, along hwy 154. From what I hear they are catching nice fish at Kincaid, but really deep. They doing real good at Rend, 10-15ft along bridges.
Nov 18, 2011
dick tabbert
Great job on the white crappies. Look like you'll be eating nice fillets for awhile. Keep up the good work and GOOD FISHIN...
Nov 19, 2011
Vic Tankersley
took these last weekend on Minnows and Jigs. water temp around 53. had just enough for a great supper for me and brothers families. Now thats a great memory
Nov 28, 2011
John Sheehan
Nice job on the Crappie! You use those small Fat head minnows ?
Nov 28, 2011
Vic Tankersley
Acually we get both kinds but these were shiners (golden Shiners)..Flatheads are a little tougher when we can get them..
Nov 28, 2011
Vic Tankersley
Nice crappie John. I finally made it out of the house Thursday the 1 st Day of March. Went to my little honey hole we placed all the trees in and bummer, nothing. So we moved to another place and you guessed it, nothing. Started into shallow water and started taking some nice crappie in 6 ft of water against the bank. Ended up with 16 nice crappie some of which would push the 1 1/2 pound range. It's going to be an early spring folks so get ready to go and smack them butts..LOL
Mar 5, 2012
John Sheehan
Wish I was fishing shiners yesterday by a spillway where the Crappie were pushing the bait to the surface at a compression zone where debris and sand has built up over the years.I used spoons and casted to the bait boils and feeding fish from the dam for an hour and a half but only caught three or Four Crappie and two Gills.I also got several Bumps and one lost Crappie. They were just keyed in on the real thing I guess .Pictured
are the spoons I threw.As you can see I experimented with sizes ,Shapes and sink rates .All spoons were tossed on four lb test .Spoon weights ranged from 10th oz Swedish Pimple to 1/6th oz .Acme Flash king Wobbler .
May 4, 2012
John Sheehan
In retrospect two of those spoons may be 1/4 oz : the hammered silver Little Cleo(far rt. top) and the small silver(discontinued?) Wobble Rite on bottom .
May 4, 2012
dick tabbert
Went out yesterday 5-5-12. Went for Gills but done a whole lot better on the crappies. Caught all my fish on a 1/16 oz red and white jig head with a red twister with a red tail. All my fish were caught in about 10 feet of water on the outside weed bed. Water temp was 64 degrees. Picture are on my pictures. All the fish I kept was 10 inches plus. Threw back many that didn't make the grade.
May 6, 2012
John Sheehan
Nice 13"ers Dick!
May 7, 2012
dick tabbert
Thanks John waiting for the next outing when ever that will be. It was a great time and I found out I can still catch a fish or two.
May 7, 2012
John Sheehan
Caught on Hus spoon with crawler chunk .
Hittin' untipped Nungesser spoons.
Sep 28, 2012
John Sheehan
Sep 28, 2012
John Sheehan
Mister Twister Lightnin bug jig and Swedish Pimples got plenty of Crappie last night .
Sep 30, 2012
John Sheehan
Thanks for letting me share this catch. My best in a long time and 3rd biggest Crappie :
Oct 25, 2012
John Sheehan
Oct 25, 2012
John Sheehan
Crappie were hittin' yesterday at the wind blown dam at the south end of the lake around 2:30-4pm. 1/4 oz.Hammered Silver spoon and Slip floated Jigs at 3-5 ' took them and a few Yellow Perch
Nov 9, 2012
dick tabbert
Thanks John for the update and continued good luck to you. Is the size there John I seem to catch bigger fish as the water get colder are you finding that to be true for you?
Nov 9, 2012
John Sheehan
The numbers for sure on Crappie get better with the colder water Dick.I have caught bigger crappie this year than last too.That could be just luck though .What are you catching your Crappie on Dick ? Jigs,Jig spins and Spoons are getting them for me.Crappie will hit big spinners and 1/4 oz crankbaits too but Jigs take more in my experience.
Nov 9, 2012
dick tabbert
John I haven't been I'm talking about past practice.
Nov 9, 2012
John Sheehan
Ok Dick than what did you catch Crappies on in the past .
Nov 9, 2012
dick tabbert
Sorry John wasn't trying to avoid the question just wanted you to know I haven't been for awhile. I used small ice flies with waxies on them. I like chart with some red on it and put a waxie chaser on it. That's what worked for me. I fish clear water because that's what we have around here. Don't know when I'll be able to get out because of my circumstances here at home. Wish you all the luck keep us informed as to your progress. GOOD FISHIN....
Nov 9, 2012
John Sheehan
No sweat Dick ,I don't know what your situation is at home but I hope it's not serious !?If it stops you from fishing I'm thinking it must be !I hope everything's alright . Clear water =small I see. You probaly slip float or fix float these light jigs to cast and present them I quess. I am still trying to work out the best gear for slip floating .It's a great way to fish and I've been doing it a lot lately for Perch and Crappie .Havent been seeing the Gills from shore for a few times fishing now .I want to get the boat out again and find them.
Nov 10, 2012
John Sheehan
Approaching from this direction the fish inevitably swam toward deeper water which my boat was in . I lost more jigs,spoons than usual because of their tightness to cover on this outing even lost a crankbait after catching a few small Bass .I gamble sometimes with my gear and lost pretty severely this time .It would have been unaproachable perhaps if fishing from shore .I did retreive several hangups but I had to let lures sink farther into the snags to score fish.It is the way it goes on a late afternoon into dusk like this with a South wind and Bright Blue skies and an obvious boat fisherman predator. Several Crappies, a few Gills , A few Bass and a few Yellow Perch .No White Perch again!
Nov 12, 2012