Need some help figuring out these tasty little buggers. I fish South Holston lake in Tenn. I mostly fish from the boat dock where my pontoon is. They suspend under the covered slips. I have a couple trees tied up that holds them and at night there's some lights that bring them in after the bait fish. The lake is loaded with them but I always seem to only catch 5 or 6 in 3 or 4 hours of fishing. I know there's plenty down there they're just spooky for some reason. Seems like if I catch one I have to walk away and try somewhere else for a while. I mostly use live minnows dropped down 6 to 15 foot or so. Ive also caught a few on small flies. Any suggestions? I know for as many fish as I see I should be doing much better than this. Thanks for any tips.
Any crappie experts out there?
- Thread starter jvanhoy
- Start date
onpoint
Well-known member
I hope you're talking about the fish. If you're talking the adjective, you're gonna crash the site
they are tasty little guys.....
they are tasty little guys.....
genesis273
Well-known member
I catch a ton of crappie, and my favorite method, which I will try my best to explain, is vertical jigging. I fish alot of boat slips and will use a 1/32 oz jig head with this approx 1.5" thin black jig. It's just that, a thin strip of whatever they make fishing worms out of. Run the hook so that the jig is level, and not up/down. Looks like nothing, and it's hard to believe they'll bit it. But I'll drop it below where I believe they are, and barely bring it back up. Barely, as in a few minutes to cover 15-20'... extremely slow. While you bring it up, barely vibrate the rod tip. My rod is ultra lightweight and has alot of play in the tip.
I have no problem catching a 20 crappie limit in 1.5-2 hours on most days by doing this. And this is on a large lake while sitting in a kayak.
I hope this works for you. If not, I'll come over and show you first hand!
I have no problem catching a 20 crappie limit in 1.5-2 hours on most days by doing this. And this is on a large lake while sitting in a kayak.
I hope this works for you. If not, I'll come over and show you first hand!
Brittany Chukarman
Well-known member
I would downsize. Use the lightest tip rod you have, 2lb mono on a spinning reel and 1" Southern Pro Little Hustlers on a 1/64 oz leadhead with a #8 hook. Let the jig free fall tight to the edge of the dock. If one doesn't take it on the drop come up through them very slow. Don't expect a hard strike, watch your line and the rod tip for the slightest movement. They take the bait and move up with it so the strike can be hard to detect. Upon seeing movement slowly lift the rod to catch up to the fish while watching the rod tip. If the rod loads up set the hook. The key to catching "spooky" crappie is fishing slow and strike detection.
Thanks to you both. I have tried the reeling it up slow method and caught a few but it sounds like I need to downsize my jig for sure. I watch them at night eat these tiny blue minnows that you can barely even see. Genesis273 come down anytime you want! We catch some nice bass and trout right off the dock also. I also troll for rainbows and lake trout and do pretty good.
Any suggestion on color? They lake is crystal clear most of the year.
brownbear932008
Well-known member
This guy knows what he is talking about great advise. It took my dad and I a while to figure out they strike nothing like a bass or trout. Sometimes you can barely detect the strikes they are super soft most of the time it seems. Hope to get out soon.
genesis273
Well-known member
I know you addressed this to Brittany, but I use black. Clear water isn't the most ideal condition though.
sbhooper
Well-known member
Far from an expert on anything, BUT I have great luck using the one-inch gulp minnows and a very small jig. I just troll them real slowly with my boat, but jigging works, too.
squirrel
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I am an expert at crappie but pretty sure I have never caught one... I shoot them with a speargun, and I can assure you they are the spookiest fish in the waters they call home. If you so much as jiggle the trees they are in (and they are always in cover) they disappear like smoke out the far side of the cover. If you let a bubble of air out poof... gone. Whether there are 2 or 52 you get one shot, and the clock is ticking as when you exhale it is over. They never come back that day but will be there the next and it all starts again. How this relates to fishing is arguable, I would not drop anchor not tie off to the cover if exposed, once one is hooked I would horse him as far and fast as possible to get him out of the school. They are beautiful to watch float in from above, superb camo, incredible burst of escape speed with that big tail. Rumor has it they taste pretty good too.
sbhooper
Well-known member
That is fantastic info! I have kind of suspected that and you just confirmed it! Cool!
Brittany Chukarman
Well-known member
I would try to match those tiny blue minnows. Look at the Little Hustler color chart and you should be able to come close. When our crappie change from zoo plankton to minnows I've had good luck with a white body with a clear glitter tail. Just remember, most of the time they will move forward after taking the bait. What looks like a nibble is a fish moving ahead with your bait.
squirrel
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A note of self-correction in case a bonafide southern redneck is on here... stripers are spookier than crappie, so spooky you've gotta ditch the gear to poke them...
Big Slick
Well-known member
I use a 1/32 jig head with a 1.5" white jig. My rod is a 5' Ugly Stick ultralight with a Penn spinning reel. I see most of the pro crappie fisherman using long rods.
Not an expert, but for me, crappie seem to have no consistency from one day to the next. Some days it takes the smallest jig I have held motionless and sometimes it is a 1/2 oz jig buzzed through a school about as fast as I can. Between jig size, jig head color, body color, tail color, depth and speed, one combination will work, if I can find it i'll catch a limit and if not, it will be a struggle.
Elkmagnet
Well-known member
I fondly remember a trip where the bite was so light we didn't detect a single strike. We finally started to count 10 seconds and set the hook. We put a hundred crappie in the boat that afternoon.
Rainer
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Any crappie experts out there? Well, after my first cup of coffee in the morning i am LOL
Lol i know the feeling.
Steiny
Well-known member
Crystal clear water makes things tougher.
In those conditions, I typically suspend a lively minnow under a clear in line bobber "Adjusta-bubble" is the trade name. Colored bobbers will spook them.
Also use clear 6# mono line, a gold hook and no sinker so minnow swims around more freely.
This works for me.
In those conditions, I typically suspend a lively minnow under a clear in line bobber "Adjusta-bubble" is the trade name. Colored bobbers will spook them.
Also use clear 6# mono line, a gold hook and no sinker so minnow swims around more freely.
This works for me.
