Crappie fishing is one of the best ways to catch trophy-sized fish. However, like any good fishery, it depends on knowing what you’re doing and when to do it. crappie fishing tips and tricks can be your guide on how to catch more crappie than ever before.
Crappie fishing is one of those things that no matter what you do, it’s always better when you do it with a friend. Fishing for crappie is easy to master and can be done anywhere; at your mother’s pond outside your hometown or in the wilds of a lake out West. Regardless of where you fish for crappie, there are a few things you should know when trying to catch them.
Crappie fishing tips and tricks are usually limited to using soft plastic bait which is very common in North America. Harder stuff like crankbaits and spoons don’t tend to float effectively in cold water and generally produce fewer crappie bites. Additionally, because most crappies are smaller than most other species of fish, there isn’t a lot of room for error when putting the bait into specific locations.
While many bass anglers have switched to braided super lines for their incredible sensitivity, that’s not what you need for slabs. We explain in our detailed article to pick the best fishing line for crappie.
Crappie Fishing Tips and Tricks On Line Basic
If you’ve been terrorizing sac-a-lait for decades, pulling dozens of crappie from piers, downed trees, and submerged points every weekend, then it’s time to up your game. The fish that inhabit the shallow waters of lakes in the eastern United States are pretty tough customers, but with some patience, persistence, and a little know-how, you can master the art of crappie fishing.
Fishing tips and trick for crappie fishing lines can help you catch more fish. Crappies are small fish that live in rippled clear water lakes and streams. They eat algae and other plants, which look like dirty water on their scales. The harder the hook, the better chance of catching the crappie when it bites.
You will catch more papermouths if you use a good rod like a St. Croix and run a line like Stren Original or Seaguar InvizX. Crappie has very tender mouths that are easily damaged and torn by unforgiving hooksets. To keep these fish where they should be, you need a bit of giving in your gear. Check out our best fishing line for Crappie
Crappie Fishing Tips and Tricks on lures
Crappies are a great fishery to target in the spring. While jigs are an extremely popular artificial lure used to catch crappie, a wide variety of hard-bodied lures can be extremely effective.
While jigs are an extremely popular artificial lure used to catch crappie, a wide variety of hard-bodied lures can be extremely effective. A soft plastic jig that is painted orange, yellow, and/or black will make a prominent appearance in the water. These colors can be very effective at attracting hungry crappies and make for easy identification of the type of lure you’re targeting.
Crappie lures are one of the most popular artificial lures used to catch crappie. But there are a lot of different types of crappie lures on the market today, making it hard for anglers to know what’s out there. This can make picking the right lure for your individual fishing needs challenging. If you haven’t tried one yet, we recommend trying a soft bait or jighead first. Then move on to crankbaits, spoons and swimbait heads as these work well on small jigs but also cast very well and get hung up in brush or weed beds unlike hard-bodied lures like minnows-shaped rubber worms.
Crappie fishing can be a bit tricky, especially when you are looking for the biggest fish. Many anglers think that the best way to catch crappies is by throwing jigs and lures. Jigs and soft plastics are popular choices among crappie anglers because they will lure schools of fish toward your hookset. A jig might work at times but is never the most efficient way to target a school of fine-sized crappies. We’ll categorize crappie fishing lures into four groups:
- Jerkbait lures
- Crankbait
- Spinners
- Jig Spoon
1. Catch More Jerkbait lures
Best of all, you don’t need a ton of different jerkbaits in your tackle box to catch a nice mix of panfish. I keep my jerk bait fishing technique simple. It’s just a matter of knowing how to present the lure and adjusting the retrieve speed to determine which way the fish are feeding. If they are not biting your jerk bait, try something else. Once you begin to master fishing the twist, then apply it to crankbaits and other minnow-type baits. I think you’ll be amazed at how many fish you can catch throughout the year with this excellent ice-fishing technique.
We were discussing the manufacturers of these lures and Mr. Litton said that he had visited the Cotton Cordell factory in Fort Smith Arkansas on two different occasions and enjoyed meeting Mark Cotton who is the President and owner of Cotton Cordell Super Spol.
2. Crankbait
This article has offered advice on using crappie crankbaits, and it may also be helpful when choosing the right one for your next fishing trip. If you would like more in-depth information, there are many books on the subject. For an in-depth list of available crappie fishing techniques, check out the article Crappie Fishing Techniques: Learn About Using Cool Lures and Getting a Basketful.
Crankbaits for crappie aren’t exactly rocket science. It’s a nice bait to use as you go from a shallow backwater to a deeper main channel to try and find that active school of crappie you’ve been hearing about. Our best lures for crappie will give you more information on the techniques used when targeting these fish with this awesome lure.
3. Spinners
They’ve been around for long enough to have survived even the best new fads and fashions in lure-making. Sometimes, it seems like the crappie spinners outnumber other types of spinner rigs! There are a few different types of spinner rigs that can be used for best lures for crappie. The most popular are spoons and jigs, but I have also seen several other variations employed by experienced fishermen across North America.
The real Spoons are difficult to beat in extraordinary circumstances. Many items with names like Daredevil, Silver Minnow, and the Kastmaster, are available. Typically, spoons have jagged, cast, or twisted edges. Live bait or soft jig bodies can be used to decorate or tip the hooks.
4. Crappie Jigs
Jigs are some of the most versatile lures out there, and one of the best ways to catch crappie without fail. Even in the worst weather conditions, you can rest assured that a slab will find your jig.
Choosing the right crappie jig will ultimately depend on your fishing needs. What conditions are you fishing in, what kind of base bait will you be using, and what size fish do you usually catch? There’s plenty to consider, but hopefully, this guide has given you a better understanding of what’s available in the jig universe.
keep in mind that a jig isn’t a one-size-fits-all selection. It might be tempting to grab one of your favorite colors and stick with it, but if you do that, you stand to miss out on some fantastic opportunities. The wide range of options available can help you adapt to nearly any situation on the water. That kind of versatility makes them one of the most powerful tools for success that you have at your disposal. For crappie fishing, I recommended Booyah Boo Jig to catch more crappie fish.
Where to Catch Crappie fish on the lake?
It’s a question we’ve been asked multiple times by anglers and readers alike, so today I’m going to tell you about some of our favorite places. Our goal is to give you a list of top destinations for fishing for crappie that are also accessible, well stocked, and easily accessible. Each place we list is based on both the quality and quantity of fish caught per day.
Crappie might be the most popular game fish, but crappie holds a special place in the hearts of many Lone Star anglers. Here are some honorable mentions and hidden gems not on this list, so look out for a follow-up piece.
Top 55 Best Crappie Lakes
We have been asked by numerous anglers where the best places to crappie fish are, so we collected information from a panel of experts to build a bucket list of the best crappie fishing lakes and rivers in the U.S. We provided input to the list as well but we wanted this to be a verifiable list so we asked some of the most accomplished crappie anglers where the best fishing is around the country.
Crappie is here and anglers everywhere are making the most of it. When I say best, I mean places that have produced record-breaking size, quantity, and quality of fish consistently. These lakes and rivers have been ranked based on several criteria such as water depth, water clarity, and fish population size. here are the top 55 best crappie lakes in the country:
- Sardis Lake, Mississippi
- Kentucky Lake, Kentucky / Tennessee
- Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee
- Grenada Lake, Mississippi
- Arkabutla Lake, Mississippi
- Wister Lake, Oklahoma
- Lake Barkley, Kentucky, and Tennessee
- Green River Lake, Kentucky
- Lake Washington, Mississippi
- Barkley Lake, Kentucky
- Millwood Lake, Arkansas
- Lake Dardanelle, Arkansas
- Logan Martin, Alabama
- Weiss Lake, Alabama
- Guntersville Lake, Alabama
- Nimrod Lake, Arkansas
- Clear Lake, California
- Saint Johns River, Florida
- Clarks Hill, South Carolina
- Chickamauga Lake, Tennessee
- Patoka Lake, Indiana
- Santee Cooper Lakes, South Carolina
- Eufaula Lake, Oklahoma
- Pickwick Lake, Tennessee
- Oologah Lake, Oklahoma
- Fort Gibson Lake, Oklahoma
- Enid Lake, Mississippi
- Lake Harris, Florida
- Truman Lake, Missouri
- Lake D’Arbonne,Louisiana
- Toledo Bend, Texas
- Alabama River, Alabama
- Lake Erie, Ohio
- Texoma Lake, Texas
- Lake O’ the Pines, Texas
- Buckeye Lake, Ohio
- Kaw Lake, Oklahoma
- Ross Barnett Reservoir, Mississippi
- Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, Mississippi (Columbus, Aliceville, Aberdeen)
- Douglas Lake, Tennessee
- Monroe Lake, Florida
- Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri
- Lake Fork, Texas
- Neely Henry Lake, Alabama
- Kinkaid Lake, Illinois
- Rend Lake, Illinois
- Lake Shelbyville, Illinois
- Conway Lake, Arkansas
- Lake Greeson, Arkansas
- Greenwood Lake, Arkansas
- West Point, Georgia
- Oconee Lake, Georgia
- Lake Cumberland, Kentucky
- Indian Lake, Ohio
- Lake Talquin, Florida
Fishing Regulations
If you’re planning on fishing, you may want to check the regulations before you fish. Fishing regulations vary from state to state and even across bodies of water within a state. The fishing regulations can be challenging, idea-generating, and fun to read. It’s important to do your homework before you head out to the lake for crappie fishing. Know what is and isn’t legal in your state before you even step foot on the water. This can be done by checking with the local tackle shop or just doing a little research on the laws yourself so you have time to fish before the sun goes down.
These days, fish regulations are more complex than ever. In some states, you can only use artificial lures and baits, but in others, you can use live minnows or worms. You may find different rules regarding barbless hooks or whether or not you need a license for your state of residence. There are also the rules on where you can fish and whether or not it’s legal to take wild crappie with a snook net.
Final Thought On Crappie Fishing Tips
Thanks for joining us this week with our Crappie Fishing Tips and tricks . We hope that these tips help out if you decide to go Crappie fishing in the future. While this was a lot of fun to put together, it was also important for us to remind everyone how valuable crappie fishing is to the economy as well. If this article can inspire you and your family to go out and try crappie fishing, we’ve done our job!
Hopefully, we’ve inspired you to give these tips and trick a try. And we think you might find them to be helpful tools in your fight against the common inconsistency of crappie fishing. As always, we’d love to hear any feedback you have, so feel free to leave us a comment below. We look forward to hearing from you soon!