Fishing for Crappie can be fun and frustrating at the
same time. Ever see them spawning on the bank no more the 2 feet out only to
look at your lure, run away or just move it? Well last night at the lake I
fish for Grass Carp I noticed Crappie and Bluegill were spawning. I use a
Pink and White Pop-Eye with a bobber about 3 feet up. For the Crappie on the
beds that I could see I just dropped the lure in the bed, some would take it
right away, some would run, some wouldn't do a thing. If you aggravate them
long enough then you can usually produce a strike from them. This was my
case last night 5/12/2009. There were 6 guys on the dam fishing, they
noticed the Crappie as well. They were using nightcrawlers, spinners, etc
with no luck. They didn't know what they were or what they were doing till I
told them. Then I caught 2 of them using the Pop-Eye after only a few
seconds. It happened to be a good night for Crappie. There are many ways to
fish for Crappie, this is how I caught them.
My current setup:
Reel: Shimano Sahara 750FB
Rod: Falcon Original Ultra Light
Line: Berkley Trilene 4lb Test
Bait: Pop-Eye : White Skirt, Pink Head
Location: Look for structure like
trees, logs, cat-tails, leaves on the bottom, shallow areas during spawning
season.
Bait Setup: I use a small bobber about
3 feet from the Pop-Eye.
Presentation: This can vary from
Crappie to Crappie so you will need to test the speeds as to which they
like.
Hook Set: Crappie have a very light
bite, mainly because of their huge mouth. When reeling in, you will notice
your bobber stopping slowly, possibly changing directions. What I do is keep
reeling slowly but at the same time, extend my arms out with the pole so
that the lure is actually not being reeled in just long enough to gently
make a hook set.
The Fight: Crappie have a thin mouth,
that's why they are called "Paper Mouths". So be easy, make sure the drag is
set loose but not too lose that the fish pulls line out so fast that slack
becomes and issue possibly dropping the hook from its mouth.
The Landing: A simple thumb in the
mouth if they are big or just haul them up with your rod.
Weighing: I weigh all of my fish on an
IGFA Certified digital scale. Weighing should be easy with their big mouths,
use the corner or bottom jaw.
Well this is how it’s done and if anyone has any
questions you can contact me via the Contact Page
