Bait for Crappie

[KILLER]

can anyone tell me what is the best artifical bait to use for crappie and what do you prefer

Do you crappie fishermen prefer pass assasins or grubs, i like to see what is used the most

[Tim The Lippa Rippa Mon]

This may seem a little sarcastic, but I assure you that it's not: the best bait will usually be whatever that the Crappie can see the easiest at that point in time, and which most closely resembles what they are currently feeding on. I am sure you have heard the phrase "match the hatch". There is a lot of truth in that.

I would say start with artificials between 1"- 3" long in White, Chartreuse, Red, Black, Orange, and all the color combinations of these. There is no catch all, no fail bait that I am aware of, but a lively minnow is pretty close at times!

<,"}/>{ Rippa

[Patrick Vowell]

red / chartreuse tubes , red & white tubes, blk / chrtrs tubes

[crappieseeker]

I have to agree with Tim The Lippa Rippa Mon, Match the hatch is a good key. There are many others though. Water clarity, as he did mention also, just in a different way. Another big thing I have found in select areas also is the color of structure you are fishing around. Sometimes you can match the color of the structure and really catch alot of fish. I know that sounds crazy, but I will give you an example. I had read about it in a magazine somewhere, and decided to try it around a pipeline I had frequently fished. I used a jig that was the ugliest rustiest color you ever saw, but it matched the exact dirty rust color of the pipe. Wow, was I amazed, I slaughtered the crappie around the pipe on that jig, and anywhere else I fished on the lake they wouldnt touch it. I have learned to try many different things. Lakes are all similar in ways, but they are very different in ways also, and some lakes are very different in different areas of the same lake. Like the Rippa said, there is no catch all no fail bait, you have to experiment regularly where you fish to find what works best. Thats why they call it fishing. Some bodies of water I fish, I catch them almost only on tube jigs, and some waters they will almost only take bass assassins, and these areas will only be a few miles from each other. Some areas I can only catch them on jigs, and they wont hardly hit my minnows, and some areas they will only bite minnows, and wont hardly hit my jigs. Some areas I catch them at night and rarely catch any during the day, and some areas I catch them in the daytime and rarely catch them at night. One thing I have always wondered is why in some places I will catch a hundred to one on a jig over a minnow, and a minnow is their natural food source. They say jigs mimmick their food source is why they are effective, so then why wont they hit a minnow in the same place? Fatboy if you read this, I caught some nice fish on Tims Tuesday and had 3 that were 15 and 1/2 inches and fat. Good luck to you all and I hope this helps you a little killer.

[Cane Pole]

This may seem a little sarcastic, but I assure you that it's not: the best bait will usually be whatever that the Crappie can see the easiest at that point in time, and which most closely resembles what they are currently feeding on. I am sure you have heard the phrase "match the hatch". There is a lot of truth in that.

I would say start with artificials between 1"- 3" long in White, Chartreuse, Red, Black, Orange, and all the color combinations of these. There is no catch all, no fail bait that I am aware of, but a lively minnow is pretty close at times!

<,"}/>{ Rippa

Long time no chat

Cane Pole

[fatboy]

Don't have to rub it in seeker

[crappieseeker]

Hey Fatboy, dont know for sure how much fishing I'll get to do this week, but I hope it isnt windy, I think the wind is keeping me from catching even more.

[tarfu]

howdy; watch Bill Dance, this weeks show is " They got to see it ... to eat it." it'll tell ya sum'tin.