The minnow factor

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Get taken away by the Slab Bandit- Robert Howell
Robert Howell knew very well what he was looking for in a crappie lure when he started to design the Slab Bandit as an addition to the Crazy Angler Tackle (www.crazyanglertackle.com) product line of crappie lures in October, 2010. It was a Slab Bandit that helped tournament angler Tracy Humber and his Partner win big fish at the Greenville, Miss. Crappie Masters event on Lake Washington with a 2.69- pound crappie.
“They can be fished from the surface with high-speed retrieves for schooling crappie or at the bottom, sliding it slowly for lazy winter slabs,” he explained.
“Their action is different compared to other baits by the fact the Slab Bandit always carries its tail up. The baits moving action while free-falling is a glide and stall, then the bait will slip left or right more precisely imitating a careless feeding minnow or perch. The bait has a little more bulk and density than other products, due to its design,” Howell pointed out.
“It’s offered in three sizes, the 1250 series is 1.5" long, the 1000 is 1.9" long, while the 2375 is 2.5" long.
“My favorite color Slab Bandits are as follow, Texas Toast, Jokers wild, Baby Shad and a new one we are coming out with, which is called Blazen Bluegill,” says Howell
When a plastic shad becomes alive- Tom Hankins
Tom Hankins, owner and guide for Hoosier Crappie and Catfish Guide Service has been fishing the Lake Fork Tackle Live Baby Shad (www.lftlures.com) for crappie from Virginia to Illinois. For Hankins as well as his clients, a two pound class crappie is not uncommon on the Live Baby Shad. It was a Baby shad that helped Hankins and his partner win four tournaments in 2012 on three different lakes as well as the Ohio River.
Hankins has found multiple uses for the Live Baby Shad, such as putting it on a road runner if he finds that the crappie are in the mood for a moving bait, or even slow trolling it, or even putting it on a #2 Sickle ball head.
“I use them around all types of cover including open water. I typically fish it in four to 15 feet, although mostly around ten feet,” Hankins pointed out as to where he is fishing the Shad around.
As with most baits and techniques, the Baby Shad has certain conditions and even certain areas of the country where it excels.
“I have used them all over the state of Indiana with great success then, I took some to Virginia and North Carolina and had the great success there as well. They work year around even through the ice” Hankins added.
“The live baby shad has a segmented body giving them great swimming action. They also have a small ball on the tail. This combination makes it impossible to hold the bait still making them look alive,” explained Hankins.
When it comes to what colors Hankins chooses for those dirty lakes that he fishes and guides on, he has had the success with all the colors in the Baby Shad’s line, but has a few favorites as well.
“The colors that I usually start with are Sun Perch, Black/ Chartreuse, Fire Perch and Glow Chart. But I have caught fish on every color they make.”
Baby baits are in!
Chris James of Etowah, TN. has fished the Bobby Garland Baby Shad (www.genelarew.com) for the past three years all around Tennessee and has done nearly everything you can with one lure, such as the Baby Shad. He has fished stumps with it, he has fished for staging fish with it, and not only that, James also trolled with it and has used it in his dock shooting efforts out on the water.
“We fish stumps along the river on drops that are from five to 25 feet. We can usually find fish that are staged and they are typically on our sonar from eight to 12 feet,” James noted.
“This past spring I pulled these baits in different colors when trolling and had great luck with them every outing. We have also used them dock shooting.”
When it comes to James’s favorite color Baby shad all go back to the colors he has had the most success and the colors that he has the most confidence in.
“My favorite colors are in no order Double Silver Rainbow, Outlaw Special, Ghastly Minnow, Electric Chicken, Screamer, Blue Ice, and Monkey Milk. One of our best days trolling we put the Hot Lip color on a Pink head and they were 3/1 more than the next color.”
When a lure makes the crappie start dancing- Bob Hinkle
When Bob Hinkle of Bob’s Jigs (www.bobsjigs.com) came out with the Crappie dancer, a bait that is a mere 1 ½ inches with a custom-built body, he soon realized he had a minnow style lure that had a very close action compared to what a small minnow looks like in the water along with a unique looking grub body. The Crappie Dancer has been successful from Sardis Lake in Missouri to the East Harbor on Lake Erie in Pennsylvania.
“It has been very successful throughout the United States in all waters,” said Hinkle. His customers have used these baits while shooting docks, vertical jigging, and even fishing them on ultra-light jig heads.
When it comes to how Hinkle, along with his customers has fished it, there are many ways and different places to fish it in.
“I use a 1/32 ounce jig head with this plastic bait. I work it just like you normally would do with any other jig. I imagine there are different ways to use this lure, one of my favorite ways to fish it is to shoot docks with it.”
Some of Hinkle’s customers have put the Crappie Dancer on a 1/16th ounce jig head and have tipped it with minnows as well. Some of them have also fished it on a 1/32 ounce weedless jig head and have been vertical jigging it in deep brush under a float.
Get Fishie- Steve Deitz and Randy Palmer
Steve Deitz has fished the Little Fishie by Crème lures (www.cremelure.com) for more than ten years. Another angler, Randy Palmer has been fishing the Fishie for more than 15 years ago, all because they wanted to try something different at the time. Both anglers know that when they hit a lake and they seek cover such as brush, docks, and pontoon boats, they know they can catch crappie on the Little Fishie.
“I've been using LIL Fishie for maybe 15 years. The reason for starting to use the Little Fishie was that I wanted to try something different at the time,” says Palmer.
“I have been using them for more than 10 years. It consistently catches more and larger crappie, as our tournament record shows,” says Deitz.
When it comes to what types of cover and waters the two anglers fish their boats around, it’s all personal choice and based on what types of cover exists on the lakes they fish.
“Rarely brush, if not around docks and pontoons. It works on all lakes for me that have docks, pontoons and sail boats. It works in any water clarity, except for super muddy water. I am generally fishing them over 20' feet or between 8'-15 feet. They work best in the 60-69 degree range. I have my best luck with them in all months except July/August and December and January,” said Deitz. “It can be reeled slowly, jigged or shot under cover like docks and duck blinds.”
“I fish them around brush, trees, rocks, points, and ledges. The depths I fish typically five to ten feet deep. I have a lot of luck with them on natural lakes, such as Lake Martin and Lake Henderson. The best water temperature is 50 to 60 degrees here in Cajun country. They work 12 months a year for me. It works in all water clarities,” said Palmer.
“We use the 1.5 inch Little Fishie. The bait at the speed of the weight of the jig, that is why at times a 1/64 ounce or a 1/16 ounce is best. The plastic is soft, but not mushy. I like the White, Yellow, Chartreuse colors. I like to use a 1/32 ounce, unpainted, handmade, purchased on Ebay jig head.,” Said Deitz. “I use Fluorescent 2 pound test Vicious line.”

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