Do crappie like poppers?

[thill]

Greetings all, I hope you are well.

When I was a kid, I tied a lot of flies and poppers. My uncle is a somewhat famous fly tyer, and he got me started at a very young age.

Yesterday, I found my tying box, so I decided to make up some quick ties. Something I learned many years ago is that they don't have to be pretty to catch. A bit rough, made to be used and lost, but something the fish should eat:



What I made are some general fuzzy patterns, a couple of foam heads and a couple of cork "Hop and Pops". They are similar to a typical bluegill popper, but the heads aren't cupped, but are angled forward. So, if you twitch it, it pops like normal, but if you pull it a little further, it will hop out of the water and kind of skip, if you strip it in at the right speed.

I took it to the pond and did a roll cast under a tree, and POW! Then the dogs leaped in the water, trying to save my lure from the fish. I avoided hooking the dogs and called it a successful test.

Here is a pic showing the angled face of the lure:




I've made these in the past and the fish go nuts trying to catch them. They either think it's a little frog or a grasshopper, but whatever it looks like, you end up with breaking fish in the lake.

But now, here is my question:
Do crappie surface feed? I don't think I've ever caught one on a popper. Curious to hear your stories.

[SuperDave336]

Very cool. I’m pretty sure they would given the right situation but I’ve never personally caught one on topwater. Never fished for them that way.

[DockShootinJack]

In spring when they are busting minnows shallow. They would take a popper

[skeetbum]

I lived in middle Tennessee for a while and they would join in on the JUMPS, boiling the water in the morning chasing baitfish along with bass of a few varieties. Usually big ones too. I wouldn’t put it past them in the right situation. On a side note, I’ll take big bluegill on a popper anytime. Caught a few real nice ones years ago when I was just starting with a fly rod, mine was junk but it worked.

[GreenLine]

They will take one every once and a while.
We would catch a few when I was a kid.
We would be after blue gill and catch about one crappie for every 100-200 gills.
We fished below a big spillway . They would be stacked when the water receded after spring rains . Fun times


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com

[BobC]

As said, only in certain situations. Pans are awesome on a popper, and occasionally a crappie will get in on the action. Shallow water seemed to work from time to time.
Bob

[BuckeyeCrappie]

Very nice sir! Thanks for sharing with us

[Ketchn]

I have seen some really large crappie take big yellow grasshoppers off the surface on numerous occasions and in some spots it was NOT in a farm pond , we saw them in deep water timber doing it one year and one of them came right up to us in the boat and was a BIG crappie ,when the big yellow grasshoppers turn in to a plague during the heat of the summer , lot's of species of fish come up and take them ....

[thill]

Interesting stuff! When chasing minnows in the shallows and when grasshoppers are everywhere. I'll put that in the memory files.

[Ketchn]

Interesting stuff! When chasing minnows in the shallows and when grasshoppers are everywhere. I'll put that in the memory files.

was eating a sandwich one day in the timber at a different lake and had a blue cat that was likely in the close to the 100 lb range come take one right beside the boat , not just crappie will take them off the surface