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First for me. Central Illinois crappie in March. I've never fished for crappie in Illinois until early May. Never been to this place before but it is a 12 acre old stone quarry with mostly 8-20 fow. How would you cold water experts do it? My first thought is: 1/32 jig head with 1" Gulp Alive minnow on 4 lb line and slip bobber. Fish at 1st drop off. :help
Well, there are alot of variables to your question. Water color, wind, structure, and what part of the state you're in. For me, March crappie can run anywhere between 1.5'-12' on any given day in march depending on sun, clouds, wind, etc. Most days they seem to be about 4ft in around 8ft of water in staging areas where they may spawn. As far as presentation, if I had to be stuck on an island with only one setup, it would be a black and chartruese jig on a 1/32 ounce jighead. I like to pump the jigs body full of crappie nibbles using a syringe. Put it on a slip bobber and start at 3ft and work it to deeper until you find em. Good luck.
Thanks for the great description and taking the time to answer.
Don't mean to hi-jack the thread, "THICKS", how do you pump a solid plastic body
with Crappie Nibbles? Are you using a BG Slab Slayer type plastic body?
I use the hollow bodied tube jigs. Just buy a sturdy syringe and fill it full of crappie nibbles. Stick the syringe up the skirt/hollow body of the jig and pump it full. It will stretch out like a balloon. If the jig stays on, it'll last about an hour sometimes so you don't hafta put on more nibbles every cast.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveB40
Thank you! I was a bit confused, but then, it's still early in the morning,
before I've had my coffee, so my brain hasn't quite caught up with what
I'm reading. Great idea BTW! Thanks again, and my apologies to you
"silverside" for going in another direction! Tight Lines - Dave