By Andrew Ragas

Article Posted: December, 2004

Out of all the fish that are listed as “panfish” there is one fish that I have a passion for. They are Crappies; black ones to be exact. Nearly all of my Crappie fishing takes place during spring and summer. During the fall, Crappies are “hard” to find and in turn, I tend to look for other species.

Note: I am not a pro. I am just a regular fisherperson like all of you.

The following material is an easy-to-read guide and article that will help you catch slabs during the Prime-time. The photos, baits, and tips are my favorites and they will be shared with you.



Part I – Crappie Basics

All of my Crappie fishing takes place on the lakes and flowage-belt of Northern Wisconsin. Nearly all of these lakes are glacial lakes, meaning that they were formed thousands of years ago as the ice-age was coming to an end.

Up in the north-country of Wisconsin, spawning takes place when water temperatures reach between 65-70 degrees. This is usually during the final two weeks of May and at the latest, the first week of June. Crappies begin to mate between the ages of 2-3 years old. Most of these spawning females will range from 8-12” in length. A female Crappie may lay as many as 20,000 to 100,000 eggs. The eggs hatch in 5-10 days and the Male will guard the eggs and the newborn fry.

The main forage base of Crappies are aquatic insects, minnows and other small fish. Feeding windows vary as the season progresses, but it is proven that Crappies are most-active during the sunrise hours and the dusk and early sunset hours.

Black Crappies prefer a habitat loaded with cover, whether they are reeds, weedbeds or brush. Out of all types of cover, I prefer catching crappies from brushpiles & fallen timber. The majority of Black Crappies are found in small to medium-sized lakes. Unlike their close cousins the White Crappie, which prefer a turbid-water environment, Black Crappies prefer a clear-water environment.

Along with the famous Bluegill, Perch and Walleye, Crappies are caught by many Wisconsin anglers throughout each season. In most lakes and rivers, Crappies reproduce naturally and nearly all lakes have a sustainable fishery. Crappies will easily take-over a body of water if the predators aren’t found – (Bass, Walleye, Pike, Muskies) In turn, the final result will be a stunted fishery and a high competition for food.


Part II – Gear and Tackle

There are many forms of tackle that can be used for chasing Crappies. The only rig I prefer is a 6ft light action rod with a smooth reel that easily handles 4-6lb line. I tend to favor 4lb over anything else. Many people prefer using different kinds of rods in longer lengths (for example – 7-10ft ultra-light models). A 6ft rod is just my preference and allows me to fight the giant slabs.

During my 2004 season, I only used my 6ft Rapala Long Cast series rod and Quantum Pulse 10 spinning reel. This is a very affordable combo and is under $100.

My rod and reel is a great multi-purpose combination. I can fish live-bait, use slip-bobber rigs, cast jigs, work small jerkbaits, and use small plastics.

As far as your tackle box goes, you need to go simple. Crappie fishing is not as ‘high-tech” like Bass and Walleye fishing. In order to be successful, organization is key!


As far as individual pieces of tackle go, here is what you will need:

- Assortment of jigs (ballheads, ice jigs and marabou) of various colors. I favor yellow, white, pink, chartreuse and purple colors. Make sure you have a wide range of sizes too. I prefer 1/64oz up to 1/16oz. Do not exceed 1/8oz because anything over that size will be over-kill.

- Floats (pegged and slip floats) – Make sue you have bobber stops and beads as well.

- Sinkers (split shots) and live-bait hooks.

- 1-2” twisters, tubes, assorted plastics that resemble invertebrates (underwater insects – nymphs) – Choose natural colors, and try to match the forage base for your body of water.

- Carry a few types of attractants. (Paste and small plastic maggots/ grubs)

- Always carry live-bait (minnows) with you if you are fishing by boat. You never know if you will need it.



Part III – Fishing the Prime-Time

May thru June

Most of my Crappie fishing begins during mid-May. During this month, there will be one very noticeable pattern. This pattern will be a movement. During the winter months and spring-thaw season, Crappies will be in the depths near underwater structure. By the 2nd or 3rd week of May, Crappies will begin moving toward the shallows to search for their spawning grounds.

Out of all my “prime-time” Crappie months, May is the only month where I prefer using live-bait over artificials for Crappie. The only live-bait I like using for crappies are minnows. The size that I prefer using them in are from 1-2”. Most bait shops carry minnows and if you want good minnows for Crappie fishing, ask the Bait-man for “Crappie Minnows”.

My favorite presentations during Spring-time are using jigs tipped with minnows, slip bobbers, and live-bait rigs. This is just a preference of mine and this is a pattern that I’ve used over the years. Based on experience, I seem to notice that minnows will trigger a bite more-so than plastic during the pre-spawn period.

Here are some jigs to consider.


Listed Jigs

- Northland Gypsi Jigs
- Crappie USA Marabou Jigs
- Assorted 1/32oz heads


Did I mention that I also enjoy the slip-bobbering method too?

Slip bobber rigs can be used any day, time, place, or season for panfish, but out of all times throughout the year, I enjoy using these rigs in late-May and early June. A few key areas to search for crappies are near downed trees, drop-offs from shallow water, weed beds, reeds, and shallow water. Crappies will be found in these areas and you'd be missing out on the action without using a slip bobber rig.

Suggested tackle is a 6' light action to a medium action spinning rod & reel that holds anywhere from 4-6lb monofilament line. 6lb test is the preferred line for most of my Crappie bobbering. You must use a small profile live bait along with floats for panfish. Minnows work best as far as live bait goes. For added attraction, use small ice jigs & marabou jigs to entice a bite!


Right when the first and second weeks of June roll around is when you will have the hottest action for Crappies.


Summer

My summer season officially begins right after the first week of June.

Out of all “prime-time” seasons, June is my favorite. This hot-bite will last till late-July. During early-June, I will gradually move away from minnows and I switch over to plastics and small jerkbaits and finish the season with them. Most of the time, I use plastics but it will never hurt to bring a share of jerkbaits and minnows for slip bobberin’.

For plastics, the baits and presentation are very simple and the common every-day angler can have a field day if this will be presented properly.


Here is a list of my favorite plastics

- BPS Spring Grub
- Southern Pro Tubes
- Crappie USA Tubes (not pictured)
- Riversite Bubble-Up Twisters
- Berkley Power Grubs

As I said before, my favorite type of structure to find these fish are near fallen trees and brushpiles. With a tube and jig, the fish will be pretty much “screwed” because it is a combination that they cannot resist. Just pitch it into an opening through the brush, hop it, jerk it, jig it, pause the action, let it fall and let the fish find it. – It’s really simple!

With twisters, I like to use a steady cast and retrieve presentation. A slow retrieve while allowing the bait look like a swimming minnow works well. Cast towards structure and see for yourself!

Based upon my experience, and especially in 2004, most of my big Crappies (12-14”) came on Tubes. The smaller, more aggressive fish came on twisters and minnows. I hope you all take note of that piece of information.



The Dog-Days of Summer – August

August is a period of the year where the “prime-time” becomes the “down-time”. The fish begin to move away from their shallow-water haunts and become suspended in schools and found in the depths.

Unfortunately, I have not mastered the art of catching suspended Crappies, but here is a back-up plan that seems to work well for me.

Out of all of these listed hardbaits, the Rapala Husky Jerk and the Matzuo nano Minnow are my favorites.

Don’t count me wrong, but fish can still be found on plastics and on slip bobber rigs, but the action won’t be the same as in previous months.

Jerkbaits are a good back-up plan for finding suspended fish. Usually when they are schooled within 5ft of the surface is when jerkbaits should be used. Not only will you pick up aggressive crappies, but you will get a fair share of Bass and Bluegill.

For a retrieve, just a cast, reel, jerk, reel, jerk presentation works well – especially with the Nano minnows and Husky Jerk. NOTE – The Husky Jerk is a suspending jerkbait and it will be more productive than the Nano Minnow. The Countdown Rapala is a different story and is best for a steady swimming retrieve. Let the bait sink and count down to the desired depth where the fish are located on your electronics. To help your baits reach desired depths, add Storm Suspend-Dots to the bait or slap on some small split shots to your line.

In conclusion, Crappie fishing is a blast if you understand their seasonal movements and if you know how to properly fish with artificials and live bait. Crappies are a type of fish that should be finessed as much as possible due to their paper-like mouths and unpredictable feeding habits………. Especially in August, my worst Crappie month.

At this time, I feel that we have covered everything and this should help you catch fish during the “Prime-Time”.

Best of luck to everyone – Please practice “selective harvest” and use your heads while out on the water!