Crappie Fishing: How to and Setup.

If you have a boat, one of the most simple and fun fish to catch is crappie. Their characteristic one *thump* and great tasting meat make them a likely target for many anglers. In this post, I will outline my personal method and setup for catching these joyful pan fish.

--Disclaimer: This guide only shows one method and one setup, and does not encompass crappie fishing as a whole. Also, I will not be releasing the specific brand models we use for our baits to protect personal interests. Thank you for your understanding.--

My fondest memories include reeling in monster crappie, bringing a live-well full of them home, and eating them for supper with homemade Mac'N'Cheese and fried 'taters. The method we used (and still use) to catch crappie is very simple, but can take some time to master. Basically, we let our baits (I'll explain what these baits are later) sink for a bit near a sunken tree. Now, not just any tree will work: we are looking for a depth between 5-20 feet deep where the tree ends, plenty of snags, but not so many we can't avoid them, and the larger the better. Also, we pay close attention to trying to avoid windy areas and look for trees that are isolated (we don't want a cluster of more than 2 trees on one shoreline, or else we can't pinpoint the fish). After we let our baits fall, we explore different water depths, locations around the tree, and speeds until we find what works best. We also change bait color periodically if one of our colors isn't working. You want to consider water temperature, weather, and the lake you're on. If a lake is busy or heavily fished, larger crappie may be harder to find.

Through the years our reels have varied greatly from Zebco 33's to our Shakespeare Synergy TI6's we use today. However, the setup we have used these past 10 years has not changed due to the fact it has brought us great success. The first thing: the line. We like 6 ounce fireline because we snag often and need a line with some backbone. Many people are turned off to fireline (firewire) because you give up "the smoothness that mono gives." If you're trying to catch crappie, their thump can be felt through any material, or so it seems. Fireline saves us a good bit of money on materials. Next up, hooks: we use 1/8 to 1/16 ounce hooks (the weight being attached already), depending on the depth of the water, with a weed guard to make snagging less common. Next, we slide a 6" twister tail on (our favorite color is blue and silver). Lastly, we throw 3 or so maggots onto the hook. Simple, easy, and versatile. You can drag this bait along a sandy or rocky shoreline and pick up nice walleye, or reel it in fast and pick up smaller bass. Heck, we've caught catfish and carp with these baits! 

-If you want an easy day of fishing and maybe some dinner, I would give this method a try. It is tried and trusted by yours truly, Asher.-