 |
| Crappies can't hide when you are watching your VEXILAR. |
The winter of 2023/2024 has not cooperated well with ice anglers, however I have had the opportunity to go out and catch some crappies on four different bodies of water. I love chasing crappies throughout the entire year, and one thing I do know is there is NOT a perfect bait. These fish seem to change their mind on the hour as to what they want to eat. I have a series of baits that I try each time when targeting crappies. Here are those offerings:
1- I will usually always start with a jig and large plastic. I really like the CLAM Dropkick jig, it has a large hook and the larger plastic really fits on them well. I do not worry much about the style of plastic, just as long as it is larger and appears like a minnow. My favorite color is the white/pink glow jig with a white plastic. I can give it a a quick "glow" in the early mornings or later afternoons to entice a few more bites too.
2- After I have tried the jig and plastic, I have two options to pick from. If I am only catching smaller fish out of the schools, or pairs of crappies that come in, I will switch to a spoon tipped with spikes. This will help me ignore the small crappies and help me catch the larger ones. The second part of this decision is if the jig and plastic is not working at all, then I will switch the plastic out for two or three spikes. This will catch those leery crappies that do like the larger plastic/jig combo.
3- If those three baits haven't hooked a desirable fish, then it is time to finesse them. Crappies can be very temperamental and once in a while they want a very small, finesse bait. I always have a finesse jigging rod ready whenever I am on the water. My choice is a "Schooley" set up with 1# line, micro jig and a couple of spikes or micro plastic. A spring bobber helps aid me to see the "up bites" with these finicky fish. This set up is the most basic way to fish, but to be honest, it always seems to work.
 |
| Schooley Reel Set-up |
No comments:
Post a Comment