A person came up to me the other day and asked what the best bait for fishing for Crappie was and it made me think, that would be something to write an article about. So, that's exactly what I'm going to do. In this article I'm going to list some of the best baits to use when fishing for Crappie. These baits have all been successful for me at various times and any one of them makes a great choice when fishing for these tasty fish.
Let's start with the obvious. Crappie love minnows and in reality there is little need to look much farther than minnows when you're talking about fishing for Crappie. Jigs are also a great crappie fishing bait, and what do you suppose these lures imitate? Yep a minnow. The bottom line is some manifestation of a minnow is without question, the best bait for Crappie.
The main issue with minnows is which works best? Jigs by themselves, live minnows, a combination of the two, or synthetic minnows? Below I will list some tips and techniques for each of these baits, and you can figure out your favorite through trial and error.
- Jigs - Jigs, either a lead head jig with a twister tail or a marabou jig are both great baits for crappie. Remember that Crappie have fairly large mouths for their size, so fairly large jigs can be used in some instances. I like to start with a 1/8 ounce jig head and work my way up to ¼ ounce. The heavier your jig head, the faster you can get in front of the crappie, especially when they are suspended. The color is determined by experimentation, but some great colors to start with are chartreuse, black, and white. Different colors will work in different situations. Slam makes a very effective body for on your jig called the Curl Tail. Many crappie fishermen like to tip their jig heads with a live or synthetic minnow. This technique is very effective.
- Live Minnows - Live minnows are probably the best known and most effective bait for crappie fishing. A live minnow fished under a slip bobber is an extremely effective crappie fishing technique. A slip bobber enables you to be able to easily adjust the depth of your minnow. Another great crappie fishing tip is to rig your live minnow on a set of pre-tied gang hooks. Gang hooks are attached to your line using a small barrel swivel (to prevent line twist as the minnow swims around) and have an extra hook for more hook sets. The minnow is hooked through the lips with the top hook for a completely natural presentation.
- Synthetic Minnows - Slam Soft minnows are some of the most effective synthetic minnows on the market. Many crappie anglers say that these minnows out fish live minnows. I've found that these minnows are just as effective as live minnows for tipping a jig, but not fishing them by themselves. Synthetic minnows certainly have their place among effective crappie fishing bait, and their convenience is unsurpassed.
The bottom line is that when it comes to fishing for Crappie, the above baits are your best options. Experiment with colors and sizes to find out which bait or technique works best for you, but the bottom line is that the minnow is king when it comes to the best bait for Crappie fishing.
