Early Season Slabs

When we get to this part of the fishing season thoughts may drift away from bass fishing and turn towards crappies.  Some of this may be due to season restrictions and other parts of this may be just the thrill of catching early season crappies.  Whatever the reason, springtime crappie fishing ranks high on many fishermen’s list.

After the winter time, crappies will make movements towards the shore to get ready to spawn. Spawning temps for crappies as a general rule are the high 50’s to low 60’s.  When the temps start to reach the low 50’s you will see movements of crappies heading towards the shallows to feed, and start to stage to begin spawning.  Once the temps rise you will see crappies move into the 2ft to 6ft depth, and start to make spawning nest. Crappies are typically known to like to spawn in bull rushes, cattails, fallen, or trees placed in the water, and other thick vegetation in the shallows. Crappies are also notorious for occupying old bass beds during their spawning period.

In states where it is legal, home owners will take advantage and sink trees by their docks as crappie attractors to call fish in and take up residence during the summer months. These areas are prime places to fish during the early part of the season as many times these brush piles will hold crappies from spawn throughout the summer months.

Once you have found a few of these crappie holding structures it is time to grab a rod, and go fishing.  As a general rule crappie fishermen have a tendency to use too big a line for the size of the baits they are using, and conditions they are fishing.  I generally use a 7ft ultra-light to light action spinning setup teamed up with a matching reel spooled with 4 to 6lbs test line.  If I am fishing in open water conditions I will opt for the 4lb line, but if I am faced with fishing in reeds or in brush I will up my line size, and use 6lb test line.  If my casting is restricted I many times opt to use a 10ft light action rod teamed with a matching reel spooled with 6lb line, and will do more of a lift, and pitch or drop cast.  This longer rod allows me to have better pitching control in getting my offering into tight areas than I will if I try to cast to these same places with the shorter rod setup.

When it comes to baits I always carry a variety of Big Bite Baits that range from 2” Bio Crappie Grubs, 2 inch triple tip grubs, bad boy and hal fly jigs, shads and Crappie Tubes.  What bait I use will all depend on the crappies location.  If the crappies are located in open water conditions I will use a Big Bite 2” Bio Crappies Grub or a 2” or 3” Shad.  Jig head size will depend on fishing conditions.  If I am faced with good conditions I will fish these options on a 1/32oz to 1/16oz jig head.  If I am faced with windy conditions I will up the size of my jig to 1/8oz to help keep better contact with the bait.

Bait placement is critical when fishing crappies.  You always want to keep your bait above them. Crappies are up feeders.  They are always looking up for their food, and will hit a bait that is above them.  Not once have I ever seen a crappie move down to take food when feeding.  It is always up.  So it is critical that you keep your bait above the crappies when you are fishing for them.

When fishing a swimming bait presentation I will use my 7ft light spinning setup spooled with 4lb test line.  Make your cast, and count your jig down to keep your bait about a 1ft to 1 1/2ft above the depth of the crappies.  A 1/16oz jig will sink 1 foot per second.  Once the bait reaches the target depth slowly start to reel your bait back to the boat. There will be a slight bow in your line, when that bow tightens up set the hook you have a fish.  This is a great tactic to use when crappies are in the pre spawn, and post spawn stage, and on the move.  You can get into an area and just fan cast until you make contact with the school. Once you figure out where the crappies are then you can adjust your presentation to fit your fishing needs.

If you are fishing crappies that are spawning I will generally switch to a slip bobber presentation, and use a Big Bite Crappie Tube rigged on a 1/32oz to 1/16oz jig head. I will let the crappies tell me if they want a minnow added or not.  I would say it is maybe only about 25% of the time that I have to tip my crappie tube to get bites.  The majority of the time the crappies will hit the tube as it falls.  Make sure you do not over power the jig, and use too big of a jig head in these conditions.  It will simply mean the difference of catching fish or not. If the jig falls too fast you will not get as many bites as you will if the jig just falls in a slow natural presentation. There are two reasons for the slip bobber: it is a perfect way to keep the bait sitting above the cover in the strike zone, and it will keep the bait from falling too deep into the cover and getting fowl hooked. The slip bobber also allows you to under size your jig to get a slow fall to trigger more bites. If you want to or have to get deeper into the cover I will just switch to a weedless jig head, and that will allow me to get my Big Bite Crappie Tube deeper into the cover to entice strikes.

Whatever your reasons for fishing crappies, Big Bite has an array of crappie baits that will put more odds in your favor when it comes to catching crappies.  So don’t wait, now is the time to be on the water for the prime crappie bite of the season.