Anyone Teach an Old Dawg How to Catch Crappie

[bowdude]

As the title says, anyone interested in teaching me the ins and outs of catching crappie? I have chased after them a time or two and been able to run into them, but the catching hasn't been as successful as others on this site would lead one to believe.
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[SkunkedAgain]

I’m catching them in a shallower area than Pineview so maybe they act different here. But for me the finding is the hard part. Once fish swim by they seem to hit pretty well. But I think the ones I’m catching are out looking for food. I have been using a small tungsten jig gold color with half a meal worm on the back and they have been inhaling it. Time of day has been critical for me it’s been just before sundown and just after sun up. Don’t know if any of that will help ya but that’s what I’m seeing. Good luck. J
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[ReelMasta]

My two cents worth... I only use jigs like the rat finkey that always holds the hook straight up. Crappie bite very lightly so I always hold the rod. Tip with very small bait, you can't go wrong tipping with 2 wax worms. Ensure your jig is on the bottom and bounce it lightly up off the bottom then hold it still. If no bites repeat, repeat, repeat... move! Once small hits start, Slowly lower the jig so you know the fish is directly above the hook. Next hit.... set the hook and enjoy, hopefully. Works for trout too but they will scare the heck out you jigging the crappie or perch and slam a dead stick. I usually set a trout line 10 feet down or so first and let it be then get to the serious fishing.

No electronics needed. It helps if you know where the bottom is and able to mark your line to get it right back in place quickly after unhooking or rebating because your missing the fish.

Also if your not getting bites while holding the rod, I upgrade the bait to something like A half nightcrawler or whole red wiggler just to make sure they aren't there. If they start picking at that I downsize again because I'm a firm believer in small is better when ice fishing.

Unless a trout just swallows my jig I almost always hook the fish in the upper jaw so have pliers ready, it is a leathal technique. They usually do not come unbuttoned.

Tackle is fresh 4 lb test (smaller is probably better) and weapon of choice is a green rat finkey pictured. Nothing else except a spit shot sometimes if fishing deeper waters like pineview narrows.
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[Springbuck]

I've had a lot of luck with both bigger and smaller jigs. A good bright glow is helpful. I like biggish jigs because crappie run so deep a lot in the winter in Pineview. Crappie have big mouths, and really suction in when they feed, so a small jig is great for that reason; easy hook up if the bait is deep in the mouth. On the other hand, the set of the hook matters a lot, too, and if you imagine a crappie coming UP, slurping your jig, and then swinging his head down and to the side when he feels the hook or turns to leave, you'll see why I BELIEVE my favorite jigs work.

Crappies seem to really like waxworms, but they also like perch eyes or meat almost as much as perch do. When I filet perch, I cut off the tough belly meat, scale it, and cut little tapered "tails" from it for tipping jigs. Almost like some of the new micro-plastics, but tastes like perch!

Without sonar, all I knew to do was bounce around, trying abandoned holes and drilling my own before dark, stopping wherever I got a few bites and digging a bunch of holes around that area. One or two would eventually prove to be the most productive.

Unable to target suspended fish without a finder, I usually fish near the bottom, but higher than I would for perch. Like, start just a few inches up, jig and sit, jig and sit, working my way up to maybe 3 feet off the bottom, until I find what's working. Most hits come just a few seconds after some light jigging or after feeling and adjusting the height. Lots come on the drop, too, so pay attention then. Some eventually get hit just sitting there.

Crappies feed up and like to slurp things on the drop, so if I'm feeling really in tune, I raise my rod up high and SLOWLY lower it, so slowly I never create slack in my line. Watch for a tiny tick or shiver to come up the line, or slack that isn't your fault. Hooksets are free.

I've caught a least several fish on each of the pictured jigs, so I think a lot of things CAN work.
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