Best Crappie Lures The Ultimate Success Story
First of all, we fishermen know that crappie fishing is very interesting and fascinating for each angler. It does not matter if you are a newbie or obsessed crappie fishing enthusiast. Crappie are quite active and aggressive fish and they can gift you with many unforgettable fishing moments.
The suspense, the pressure and the satisfaction you feel when you hold finally the fish, cannot be described with words. Our team participated in various fishing discussion and we deduced that there are some significant obscurities about crappie fishing.
Specifically, many people do not know which are the best crappie lures due to the fact that these fish have weird habits. We took to heart all these queries and decided to compile this helpful article. When you finish reading it, you will be able to choose the best crappie lures with closed eyes!
Let’s start!
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A Few Words About Crappie
What Is Crappie
Firstly, before we start talking about the most efficient lures for crappie, we think that it is important to mention the habits of crappie. Anywise, the best crappie lures derive from this fact. These schooling fish live in freshwaters and are really popular game fish all over the northern states of the US.
Moreover, we could classify them into two categories, white and black crappie. Both of them are members of the pan fish family. In the first years of life, they live in shoals (groups of fish) and they feed on plankton, insects and crustaceans (e.g. crayfish).
As they grow up, they start to feed on small fish. Usually, they do not exceed the weight of 5lbs. Crappie are unique fish species and they differentiate to a large extent from other fish. They prefer to hunt during the night as they love the darkness.
During the daylight, they are usually hiding from the hot sunbeams under tree trunks and weed beds. Obviously, dawn and dusk are the best fishing hours for crappie as they hunt for food like crazy. Additionally, the best fishing season is summer because they tend to approach the upper water columns.
Surprisingly, during the winter crappie are not as lethargic as other fish species. As a matter of fact, they are really popular amongst ice-fishing enthusiasts.
Best Crappie Lures: The Ultimate Crappie Eliminators
Hopefully, we could throw some on the habits of these exciting fish. Now, you are ready to learn about the most productive lures. Our information derives from years of crappie fishing experience.
1. Jigs
Strike King Hack Attack Heavy Cover Jig Bait. Via: Amazon.com
Most fishermen use jigs in order to catch crappie, because their motion appeals the fish. Specifically, jig heads are supposed to be the ultimate lures for crappie. Generally speaking, if the lure is “dressed” with multiple colorful threads, it is considered to be one of the best lures.
Keep in mind that they are similar to bass or pike jigs. It would be a good idea to pair some jig heads with plastic worms or tubes. When you drag plastic soft lures through the water, they definitely gain in natural motion and action.
Crappie attack this lure because it looks like a small fish (easy prey).
- Tip #1: If you are a summer fishing enthusiast, you should definitely know that they hunt close to the water surface. In this case, you can use a jig head with a bobber.
This specific rig allows the lure to swim close to the water surface. However, you should pay close attention to the weight of your rig. It goes without saying that the bobber should not sink.
- Tip 2#: After testing jigs for crappie, we figured out that it would be better to use big hooks. The hooks should have a bigger size than normal hooks for bass. Crappie have a large mouth with a soft lip.
The majority of crappie anglers complain that they lose their fish due to small hooks.
2. Spinnerbaits
Spinner Bait
Undoubtedly, crappie are attracted by weird lures and bright colors. Consequently, could spinnerbaits not be in our list of the best crappie lures? Of course not.
These lures are very popular and many fishing friends have hundreds of them in their tackle box. But why are they so popular?
How to retrieve your spinnerbaits:
Spinnerbaits have an odd construction. Actually, it is a treble or hook wrapped in many threads. These threads cover the hook. Furthermore, they are connected to a metallic blade by a small “wire-pin”.
There is no doubt that not only the appearance, but also the motion and vibrations of the blade, attract the fish. Many people would agree that they are irresistible meals for every crappie, especially during the summer period. The question here is not which size or weight to use.
The question here is which blade is the best for crappie. If you take a look at the market you will realize that there are many spinnerbait blades. However, there are several of them that stand out and work better.
The most famous blades are Indiana, Colorado and Willow. Let’s analyze them in detail one by one.
Blades of Spinner Bait
Colorado
Since crappie love slow motion, Colorado blades are ideal for this fishing purpose. These blades are wide and spin in a slow pace while you drag the spinnerbaits through the water. They have the advantage to create ripples, vibrations and bubbles which crappie like and attack like crazy.
- Tip: It would be a good idea to use spinnerbaits with Colorado blades in deep waters with low visibility.
Willow
The main characteristic of willow blades is that they are really thin and they can spin many times per second while you retrieve the lure. They do not produce many vibrations like Colorado blades but they have a shiny flash.
Consequently, we could compare them with small fish that swim quickly to hide from the enemy.
- Tip: You can use them in clear waters.
Indiana
Finally, Indiana blades are also good for crappie, but it we would like to inform you that the blades above are more effective. Indiana blades look like a canoe bottom.
- Tip: Clear shallow waters are ideal for Indiana blades. If they are heavy you can also use them as jigs.
3. Crankbaits
Crankbait
As we already mentioned, small fish are significant parts of their feeding habits. So, it goes without saying that crankbaits are on the top of the best crappie lures list. Manufacturers managed to give them a realistic appearance which is similar to real fish.
The realistic colors combined with a great floatation and action, are some facts that make crankbaits very appealing. Once crappie detect the lure, they suppose that they are wounded fish. Undoubtedly, the appearance plays an important role here.
After searching the market, you can see that there are various crankbaits with different lips, size and weight. You may feel confused if you notice that manufacturers launched a wide variety of crankbait types.
Obviously, not all of them are effective. Which are suitable for our purpose?
First of all, you should gain an understanding on the fact that crankbaits are classified into two categories, floating and sinking. Floating type crankbaits, true to their name are able to work on the top of the water surface.
On the other hand, sinking type crankbaits have a long bib which allows them to dive deep in the water.
Accordingly, the type depends on the water conditions you want to fish in.
- Tip: If you are going to fish in waters with lush vegetation and weedy beds it would be better to use floating type crankbaits. Shallow waters are good for sinking type crankbaits. Especially good for sinking crankbaits are sandy bottoms.
4. Topwater Lures
Top Water Lures
Surprisingly, topwater lures are not popular crappie lures. Unfortunately many anglers overlook them. However, we would like to emphasize that this perception is totally wrong.
During the summer, when the temperature is at its height, crappie tend to hunt very close to the water surface. So, why you should not use topwater lures?
Topwater lures seem to have an excellent and extraordinary action. Summer is the best season to pursue crappie, so it goes without saying that they are productive.
However, you must know that there are different types of topwater lures. Thus, we are going to mention the best of the topwater lure series. We asked many anglers and tested them ourselves, so there is no doubt that they will work.
Poppers
Personally, I think that poppers are the best lures of this category. The main characteristic of this lures is that it has an “open” oval mouth and when you drag it through the water it “hops” and produces ripples.
Due to high water pressure, it acquires great motion and action.
- Tip: If you want to land successfully crappie, you must try the “slow-retrieve” technique or the “stop and retrieve” technique.
Lipless
True to their name, they do not have a lip (bib). Their shape is similar to a torpedo and they are able to swim slightly deeper than poppers. The key of success is the hydrodynamic shape and if you retrieve slowly it will work better.
Keep in mind that if you retrieve line too fast, you just ruin the floatation of the lure.
Lips Less
Buzzbaits
Are you going to fish in weedy murky waters? Buzzbaits are here to solve the problem of low visibility. If you take a closer look at them, you will notice that they look like spinnerbaits. The difference here is that buzzbaits have a “propeller” instead of a blade.
Buzz Bait
For this reason, the propeller is able to attract crappie due to ripples and vibrations.
5. Live Baits
live baits
Have you ever heard the adage “match the hatch”? Let us explain it with simple words. It is scientifically proven that lures and baits should approach the natural bait of the target fish.
Live baits offer many advantages as they attract the fish with the appearance and smell. However, you will probably face three problems here. Firstly, if you do not know which bait is the best for the fish, you will probably wait for hours to get a bite.
Secondly, they are difficult to find and finally you must know how to store them. Let’s solve the problems step by step. Small fish like shads or minnows you can definitely catch with a fishing net (1/4 in. mesh hole).
As far storage is concerned, you can get an electric bait refrigerator. If you are going to use crayfish for bait, you should know that they are very durable and they stay alive for many hours. Even a simple bucket with water would be ok.
- Tip: It would be a good idea, to hook the bait very carefully because any wrong movement could kill your bait.
6. Spoons
Spoons
Unfortunately, spoons are often overlooked by many avid crappie fishermen for two reasons. Firstly, they do not look like real fish and secondly they are simple constructions. Indeed, spoons are just curved or flat metal leaves and they come in various colors and sizes.
They definitely deserve a place as the best crappie lures.
The great advantage of this highly effective lure is its shine-flash. Surprisingly, try to drag it through a crappie shoal. We can ensure you that they will immediately start to chase it like mad.
In addition, manufacturers launched spoons especially designed for spinning, trolling and jigging. Obviously, you can use all of them as these techniques are productive for your fishing purpose.
- Spinning: We recommend curved spoons, because they work better when you retrieve line.
- Trolling: It would be ideal to use flat spoons if you are going to fish from a boat or kayak. The speed of your boat will give your spoon a fast action.
- Jigging: Jigging implies the use of heavy lures. Thus, you should select a heavy spoon. Keep in mind that many of them are made of lead. This material is prohibited in some States of our country.
Conclusion
Finally, fishing for crappie is a great way to bring some action in your life. Undoubtedly, you will definitely enjoy pursuing crappie and who knows. Maybe the next record catch will be your crappie.
To sum up, we would like to underline the fact that they are slightly difficult to catch. Hopefully, this article was able to show you how you can combine basic fishing knowledge with the best crappie lures. After all, it is not all about the tackle.
Fishing is a therapy of the body and mind, so you should learn to enjoy it.
Thank you for reading and please share if you like it or leave a comment in the comment box below!
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