Bait or No Bait on Spoons for Crappies

Got on a great crappie bite yesterday. One after another with a combo of eaters and large release fish. I was using a pinhead pro with the small silver blade on the treble hook. Started out with the treble loaded with red spikes and was having fish turn away. As soon as I went to no bait/plain treble hook on the same pinhead, crappies were streaking up and hitting it on the fall down.

Anyone else experience this? Should I be running no live bait on these spoons? Seems opposite of fishing with tungsten jigs where I need a waxie on there to get fish to bite.

Bait or plastics. The one lure I’ve found that panfish will hit without tipping it with something is the Pinhead Mino.

A spoon will have more action w/o bait. Sometimes minnows, sometimes plastics, sometimes bugs, sometimes nuttin’, when? Where?–keeps it interesting.

I let the fish decide.
If I see fish, but am not getting bit, I add meat. Also, if the bite is hot, I will drop down quickly with no meat, and if the fish take it that way, I avoid adding any meat.
I am convinced that the Pinhead Mino spoon is a difference maker. At times, it has been the only bait to get bit. I may add some of the VMC Bladed Hybrid Treble hooks to several other lures if I find them on sale.

I have not used any live bait for crappies in years. They will hit it. Yes, I know I’m not the smartest as some times live is better but I just stick with plastics.

Sometimes it’s about triggering a reaction bite. Whatever the trigger be. It could be the flutter of the spoon. It could be the lift of the spoon. Sometimes it’s the attractor blade that triggers the bite.

Was out a week or so ago using a blue and silver Kastmaster spoon.
The crappie were very active. Started with a minnow head catching smaller ones.
Then switched to a full minnow and caught larger ones.
The guy I was fishing with always uses spikes and typically out fishes me.
Not that day though, he ended up switching to a full minnow.
We had to have been in an area with a bait ball because almost each fish we caught were cacking up full minnows.

Eelpoutguy wrote:

Was out a week or so ago using a blue and silver Kastmaster spoon.
The <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>crappie were very active. Started with a minnow head catching smaller ones.
Then switched to a full minnow and caught larger ones.
The guy I was fishing with always uses spikes and typically out fishes me.
Not that day though, he ended up switching to a full minnow.
We had to have been in an area with a bait ball because almost each fish we caught were cacking up full minnows.

What kind of minnows were they coughing up?

Sometimes they want the Mcnugget sometimes the Big Mac.

LabDaddy1 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Eelpoutguy wrote:</div>
Was out a week or so ago using a blue and silver Kastmaster spoon.
The <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>crappie were very active. Started with a minnow head catching smaller ones.
Then switched to a full minnow and caught larger ones.
The guy I was fishing with always uses spikes and typically out fishes me.
Not that day though, he ended up switching to a full minnow.
We had to have been in an area with a bait ball because almost each fish we caught were cacking up full minnows.

What kind of minnows were they coughing up?

Looked like the same minnows I was using, crappie minnows. I was thinking they were the minnows I was using but the math said different.

Once and a while there are those days were the bite is so good they will eat anything. Other days you have to put something on it.

I wonder if adding bait to the Pinhead Minno changes the action and flash which is why sometimes not adding bait is better.

Also, you guys are talking about the Pinhead Minno, Pinhead Pro Minno, or Pinhead -Jointed?

Nine times out of ten, i start with the middle size pinhead and throw it down baitless. If I cant get them to go on that, I throw down a Bull Spoon with a VMC bladed treble with no bait. If I absolutely have to I’ll add maggots. But I havent used minnows for crappie in years.

ekruger01 wrote:

Nine times out of ten, i start with the middle size pinhead and throw it down baitless. If I cant get them to go on that, I throw down a Bull Spoon with a VMC bladed treble with no bait. If I absolutely have to I’ll add maggots. But I havent used minnows for crappie in years.

I’m impressed that you get them to chow the 1/8oz pinhead! What size Bull Spoon do you like?