Deep Crappie Fishing

Fishing 30-40 feet of water for big crappies any input on lures to use, colors, size?

Glow early and glow often. I do it every couple minutes. Full minnow on a demon single hook spoon and a head on a treble hook demon spoon.

I’ve done good on Kab with a Genz worm in that depth with spikes and yes charge that glow bait up !!

Keep everything you catch. They won’t survive coming up from those depth. Stop fishing then you’re done keeping.

biggill wrote:

Keep everything you catch. They won’t survive coming up from those depth. Stop fishing then you’re done keeping.

X2

I like using spoons in deeper water. Usually tip mine with larvae but minnow heads also work just as well.

Jake Sonnentag wrote:

Fishing 30-40 feet of water for big crappies any input on lures to use, colors, size?

I’d start with whatever was working in 20-30′

If you’re fishing in 30 plus feet, most of the winter they’ll be suspended and I wouldn’t think they’ll be goners when you get them up. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’ve released a million crappies that way and they seemed fine?

crinkle cut wrote:

If you’re fishing in 30 plus feet, most of the winter they’ll be suspended and I wouldn’t think they’ll be goners when you get them up. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’ve released a million <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>crappies that way and they seemed fine?

They seem fine when you initially release them but many die from exhaustion soon after. I have seen it first hand fishing over a basin with no snow seeing dead crappies under the ice that I just released. Any crappie taken deeper than 30 ft has a very hard time getting back down.

I have seen them not make it coming out of 20 feet.

The water pressure change is huge once fish are coming right past that 30′-35′ mark there. It’s applies to most fish that can’t burp their air bladder.

You may also notice how their eye suddenly bulge out of their eye sockets too. Sometimes you will see that they quit flapping/squirming altogether. The shock of pressure change. It’s like getting the wind knocked out of you.

Anyways for catching fish deep. Depends. Patience with your regular lures or upsize for heavier weights to work down deeper. When I smelt fish, there are times when I catch a crappie or two at depths of 50′ or more.

It’s not opinion,it’s not anyone’s observations here,it’s fact.

When you take small fish, ie crappies from deeper water >25′ it’s an atmospheric change.

Swim bladders expand, and nothing can be done except fizzing which in best case scenario can be done with just OK percentages, smaller fish forget about it.

I’ve done it, many others here have done it. You catch 10 fish(legal limit in MN) you keep 10 fish. You want to throw away those that swim away “just fine” it’s wanton waste imo. I’ll leave it there.

crinkle cut wrote:

If you’re fishing in 30 plus feet, most of the winter they’ll be suspended and I wouldn’t think they’ll be goners when you get them up. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’ve released a million <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>crappies that way and they seemed fine?

Ol Gord Pyzer weighed in on this a while ago… Crappies are super susceptible to barotrauma. I abide by a 20ft max depth for catch n release.
old thread

biggill wrote:

Keep everything you catch. They won’t survive coming up from those depth. Stop fishing then you’re done keeping.

Good informative short video on deep water crappie. Bottom line keep what u catch.

That video showcase exactly how deep water fishing are. See how little the fish flops once pulled up. They’re like lifeless, shocked…

Number 5 jigging Rapala, if you’re going to fish that deep, use a lure that catches big fish.