Favorite crappie and bluegill bait and tecnique

Beings spring is coming and the crappies and bluegills will be on thier spawning beds im wondering about the best baits and tecniques that are being used. It depends on where im at and where the fish are but i like to use local natural bait for bluegills and a bobber with a minnow too fish crappies. I use a jig sometimes eigther tipped with a minnow or just a plain jig as sometimes this is better than a minnow or it isn’t needed.

A pair of 1/16 oz jigs with 1 1/2″ Chartruese glitter twister is my favorite. For me, it will outfish live bait.

Black Bucktail 1/16 and 1/8 oz….Dynamite!!!!!!!!

My most successful at ACL for ‘gills, is by far a small leech, #10 aberdeen, and a slip bobber. I keep an assortment of colored beads in my boat that I will use as an attractor, if necessary. I caught more crappies on leeches last spring than any other bait.

At Lake Geneva, I use primarily Fin-S-Fish and Fin-S-Shad for crappies.

5 or 6 weight fly rod, floating line, and some #10 Wooly Worms and basiuc nymph patterns. Not necessarily the best way to put fish in the boat but it can be deadly and it’s always fun!

Rootski

Rootski!

4 weight rod if there’s no wind otherwise a 6 weight. Size 12 yellow wooly worm with a gold tailed size 10 timberwolf about a foot behind that.

Screw the boat! Waders!

I think the fly works better because the movement is all horizonal, where a cork ect sits in one spot. Ever notice when you’re using a cork you’ll get more hits while cranking a couple turns in and stopping..then repeat?

Flyfishing…the most fun you can have standing up!!

1/32 oz. jig with a yellow twister tail. Casted out and slowly worked back to the boat.

Sometimes I like a 1/32 but have gone down to 1/64 if it is really early and the fish very inactive(or staging). A small strike indicator(bobber that is very small used mostly for numphing a trout).

Early spring crappies…….

I love a red hook, with a red bead………with a crappie minnow tail hooked under a slip bobber…………

I agree. Hard to beat a minnow for crappies. I like a 1/16th jig and peace of crawler for gills on the beds. Fly rod can be a blast also.

Either a small crappie minnow under a small bobber or a Culprit paddletail under a small bobber works great for me.
Thanks, Bill

I like to go really light… 1/32 sometimes, mostly 1/64, with a chartreuse or yellow twister, sometimes tubies for the crappies. The lighter the better!

#12 Gold Bead Prince Nymph when its real early and they are up shallow. Catches both species. Demolish 2 flies on a good day.

M 80’s, sling shot, case of Howenstien, and a jon boat. They didnt stand a chance after that.

Good thing we grew up from there.

1/32 or 1/64th Black Flu Flu….that is my first choice hands down, sencond would be a Genz Worm.

The Flu FLu looks just like the Little Nipper. I never have luck in the spring with the black LN, but they are deadly in the fall, on the river.

Scott, are you hanging meat off of the FF, or leaving it naked?

Love the Flu-Flu and Love the MiniMite!!!!!!

A jig with a white or black 1.5 inch paddletail for crappies. Jig weight depends on their depth.
Ron

Wax Worms for me, that is all I use.

These little culprit “tassel tail” guys kick some major panfish arse

Brian,

I’ve had success using bright colors for panfish, but I usually start with dark colors. There’s a million nymphs down there that are black, grey, brown, and green. I think flyfishing works well because it’s stealthy in the shallow water and because they fish eat more bugs tyan anything else.

I’ll have to check into that Timberwolf pattern, I’m not familiar with that one.

Rootski

That does look like a serious tail Jake. I don’t think they sell them down here. Im going to have too check around for them. So far i’ve gotten some more good ideas plus i use to fish with a flyrod and tie my own flies. I was pretty good at doing a mayfly reproduction.

Rootski,

It was a local company that made them. Many times you can find them on card above the fly assortments at Gander or Thorn Bros. The fella that started the company died and his son took over. I tried to buy directly from him…but no dice. They were really getting hard to find and I didn’t have time to tie my own, so I found a company in england that would make them for .50 cent each if you bought a minimum of 200. Well, you get what you pay for and …although they looked good…it didn’t take too many gills to be casting a plain hook!
It was just black hackle with black floss body and a gold chanielle (sp?) end that looked like an egg sac…easy to make…and deadly.

Brian,

I found a good picture of one on the web. I’ll see what i can do about reproducing them. If I get a handle on this I’ll make a bunch. Look out panfish

Rootski