How to get started with Pool 4 crappies?

I have fished upper Pool 4 for walleyes and saugers for many years and have always enjoyed the diversity of the fishery, the quality of its fish as well as the scenery.

I thought it might be time to diversity a little and try it for crappies. This Sunday I hope to get give it a go and would appreciated any tips and suggestions. Where would a person get started and what lures are preferred. I would like to go with artificial and just plain have some fun trying something new.

Thanks ahead of time.

Closest to you would be Red Wing. Fish the docks in Baypoint Harbor and in Colville Park. Concentrate on the pilings that hold the docks in place.

1/32 jighead with a 1″ Gulp minnow. I like the chartreuse and black shad minnows fished on a chartreuse or purple head. Just drop the jig down along the pipe until it hits bottom. Then simply jig upwards slow with pauses frequently.

Sunfish will nail this too.

Are they stil hanging around the backwaters?

I’ve had luck running the steeper banks in the backwaters with a 1/4 oz jig and paddletail style piece of plastic or minnows, but it’s been a little earlier in the year normally.

Al

Tom’s suggestion sounds good (I’m not from the area). Another way to fish the gulp minnows if there is with two small loop knots above a bell sinker. Adjust the weight of the sinker to keep control and easily feel the bottom, going as light as possible to do this. On the loops, I use small gold hooks with the gulp. It gives you two depths (two loops and hooks) and if you move them slowly, the hooks and gulp will sort of swim. The loops offer little resistance and crappies seem to hold on long enough for you to feel the extra weight, or lack of it when lowering. I had a buddy use small jigs on his rig for the color… but only in a little more current.

It can also be a good way to vertical jig into the top of of brush. In that case, I tend to use a little heavier line at times so if I snag up, I can pull the gold hooks out without having to retie everything.

Small tubes tipped with a wax worm can work as well. Tons of options like that.

Taking off or adding on to the post above:

Use the jig/gulp on the bottom of your line. Add a loop knot (aka drop shot style) a foot or so up the line to connect the little gold hook with another gulp minnow. Fish it vertically along those pilings or anywhere else for that matter.

Enjoy!

I was down in the Wilcox area this morning abnd did well on crappies right up on wood. The Gulp minnow was the day-saver in Chartreuse Shad. I brought home 8 for a nice meal with some friends. These eight taped between 12.5 and 13.75 inches each. All were males. I was toying with a couple very similat head colors and I actually caught 60 or so fish including some sunnies and bowser. That darned dogfish was a shocker when it hit.

Most of the hits came right off the deep end of some shoreline wood about 5-6 feet down. Hits were soft but I think the wind had so much bow in the line today that even braid would have been dampened.

Anything vertical right now should have some crappies on it as long as some deeper water is close by. I’d try to find water at least 10 feet though and start at about 5 down, or start at the bottom and work upwards as mentioned before. Fall fish can show a preference to the direction the bait is traveling so be sure to work the bait both ways thru all parts of the water column.

While I didn’t use this today with the wind being what it was, I carry a St.Croix spring with a small length of latex tubing on the spring barrel that will fit into the tip-top of the rod. I run the line right thru the barrel of the spring and then thru the loop, then add the jig. I add this to the rod if upward hits are suspected and the bait is being pulled down off the hook. This adds or comes off in a heartbeat and can be slipped forward and backward to help balance the jigs being fished. It can be a lifesaver at times. Don’t be afraid to make one of these up and toss it in a jig box for when things get fussy.