We are beginning to see the start of spring ice removal from some of the waters around home now and soon we will be bobbing around in the boat looking for those plate-shaped delicacies, the crappies. Anyone who knows me knows as well that I prefer to fish these critters with plastic, but as a reminder, this will be transition water right after ice-out and taking minnows would be most prudent. Many questions come up about now as to what,specifically, is a good plastic to use and that question is a toughie. No one plastic will cover the whole gamut of fishing applications. So lets attempt to put things catagorically. There will be four such areas to consider :very small twisters,tubes/sliders, sliders/twisters, and nail-type baits. I’ll cover each briefly to help get you into the plastics arena and on the water.
Immediately after ice-out, start snooping in the deep water off major drops and points between where you found the fish during the winter and where you know they spawn. Early in the day look deep, later in the day look higher up in thwe water column. Deep wood is also a big plus right now. Try using a minnow to determine if you are in fish when you decide on a site. If you get activity, go to the plasics. Very small one inch twisters are an excellent choice now when fished on a small jig under a float or a tight line. Give these rigs very little action and if at all possible, use baits that are scented. I prefer Mr.Twister exude baits and powerbait 1″ twisters for this fishing. Colors are white, black, pink, chartreuse, and green sparkle(PB) and I prefer using 1/32 heads in chartreuse and in purple….the latter used during cold fronts.
As the water warms, the fish will tell you when it is time to step up to a different lure type and profile becomes an issue as well as how to fish these baits and colors. When you sense the need to change into a differnt bait, go with the slider or tube-still under a float- generally in somewhat more bolder colors. Sliders I fish on the smae jigheads as previously mentioned, tubes are done on 1/32 ounce internal heads. The primary differnces that you will notice is that the fish are now much higher in the water column, have begun to enter into and spend sustantial daytime hours at the bays and other shallow water. They will relate very well to shoreline wood. Keep in mind though that a cold front will put these fish right back in deep water, as will cold rains of any amount. Colors now begin to become a matter of personal preference…be sur to have a broad assortment of colors and settle for a couple that work best for you, but pay close attention to things that change. You can fish one color doing very well and bingo, nothing is hitting. Change the color and you’ll get right back on track. Expect that to happen several times a day. My preferred tube/slider bait size is 1 1/2″- 1 3/4″. Culprit has just come out with a slider that will fit smack in the middle of this size range and I’m excited to try them. Exposed head jig colors are the same as before only adding chartreuse and white to the arsenal. These baits will take you all the way through the spawn.
As summer wears on and fishing again gets deep, seek out the same water that you were ice fishing in, but look more closely for sharp breaks, sunken wood, big boulders and , of course, the thermocline. Now is when you remove the float and vertical jig for the boys and girls. I generally move up to 2″ twisters for the open water and sliders hooked weedless for the wooden tangles. They are fished on 1/16 or 1/8 ounce heads in hot orange or chartreuse for good weather, black or purple during post cold front situations. Favored colors are almost always going to have chartreuse or or hot orange in them. During the post frontal periods I get rid of anthing gaudy and rely mainly on the subdued colors or very natural appearing colors…even a clear with some sparkle. It is amazing how well that color performs in times of a cold front. These baits and colors will carry you thru until the fall turn-over at which time you will want to begin reversing the order you followed to get to here.
I mentioned nail baits. They are those commonly called stinger style bait….long, thin and with a whip-like tail….usually found in two inch lengths. Again, the colors are arbitrary. I prefer, and carry , only a couple colors. One is chatreuse sparkle, the other is clear sparkle. I fish these vertically ove sunken wood during those ugly post front summer conditions when the craps have moved deep into the tangles. I use 1/32 ounce heads- black on clear, chart. on chart.- hook them up semi-weedless, and get right on top of this wood. I drop the jig into the wood and tease it to the bottom or until it is on something and can’t pass any further. I let the jig rest for a couple seconds and the raise it about six inches and just hold it. Jig it just a wiggle and hold it. This is repeated, raising every fourth or fifth jig annother six inches until I clear the wood. The specific profile of this bait will really tick off fish, even negative fish and you can generally tease a few into hitting when the weather has made things tough. When rigging semi-weedless you ar just sticking the point of the hook into the plastic, but it MUST be done so the plastic is perfectly horizontal when held motionless! Be sure to use a very tight knot and check the adjustment often. Repaeat this jigging performance until you think the fish are too wary or have moved off and the wood is cold. Find another spot and repeat the fishing . You can, if you are quiet, bounce back and forth between three or four piles of deep wood like this all afternoon and catch fish- going back and refishing cold beds later.
Plastics are a study in their own right, but they do not have to be work. Plastics can work on their own or with a waxie or a minnow. Colors are limitless today and the best part about them is the cost….they are cheap. I would urge that a small notebook be taken along when you fish so you can record working color combos in certain plaes or certain conditions and use those notes for future references.
I made several reference to using a float here. The float is not to signal a strike. It is used to keep the jig at a specific depth. Most of us know that crappies are notorious upward hitters. It is paramount to keep that jig at a uniform depth just over the tops of the crappies…hence the float. This is especially true when we have post frontal doldrums hanging over our heads and the fish hit a seemily still bait. Just touch the line and you get nixed.
As a final note: The only times I have seen where crappies do not seem to need deep water is that period from immediate pre-spawn to immediate post-spawn. Otherwise, I always consider where the deepest water in the area is compared to where I am fishing. I hope this will help remove some of the mysteries of these baits and helps to steer you in the direction of the fish. Mike at Hookedonfishing carries a full line of baits , including those that I personally use, and can get anything you may need. Check him out.
March 15, 2004 at 2:12 pm
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