Rainy Lake Crappies!! Special Fall edition!!

With the great deal of interest we receive when it comes to Rainy lake crappies I decided to provide these big “Donks” the due respect they deserve with a special edition report. We focus our attention towards the freshwater Tarpons during the months of May into early June, September and October, and again in Late February through the first week in April. Crappies here in “Borderland” can grow to simply freakish proportions. Thus the reference to “Donks” (We’ve felt we needed to add an a word to best describe the beastly size structure of these panfish). A 15 to even 16 inch Crappie is not out of the question with average sized fish being thick backed “Paper Mouths” ranging from 12-13 inches. We prefer to chase the big slabs at times when they are most concentrated. When fish are pre-occupied with the spawning cycle or presently during the infamous fall period when they chase shiners we are getting flat out getting busy!!

As fall is ushered in so are massive migrations of shiners as they look to spawn. Crappies along with big pike and walleyes are always close to follow this seasonal influx of bait fish into many current runs. Anglers may choose a variety of fishing techniques to land these monster crappies of September and October. Today we caught Crappies over a deep rock pile on a simple H20 Precision jig laced up with a fathead. Keep your eyes glued to rock piles as well for suspended fish. It is not uncommon to pile into the walleyes and also tag a limit of crappies as September rolls on. Fall Crappies will rarely suspend too high off the rocks, but often are found a mere 2-3 feet from the bottom. These fish have a very unique ability to zero in on your presentation as it drops down through the water column. If you are marking suspended fish you should be aware of these fish snapping up your jig and minnow combination prior to it ever reaching the bottom of the lake. Too often anglers are focused on “Limiting out”. If your looking for a meal of Crappies keep in mind a 13+ inch crappie has a lot of meat on it. Keep enough to feed the family and let the rest get even larger!! There is no need to stock the family “Swill and Grill” with fish.

Some anglers prefer to slow roll a spinner rig. Jolly Roger tackle has many absolutley brilliant color combinations that will rock Rainy lake slabs. I’d look closely at the “Foilistic” series for our monster fall crappies. Keep eyes glued on your electronics while you roll these spinner rigs in search of large suspended concentrations of fish. Once you locate crappies be sure to mark an icon on your graph and continue to work through the school of fish. Everytime you mark what you deem as crappies drop an Icon. Soon you will be able to develop a feel for how these fish are relating to the structure your fishing.

Though even the average sized Rainy lake Crappies will have customers reaching for the digital camera, fish can reach 16 inches plus in select waters here in Borderland. Our personal biggest crappie measured 16.5 inches and weighed 2lbs 9oz. Last year alone we landed around 25 crappies exceeding 15 inches. If your a guy or gal that loves chasing massive “papermouths” this is a fantastic time to load up your “Whipping stick” and point your truck towards Rainy Lake!!