Not only did Bret and I get out after some fantastic Smallmouth action, we also managed to find an incredible Crappie bite Sunday.
Somewhere around noon, the wind and sun made the Smallie tough, so we switched gears and headed for the deep snags looking for some Crappies. It didn’t take long for us to find a great bite.
Last year I had a great bite on minnows rigged on a slip bobber with a gold aberdeen hook. That set-up once again proved to be the hot ticket for the day. Right away we saw action. Bret was using a Swedish Pimple tipped with a minnow head. Bret managed to boat a few nice crappies, but the action was definitely favoring the plain hook & minnow set-up I had.
All of the fish pictured are at least 10" long. A couple were 11" if not bigger. Those Crappies sure know how to pull on light line and an ultra-lite rod.
The depths we fished were 3-4ft down in 7-8ft of water and hitting isolated structure. The Crappies were holding tight to the structure and getting as close as we could yeilded the best fish.
The next time I get out, I hope to try a more artificial approach. That’s something we really didn’t try. It’s hard to look away from a hot bite sometimes.
I really want to try the approach Bret was using with the Swedish Pimple and the minnow head. That’s something I’ve not tried for Crappies. I could see that working well on long rods dipped in and out of openings in the snags.
Thanks again Bret for the tips on Crappie fishing. It’s much appreciated. <img src="http://www.in-depthangling.com/forum/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif" alt="" />
Nice looking crappies guys!
Nothing wrong with those fish at all. A guy can have a lot of fun pulling crappies like that in the boat.
Boog
It was without a doubt a day for the hook and minnow. The Pimple and plastics might have produced better early morning but I would not have pasted on the early top water smallies
It was fun changing gears playing catch and release, pulling nice crappies away from the wood, and tight to the wood they were. You know there is a good crappie bite going on when you are catching one after another at high noon
Thanks for showing me some good lookin’ Flathead waters….I mean Crappie holes Tom
Nice pannies boys
That had to be a fun day.
Blue, I hope Bret let you catch a few and didnt block the good spots.
I kept Bret on a tight leash.
Nice Pannies indeed Boys!
Wow twice in a week, Wife must be out of town with the Kids.
Nice lookin Crappido’s guys. Looks like a great day.
John
Bret, I tried the swedish pimple down on pool 12 Sat. and I spanked the wife pretty good I put a pink white mini mite on hers.We ended up with 11 9 or 10 inch crappies,Iwas using a whole live minnow hooked between the dorsal and tail.Why do you use just the head of the minnow,do you use that after they become les interested in a whole minnow,more of a finnese last try thing?
In my mind…….don’t say it Brian
I believe when using jigging spoons the bite is more of a reaction strike, I am just using the head of the minnow for flavor and believe it makes the fish hold onto a spoon just a little longer for the hook set.
If I am using a whole minnow, it is on a plain hook (as Tom did) or, just the jig head from a Mini-Mite (as I used) with both rigs under a bobber.
Mini-Mites with the tail I like to pitch towards wood/structure and let it sink keeping an eye on my line for movement indicating the bite.
Very informative report on your crappie hunting adventures blue! I bought a long rod from gander and it works great for the vertical presentations, especially the sweedish pimples. Some of the holes you just can’t reach with a short rod. If you run out of minnow heads break off some gulp and put it on the treble hook, seemed to work almost as good.
In my MIND I was so tight into the brush catching crappies,I could have put up a tree stand inside the brush pile.
. The wife said then she could drop me off and I could fish 24-7 
.But she only meant the week ends.
Very nice crappies guys. Those mini-mites jigs are great. They are only 1/32 oz in weight yet are the size of a 1/16 oz head so you feel more confident using them which helps provide more hits when you think you need a 1/16 oz jig. The fish like that slower fall and slower movement that the jigs gives when under a bobber and you give it alittle jerk. The tail bobs/moves with the slightest movement which gets their attention very well. Then you add in a couple good crappie fishermen like Bret and Blue and you have a great receipe for catchin crappies.
Thanks for the report.
Thanks, Bill
Way to go Brett and Blue
A pan full of crappies, a bottle of Cutty….aaahhhh