Catching Crappie is a very challenging and interesting for the traditional fisherman who want to enjoy leisure. This is a special type of fish that needs special treatment to catch it.
Generally, this is one of the most attractive types of fish that a fisherman wants to catch this. There are many reasons behind the popular of catching the fish.
You will find plenty of Crappie in a right place and this is fun to catch. On the other hand, they are very delicious to eat than other fishes. For that reason, proper and accurate and proper information is a must to become successful to catch Crappie fish.
Do you know full information about Crappie and how to catch Crappie fish? If you don’t, then, this article is for you. This is a complete guideline for those want to know about catching Crappie fish as well as accurate info about the fish.
Crappie is a special type of fresh water fish that is native from the North America. They are highly demanded for the leisure fishing experts because of their taste and easy to catch.
Normally, Crappies are fresh water fishes and loves to live in the acidic and highly vegetated area. The fish loves to eat microscopic when they are child. However, they prefer fish fingerlings, minnows and other aquatic insects when they become mature. Normally, they love to stay at deep under water and come to the shores to feed. However, they do not have any specific time of feeding but they prefer either dawn or dust.
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Types of Crappie
If you want to know the types of Crappie fish, you will get two general classifications. Both of the two types of fish do not require any type of genetic tests. In fact, you can easily clarify the type of the Crappie fish by watching them. The differences between the two types are on color marking. However, the color of the Crappie fishes depends on the color of the water.
The main two types of Crappie are-
Black Crappie
Crappie becomes black because of the muddy water and it loses the marks quick easily. Normally, they do not have any discernible pattern on the body. But, you will notice speckled on the body of the fish. Therefore, they are also called ‘specks Crappie’ locally.
Normally, this type prefers to have more shade and heavy vegetation in the water. On the other hand, they prefer clearer water to live but the items are rare in the clearer water.
White Crappie
In order to identify the white Crappie, you can observe the body pattern of the fish. You will notice vertical bars running the length of the white Crappie fish. This is the first thing that you need to observe in order to get idea about the type of the fish. You do not need to watch the pattern of the body if you are fishing in a freshwater. Normally, the fish of the freshwater become good chance to get good color. As a result, they become the white Crappie like the muddy water makes it black.
White Crappie loves to suspend in the open water. On the other hand, they have more murky tolerate power than black Crappies. They prefer to eat minnows and shad in the deep water.
If you want to follow the biology fact of identifying the Crappie type, you need to go through small genetic test. You will notice that the dorsal fin length of a black Crappie is longer than the total base of the dorsal of white one.
There are also other types of Crappies in the world but they are not major types. You will have hybrid Crappies in different parts of the world. Generally, the hybrid also has 3 types depending on the color, genetic test and other things.
What is the best time to catch them?
In order to catch delicious Crappies, you need to catch them in perfect season. On the other hand, the techniques of catching Crappies depend on the season and place.
Here, the best time and techniques are provided for 4 seasons.
Spring
If you want to have successful fishing crappies, you should choose the spawn season of the fish. During the spawn, this is possible to get plenty of crappies in a small place.
As they are likely to spawn in the spring season, this will become very easy to catch. Therefore, you will need to look for the shallow areas during the spring if you want to catch plenty of crappies. The fishes become aggressive during the period and you will not need to hang for hours to catch them.
Summer
Trying to catch Crappies in the summer season is frustrating because they spend daytime in the deep water. According to the researchers, they are found in the deep water, most likely in the 30 feet depth in day time. However, they may come to the 25 feet depth in the night time in order to feed.
Finding the Crappies in the summer is hard because of depth water. You will need longer bait than before. However, catching them could be interesting only when you find the fishes because they attract to food easily in the summer. Therefore, you should choose the night time in order to get the Crappies closer to your bait.
Fall
Catching Crappies in fall is little bit challenging and need extra fishing techniques. Most of the fishermen suggest using the larger food items in order to attract and catch them. During the fall, Crappies prepare themselves for the winter season and start to store food.
Less than three inch minnow works well in the fall season to catch Crappies. On the other hand, you can also use the artificial minnows during the season. This is important to know the place of the Crappies in the fall.
You can also use crayfish and worms in order to catch them in this season. However, you should keep them cool and as lively as you can. Otherwise, you may not get good result.
In fall, you should catch Crappies during the night because they like to eat food in the evening time. Therefore, your productivity may down to zero or few in the morning hours in this season.
Winter
Winter is a good season to catch a good amount of Crappies because they do not move than rest of the seasons. Moreover, there is no pressure of fishing in the winter season for low temperature.
Normally, the Crappies spend full day to the 15-20 foot depth water during the winter. They move to the position as soon as the temperature goes down to 60s. The group always remains in the same depth position throughout the winter season.
Smaller baits, minnow and jigs work well in the winter season to catch the Crappies. However, you should not move the food most often in order to good result in the winter.
The Time of Spawn Begins
Spawn time of Crappies is a good time to catch them because they become aggressive than before. In fact, the male Crappies are remaining active and bite in order to protect the nest area. Female Crappies remain inside of the nest and bite the baits most often.
68°F to 72°F water temperature is perfect for both black and white crappies in order to spawn. However, the upper temperature remains -50°F to 60°F of the water for the selected area. Normally, the spawning starts in late February in the southern waters. However, the northern water Crappies beings to span in early June.
The spawn time depends on the lake space and size of the Crappies. Normally, this may need 1 month to 6 weeks to complete the spawn process.
The Process of Spawning Crappie
The female Crappies love to lay eggs in the bottoms of the rocks or gravel if there is no stumps or trees. Normally, most of them prefer to go shallow in order to lay the eggs.
They are forced to spawn in the open water in case there are no items that are included here. The male Crappies stay behind and protect the eggs. Both males and females will protect and stay close to the spawn areas. As a result, catching them on the spawn days becomes easier than at other times.
Where to Find the Crappies to Catch?
Although catching Crappies seems to be easy fishing for most people, you should know the tips to find the exact location. If you are unable to hit on the exact location, you may not be able to catch them at all.
Normally, you will get black or white Crappies very easily than the hybrid. You should look for the deep and large lakes in order to catch them. On the other hand, they are most likely to be in the shallow areas of the lake. Normally, you will get the habitats easily in the area with sand and mud on the bottom. They select the area for living because the shallow area is cooler as well as provides a good amount of food coverage. Therefore, look in the shallow areas of the lake in order to catch them in a large number
Best 10 lakes in America for Crappie
If you are living in America, then, you should know the top 10 crappie lakes in order to catch them. When you are getting to the top lakes, you will surely have a successful day of fishing crappies. However, you should not forget about the tips and tackles because they are important to catch them.
- Grenada Lake, Mississippi
- Lake Washington, Mississippi
- Arkabutla, Sardis and Enid Lakes, Mississippi
- Alabama River, Alabama
- Lake Fork, Texas
- Santee Cooper, South Carolina
- Kentucky Lake, Tennessee/Kentucky
- Lake Talquin, Florida
- Lake D’Arbonne, Louisiana
- Eufaula Lake, Oklahoma
Fishing tips & tackles
In order to catch fish, you will need to know the fishing tackles. Good fishing tackles can give you plenty of fish in fishing time. To catch the crappies in a large numbers, you will also need to use the right and perfect tackles. There are some best ways that will help you to catch crappies-
- Rods, reels and poles
- Well stocked tackle box
- Crappie bait, lures
- Other equipments
Rods, reels and poles
Using rods, reels, and poles is very common to catch the crappies. Normally, the reels are highly used to catch deep water crappies efficiently. On the other hand, the pole provides a good result in the shallow waters especially to tempt the fishes in the trees and branches. A good combination of rod, reel, and pole will give a perfect fishing experience to hold crappies as much as you want.
Well-stocked tackle box
A well stocked tackle box is one of the best things for the fisherman because this provides him or her with all essential items. You can go with the well-designed and large tackle box for crappies in order to catch them.
However, there are various kinds of sizes and styles of tackle boxes that provide a wide range of selecting sinkers, hooks, and bobbers. Therefore, catching crappies using a tackle box is an excellent way.
Crappie bait lures
Baits and lures are successful items for catching crappies. Lures are the synthetic soft bodies that covered the jigs. There are many types and shapes of lures that are available for fishing crappies. On the other hand, you can also have a special type of bait for the fish. Moreover, you can use the small minnows on the bait instead of jigs to get good results.
Other equipment
There is some other equipment that can help you to catch crappies. Those are the helping equipment that will help you to cope with the condition of the fishing.
- Lighted Floated for fishing at night
- Fishing towel
- Emergency kits in case you are hurt
- The rod repair kit box to repair items
- Small flashlight
Tips, Techniques, and Tactics for Fishing Crappies
Catching fish is challenging and patient work for every person. However, many of you become frustrated because of not being successful in catching Crappies. Although they are available in a large numbers, you become unsuccessful due to not having proper knowledge.
Therefore, there are some tactics and tips for Crappies fishing so that you can catch in plenty and enjoy the time:
Shallow Spider-Rigging
This is important to know the location of the Crappies in order to catch them. Normally, they are in the shallow areas of a lake or pond during the pre-spawn and spawn seasons. For that reason, find the areas where you find branches of trees or sand on the bottom. As soon as you find a place in the lake, you will surely be able to catch plenty of them.
Using Right Fishing Trend
This is important to buy and use the right fishing trend for catching Crappies. You can use s single pole dipping in order to move and catch fish in the shallow water. You can use different types of bait depending on the time of the fishing.
For example, you will need to use larger baits in the fall season because they will look for storing foods for the rest of the upcoming winter season. On the other hand, you can use small minnows and artificial small craft fishes during the summer and spring seasons.
Thick stuff in the Higher Pressure
Crappies like to straight down into the thick stuff when this is a sunny day. UV light cover near channels and as a result, you will need a rig in order to catch them.
Tube baits during Muggy
You will need to use tube baits instead of small minnows in the muggy weather. The minnows will easily become fading when it is too hot. Therefore, the fish will go under more than 30 feet depth of water. A vertical rig will help you to catch in plenty.
Additional Useful Resource
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crappie
- http://www.wikihow.com/Catch-a-Crappie
- http://www.fishingtipsdepot.com/crappie-fishing-tips
- http://www.scout.com/outdoors/wired2fish/story/1495658-do-you-know-your-crappie
Conclusion
This is a complete guide to catch crappies. By that time, you will have a complete idea of how to catch crappies and how to find them. Follow the tackles and tips if you have not been successful in the past few days. After reading the guideline, you will surely have enjoyable and successful fishing crappies days.
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