Tactics for Fishing Arizona Crappie

Arizona is a beautiful state located in the southern regions of the US. Arizona is well-known for its climate which consists of hot smothery summers and mild winters although; it is cooler in the mountain areas.

The weather is not the only thing Arizona is well-known for. The great crappie fishing is making it popular as well. The temperature of the water in this state makes it a great place for this species to grow and thrive.

The crappie is a common species that is a member of the sunfish family. Depending on where you are fishing the crappie is also known as the speckled perch, papermouth, bridge perch and the goggleye.

Many of the same tactics that are used in other areas can also be used to catch crappie in Arizona. One of the first things that you will need to know to get started is where to go.

Fortunately, you can find crappies almost anywhere and in all types of water.

Crappie Fishing Lakes in Arizona

There are several great locations where the crappie fishing is excellent in Arizona. You can fish from along the banks and shoreline of the lakes or go out in a boat. The choice is yours and will depend on your preference because the crappie fishing is great either way.

To give you an idea of where to get started here are a few of the lakes in this state where you can enjoy excellent crappie fishing.

Lakes in Arizona:

Canyon Lake
Roosevelt Lake
Bartlett Lake
Lake Pleasant
Horseshoe Lake
Alamo Lake
Saguaro Lake
San Carlos Lake
Apache Lake

The state record for the black crappie was caught in San Carlos Lake and the white crappie state record was caught in Lake Pleasant.

Tactics Used for Reeling in Crappies

There are several tactics used to reel in the crappie and the one you choose will partly depend on your preference and partly on what equipment you have access to. If you have a boat you may want to give drifting or trolling a try.

Drifting allows you to get your line above where the fish are located and gently drift your bait by them enticing them to strike. Trolling is considered to be one of the fastest and easiest ways to find where the crappies are located in the water. It allows you to use several rods at one time and fish at different depths.

Jigging is a great method that is used by many anglers. When jigging for crappies it's important to know the depth in which you are fishing so you know the exact depth the crappies start biting.

This is important because no matter what part of the lake you are fishing the crappie should be found at the same depth throughout the water. Therefore, you will have an advantage if you have an accurate way of determining the depth.

Jigging is popular because it's one of the easiest method used that allows you to repeatedly fish the same depth.