3 Crappie Fishing Tips And Tricks

A lot of the time, the difference between catching crappie, or coming home empty is simply some knowledge, rather than your equipment. Depth-Finders, $10,000 Crappie Boats, $100.00 specialty Crappie rods and other Tournament gear is great if you like it, and can afford it, but a little knowlege will do more for your success than all of that gear put together.

The first, and most important thing is to understand your quarry. Crappie are schooling predators that cover large areas of water at times, chasing schools of baitfish. Crappie are almost exclusively fish-eaters. Nightcrawlers aren't going to work. There are two species of Crappie.

They are :

Black Crappie (Promoxis nigro-maculatus)- The Black Crappie is, as the name implies, darker than the White Crappie, has 7-8 dorsal spines, has very pronounced spotting on the sides, and prefers larger, cleaner and more acidic lakes. They are more predominate in the Northern states, but their range frequently overlaps with the White Crappie. Their habits are very similar.

Inter-breeding between the two species is very rare, but not unheard of. Black Crappie have also interbred with Flier Sunfish (Centrarchus macropterus) in a few rare instances.

White Crappie (Promoxis annularis)-The White Crappie is lighter colored, has 6 dorsal spines, 8-9 vertical darker-colored bands on the sides, and is found more frequently in the southern states. The White Crappie prefers quite backwaters, and slow rivers, but is present in many larger impoundments as well. The White Crappie can tolerate more turbid waters then the Black Crappie.

Both the black and white crappie grow to over five pounds while three quarters of a pound to a pound is more typical. Crappie are very season oriented. Their behavior can be broken down into 4 distinct seasons:

1. Pre-Spawn is when the water temperature aproaches 60 degrees. In the south, this can be as early as Feb., and in the north, as late as May, or June. Crappie that have been holding in their winter habitat will begin to move along lines of cover towards shallower water (8-10ft), starting with the males. They will congregate for a short while, then move into water as shallow as 2-3 ft. near cover to build nests. The females soon follow, and pick a male to breed with. Crappie can be caught with live minnows and jigs fairly easily at this time.

2. Spawn is when the females have picked a male to breed with, moved into the nest, layed eggs, and allowed the male to fertilize them. Then, the females take-off for deeper water, leaving the males to guard the nest until the fry hatch. This occurs when the water tempertature is between 60-65 degrees. At this time, the males will attack ANYTHING that comes near the nest, so catching them is child's play. A cane pole with a minnow, or jig works as good as anything.