Crappies are one of North America?s most popular game fish, and you do not have to be a psychologist or a biologist to understand why. The Crappies are plentiful, fun and fairly easy to catch and they taste great, and can be prepared using many recipes. In this blog let us discuss some basic fishing tips to catch these wonderful fish in this season of late spring early summer. 
Crappies are located in farm ponds, small and large lakes, and in rivers all over North America. The ideal habitat for crappies is shallow, cooler slow moving to still water with cover such as submerged brush, tree trunks, and thick vegetation. Crappie angler?s fish for them in areas of shade, docks, piers, bridges and fallen trees and log jams. 
Crappie are the most popular members of the sunfish family, both black and white crappies are sought after, they can be distinguished by the number of spines on the dorsal fin. The white has only 6 while the black has 7 or 8, however the best way to tell the difference is the black crappies have a checkered board pattern of black spots while the white crappies have their spots in straight lines making dark stripes on the silver fish. 
During the winter crappies stay active even in frozen lakes making them a treat for ice-fishermen in the northern areas of the continent. The fish can be caught all year, which adds to their popularity. But I think that late spring is the very best time to catch them, when they migrate to shallower water to spawn. This year I am going to get out my fly rod and fish for them with nymph flies, something I have never done before, but can?t wait to try. Just like most species, early morning and late evening is the best time to catch crappies. 
Crappie anglers use many techniques to catch these fish, drifting, trolling, still-fish, jig, float-n-fly, and becoming more popular where it is legal is spider rigging, which is to rig multiple rods with a live minnow on a jig head suspended over an artificial jig which is weighted with a sinker. With the rods mounted on the bow of the boat, in a fan pattern, fishermen can harvest many crappies at once. But as you know I often fish from a canoe and these fish will often school beneath it as I float. 
Small spinnerbaits at the correct depth or using a slow retrieve has proven to be effective. In this picture I caught my personnel best and probably a record white crappie while bass fishing with a large spinnerbait. But to claim a record the fish would have had to die, so I released it with out measuring or weighing it. Later analysis of the picture suggested the fish was 4 lb and 17 inches long. Other artificial bait such as small jigs and brightly colored crankbaits has caught many fish as well. The key is locating the fish, and then choosing the correct method. 
Crappies generally feed near to brush piles, grass beds and submerged trees, making these areas best suited for float-fishing techniques. Setting a live minnow below a float is the most common way to catch these paper mouthed fish. Other live bait such as worms, crickets and grasshoppers are also popular for catching slabs. As I said once located they are fairly easy to catch, and being a school fish, when you catch one keep fishing. 
My favorite gear to use is a 5 ½ foot fast action rod, combined with a ultralight spinning reel spooled with 6 lbs. test mono line. Casting small jigs beneath docks can be much fun in the mid morning when they seek shelter from the sun beneath the docks. With their eyes on top, it is easy to see they feed up by design. When you locate crappie schools on your electronics fish a few feet shallower than the fish are holding. 
I have been known to occasionally leave bass alone for a day and peruse crappie; they are my second favorite fish to catch. I hope these tips and the late spring season bring many crappies to your boat. One last thing about crappies, they are a great species to introduce children to fishing.
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