Early Spring Crappies

[fishtank]

It's good to see that open water - won't be too long now.
To get started, I was wondering if anybody had some usefull tips to catch those finicky early season crappies. I always have the hardest time getting numbers because the bite tends to be extremely light.

-Tank

[Bruce Mosher]

I usually use the Wave Buster Bobber. It's weighted for further casts. I will put 2 stop knots about 1" apart about 2' up my line and then snap on a Wave Buster Bobber. You can trim it to make it more sensitive if needed. My jig will be a 1/16 or 1/32oz. tube jig. Not to often do I use a live crappie minnow but the bite will dictate that. Cast out the bobber rig and very slowly reel it back. Sometime within the reel you should pause for a second to entice the bite. My tube jig colors are black/green, red/white, chartuse/white. If you night fish - poke a stateer hole into the top of the bobber with a tooth pick and then insert a 3mm glow stick for 8hrs of night fishing. Works great! Have fun, Bruce Mosher

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Bruce Mosher,www.icebusterbobbers.com

[Navigator]

I'd 2nd Today's Tackle bobbers for any species. I HAD a million different bobbers, each for a specific application. What I have found is that 99% of the time these baby's do the trick for crappies and like Bruce said "simply trim the bobber to make it more sensitive". It's that easy and they cast like a bullet. Nav

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Jon Navratil
Navigator Guide Service
www.naviguides.com
Central MN rivers & lakes

[Paul Rohweller]

Rick should have a nice pic of a respectable spring crappie and a wavebuster!
Keys I look for, warmer water, submerged timber...1/8th oz scenic tackle jig under a wavebuster with a minnow or plastic. Tease tease tease, nothing? move on... Paul

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Paul Rohweller
Pine to Prairie Guide Service
218-962-3387 home
701-261-9525 cell
[email protected]
N.P.A.A. 425
Quality Bait and Tackle, Detroit Lakes Mn
www.scenictackle.com
North Country Outdoors Radio 99.3 fm
http://fishingminnesota.com/pinetoprairie

[This message has been edited by Paul Rohweller (edited 04-05-2004).]

[Bruce Mosher]

Paul, If you cast the Wave Buster bobber with a 1/16 or a 18th oz. jig it is perfectly straight into the wind! The reason I had 2 - stop knots (one on each side of the bobber) in the post above is for the simple reason I would be in shallow water. 3' tops and that way my bobber is "pegged" to stay perfectly at that depth. If I go to deeper water I would only use one stop knot so the line can slip thru to the preset depth. One other trick I've learned is to use a rubber band knot or a stop knot about 1' above the jig. Of course your other stop knot is set higher up the line for the bobber to stop on. The reason for this is because of brush and cattails etc that your jig might catch on a eventually break the line. If the line breaks my rubber band piece or stop knot that is 1' above the jig will save the bobber and bring it back to me. Then I can retie another jig on and not chase my bobber across the lake. I've used this trick in Devils Lake for Walleyes in the submerged trees. Good luck, Bruce Mosher

[Paul Rohweller]

Heres another reason for two bobber stops.
Put some noisy clacker type beads on both side of the bobber, cast out, if it doesnt go down in a minute or two rattle those beads , it will attract those neutral fish that need a little coaxing. Paul

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Paul Rohweller
Pine to Prairie Guide Service
218-962-3387 home
701-261-9525 cell
[email protected]
N.P.A.A. 425
Quality Bait and Tackle, Detroit Lakes Mn
www.scenictackle.com
North Country Outdoors Radio 99.3 fm
http://fishingminnesota.com/pinetoprairie

[Bruce Mosher]

Paul, sounds like a very good tip. I'll have to try that in about 1 week. Can't wait. Thanks, Bruce Mosher

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Bruce Mosher,www.icebusterbobbers.com

[friendlyfisher]

Nice tips guys!!
Bruce I have a question. What LB test will you use? Can you catch them in the early morning? It is about the only time I can get out. If so, should I feel in a lot slower. How far off the bottem do you want the jig and tub? thanks for the help.

[Matt Johnson]

I use bobbers by Todays Tackle all year round.

When ice fishing, I use the Ice Buster, a tough bobber to beat for any situation and for any species. Light biting crappies and walleyes will feel no resistance when rigged correctly and it will improve your catch. The under-the-ice positioning of the slipknot also keeps your bobber from freezing up and it doesn't effect the jigging action. The Ice Buster bobber has helped me ice more fish this past ice fishing season.

During open water I will use both the Ice Buster and Wave Buster. I like to use the Ice Buster for crappies and bluegills in calm water, especially when throwing a lightweight jig allowing the fish to pull the bobber down with ease. It will work the same way as when using it out on the ice, and you won't lose fish do to the fact that the fish spits out the bait because of resistance or because it feels something out of the ordinary. The Wave Buster bobber is awesome for situations like we are facing now, early spring when you will experience some wind and waves when chasing those slab crappies. The Wave Buster will stand upright when rigged correctly and with the added weight that the Wave Buster has, allows the bobber to literally "bust" the waves, and the under-the-water slipknow placement protects the bobber from the wind catching the line and blowing it in the wind which allows you to leave the bait in the strike zone longer. The weight also lets you cast with more ease with or without wind, and it makes for casting light jigs very easy. No need to worry about your jig getting caught up in the air, you will get an accurate and stress-free cast everytime. The Wave Buster is also a multi-species bobber and works great for walleyes and bass too.

When I attack the water for crappies I rig one rod with a 1/64 oz jig and an Ice Buster, one rod with a 1/16 - 1/32 oz jig and a Wave Buster, and one rod without a bobber with a 1/32 oz jig. I will tip my jigs with plastic tubes, tails, grubs, Kick-n-Craw, etc. Most of the time I won't use live bait, but small minnows can improve your catch some days. I will tip my jigs with Bio-Bait quite often to add scent and taste. Small Bio-Bait Ice Bits are great for tipping tube jigs, sometimes I'll even shove a little Bio-Bait Ice Bit into the body of the tube before I put it on the jig, that way the scent stays there without the Ice Bit falling off or getting bit off by a fish.

I like to use White/Chartreuse, Clear/Red, or Pink. But I will throw a dozen or so different colors sometimes to figure out the preferred color.

With the ice dissapearing more and more, the crappie fun begins!

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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[email protected]
Iceleaders
Catch-N Tackle and Bio Bait
MarCum
Stone Legacy
JR's Tackle

[This message has been edited by Matt Johnson (edited 04-05-2004).]

[Bruce Mosher]

Friendlyfisher, Early morning works great on alot of my local lakes. I will use 4-lb. test line for Crappie fishing. Just cast the bobber and jig out and let it sit for a second or two and then start reeling in very slow. Pause a few times on the way in. The only time a let my rig sit for a longer period is when I'm using live bait. The plastics, tube jigs etc should have movement to entice a strike. Have Fun, Bruce Mosher

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Bruce Mosher,www.icebusterbobbers.com

[friendlyfisher]

Bruce you rock
thanks for the help. friendly

[Bruce Mosher]

Friendlyfisher, No problem. I'm just here to make fishing a little easier!!! Bruce Mosher

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Bruce Mosher,www.icebusterbobbers.com

[Bruce Mosher]

FYI - One thing I haven't mentioned yet is to try out the Foam Walker and rig it just like a lindy rig for Crappies in the spring. This works Great on Upper Red Lake early in the spring. Put a nice big Shiner minnow on a Phelps Floater or a snall spinner rig about 2 to 3' behind the Foam Walker and slowly troll close to the weed line in the spring. The big shiner minnow will get you the bigger slabs. Hopefully you wont get bit off by a big Northern! Have Fun!! Bruce Mosher

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Bruce Mosher,www.icebusterbobbers.com

[Bruce Mosher]

Has anyone else out their tried Baby Rapalas for Crappies? I picked a few up the other day to try them out. I will try to cast and retrieve the Rapalas or slowly troll them with a planer board. Bruce Mosher