suspended crappies

[dairyman]

whats the preferred way you guys fish for them. slip bobbber,trolling ??

I've been using nite crawlers any other suggestions?? I'm having a heck of a time trying to maintain my position---fishing 25 to 35 feet down...........

[BuckSutherland]

Get a couple buoy markers and put them out around the school so you know where they are approximately. I like to drift through them or move with a trolling motor. I also think lower light conditions are more favorable to fish them.

Pretty hard to beat a plain jig head 1/8 oz and a two inch twister tail. Add split shot or two if you need to get down further. Use slip knot as a gauge of how deep you are fishing. No bobber. Keep it moving and remember crappies love to feed up. So if they are at twenty five I am at 20-23 depending on activity.

[goblueM]

What Buck said... and ditch the crawlers, crappie minnows are better if you wanna use live bait. Prob ditch the slip bobber too

[BuckSutherland]

I should add that in clear water I like to use a pink jighead with a white 2" power grub. And in a little darker water I like a yellow or green jighead with a brown body. I rarely ever by live bait to fish crappies. It is uneccessary 90% of the time.

[paceman]

I agree. I never use live bait anymore. A simple jig and plastics trolled or cast and retrieved has put a lot of crappies in my boat.

[BLACKJACK]

Good tips guys!! With the new AIS rules I think that I'll be trying more baitless presentations.

[gregg52]

Hmmmmmm interesting tips

i'm not a big crappie fisherman but the gf likes it so we have doing alot of it the last week or so

cataching lots some evening then not so many the next night

suspended they are actually only down about 6 ft in 28-30 of water

we have been just moving around very slow with the trolling motor

i use a bobber she doesnt she seems to get the biggest ..lol

question for you crappies experts

as the water cools will these fish remain suspended or will they move closer to the bottom???

[Jim Uran]

They will remain suspended until the lake actually turns over. They are up higher in the water column due to the higher dissolved oxygen content.

Dairyman, in this scenario stick with a jig and minnow, or plastics like others have suggested. It's tough to stay on them unless you can pin point them and key in with slip bobbers.

[dairyman]

well I changed over to minnows and used the buoy to mark where the schools were-----------I was surprised the buoy worked really well. Cruised back and forth over it and managed to get one more then yesterday.

Thanks guys---tips well taken

[BuckSutherland]

Get rid of the minnows and use what I suggested once. You may never use minnows again.

I kind of hop the jig along so the twister is always turning. When you are lifting the rod up and down you will just feel dead weight when you have one. Its not like a bass or northern that is just going to nail it and you feel the strike.

I like to use four lb fireline. It really helps to feel everything better.

[Finlander]

Use your ice fishing jigging rods and a Vexilar or whatever to see the crappies below you just like your ice fishing as you can see your lure over the crappies and use whatever lure you want to catch the crappies on. My son was catching crappies 5 to my 1 last saturday with his ice fishing setup with the trasducer hanging over the side of the boat to see the fish and his jigs! Next time up to the lake I'm bringing out the vex and jigging rods!

[bturck]

I've been using the Lindy Watsit plastics since last fall and have caught a lot of crappies, sunnies, bass and walleyes. I generally use a 1/8oz Northland bubble gum lead jig head. I don't use any live bait during the summer months, just to hard to keep them alive. Watsits is char/red....chart/green....dark green/blk and solid ornage have all produced. Release 129 crappies last weekend and a 22" eye. Love these things. the technique described by others will definitley work.

[dakor]

My question is what are you looking for on your graph to determine if you are seeing crappies on your graph and not other fish? Are you looking for certain features of how the school of fish looks or are you just stopping over suspended fish and trying each spot until you find they are crappies?

[BartmanMN]

I had Pike terrorizing my Pink and white Watsit grub last week. Couldn't figure out what kept hitting and breaking my line, until I had one boat side and he turned his head and cut my line in front of me.