crappies at night

[kev]

I have a fairly general question in regard to night fishing for crappies. I usually fish a small lake (40 acres, long and only about 100yds wide in most areas)in NE Iowa. It has decent #'s of crapie and bluegill in the 6-9 inch range. I have some friends coming down for the weekend and we are going to be doing a lot of fishing - including some at night in portables. My question is this:

I have done well during the day, However, I do not fish the lake much at night and when I have, I have caught little or nothing. I don't really ever see anyone fishing at night. I definitely think that it is more of a day bite than night bite, but want to try to get better production after dark.

In general, does anyone have any tips for night fishing crappies. Do they tend to go shallow? Move to other areas etc. The lake has a larger deep (20-25 ft) area at the dam - probably 200-300 yds across. Have not been seeing any fish on the camera in that area. ALso has an upper area where feeder creek comes in - fairly shallow (5-12 ft) no one seems to fish this area. Most luck has been coming in the stretch between, 100-150 yds wide, 15-20 feet deep. Downed trees along the edge, 1 little, shallow bay opens into lake, some sunken trees and structure etc. One side drops deep fast, the other side stays shallow and drops gradually to the old creek channel. I would post a map, but there are no on line maps of this lake.

Any general ideas would be appreciated in regard to crappie habits at night or at this time of year - Would like to keep the action going so everyone has an enjoyable time. Also, lake has northerns - Any tipup advice for this time of year. Thanks for any ideas.

[viking_fan]

Use glow in the dark jigs ( I like red ) and fish them in the deep water flats.

No need for a tip up for Northerns at night as they can't see very well in the dark.

Good luck

[CrappieJohn]

Your fish are probably roaming. After dark, don't look for them to be near the bottom...start fishing the deep water at about 50% of its depth. Also, if you have an active creek entering this water, look at fishing the 12 foot water near where the creek becomes more "lake". Vacate the minnows idea on all rods and go with waxies or maggots on some of the sticks. Let the few minnows work on a deadstick and jig the grubs at the same level. And by all means, use the glow jigs.

[poorbiker]

What are some common glow in the dark jigs for crappies?

[Deitz Dittrich]

Poorbiker.. I have 2 lures that are my go to lures for crappies when it comese to glow lures.. #1 the Custom Jigs and Spinns Demon.. #2 The Scenic Tackle Go Devil... between these 2 lures, you should be able to catch them craps!!!

You can find them all at Tackle City

[LuckBites]

Custom Jigs Demons. Green glow is the most popular with either pink, orange or green tip. Has anyone else found the glow red demons? I found a pack of size 6 glow reds and they have been my hot lure but I have not been able to find anywhere that carries the reds. Do they come in the full range of sizes like the others?

[Last Ice]

Remember crappies are always looking UP!They seem to have great vision at night.Glow jigs do work great.I have had success with genz worms tipped w/ a black ratso tail.Glow red seems to be the best.....But also right before sun up or just after sundown minnows seem to work great right under the ice w/ just a small aberdeen hook and a splitshot.I always hook the minnow through the mouth top side first and then turn the hook right side up.Crappies seem to take a minnow head first...you want the hook in front of the minnows face with it swimming right side up!You will catch bigger crappies this way and they are less likely to spit the hook!Also depending on the water clarity and lake conditions they will be attracted or distracted to light from you lantern!Also try to make as least amount of noise as possible especially if they are right under the ice!Rememeber they are always lookin'up!Sometimes you can almost grab them right out of the hole at low light conditions on the right body of water at the right time!L.O.L- L.I. LOOK OUT!!!!!HERE COMES THE ICE TEAM!A SEA OF BLUE ON LAKE MARY!!!