Favorite Crappie search lure

[krats]

What is everyones favorite crappie search lure that you use when you are looking for crappies?

[walleyeking#8]

I would have to say a red/white tube jig is usually what I start with when I am searching for crappies. I have heard a lot of guys talkin about them paddle tails so I think I am going to get me some of them and try these as a search tool.

[IceHawk]

Beetle spins and small jigs and twisters are my favorite search lures for crappies.

[Tom Wilson]

I've got two that I go to on a regular basis. The first is a 1/8 oz. beetle spin with a white pink combination jighead and a 1&1/2 or 2 inch white grub body. The second is a small Rapala (Countdown or Original Floater) the 1&1/2 inch size in the Silver/Gold minnow pattern. Both of these are extremely effective in covering a lot of water. Once I have found them I switch to minnows.

[CrappieJohn]

A purple glitter/ chartreuse tenacle tube was always my "get it done" bait, but the paddletails are simply outshining anything right now. I started using paddletails thru the ice for the last two weeks of the ice season. On three occasions I did remarkably well with them. And they just keep on getting fish until they bounce on ice in the fall.

[Sportland_Bait]

Without a doubt the Puddle Jumper is my personal best crappie lure all season long. It is similar to a paddletail but I believe offers a more lifelike action. It has a split tail instead of a single. Both the puddle jumper and paddletail work in the same fashion and will offer similar results. Plastics are the way to go, no wasting valuable fishing time rebaiting.

Jason Erlandson

[cheektowaga]

What's the best way to fish these plastics? Jigged under a boat? Hook under a float? Cast and retrieve?

[Corey Bechtold]

The nice thing about plastics is that they can be fished however you want. If you are using it as a search lure then cast and slow retrieve. I like to "swing" the lure back to the boat. To do this I cast, and instead of reeling right away I lift the rod tip and let the lure start to swing back to me. After the bait gets where I want it to be I reel in a bit and repeat the process. You can watch the line where it enters the water to detect bites or the bow of the line will tighten up and the fish in on. After you have pinned down the fish then a float is a great way to offer your presentation. I will often shake the rod making the float quiver. This gets the jig fluttering in front of their faces and they commit to your offering. Be sure to watch for the most subtle changes on your float because a lot of times the fish will just take it and move sideways with the bait instead of pulling the float down. If the fish are in deeper water and not scared by the boat then jigging works great. I like to hold the rod level and watch where the line enters the water. Sometimes you can detect more bites by watching the line. Plastics are a great all around way to help us catch more fish.

Good Luck,

Corey Bechtold

[CALVINIST]

Will the horizontal presentation Corey described work on crappies when water temps are still in the 50's?

[CrappieJohn]

If they are on a tear it will for sure. If you are snooping and fishing under a float, don't wast time by casting and taking four minutes getting it back to cast again. I find that the fish will hit right away after the jig hits the water or within three or four repetitions of pop, pop, pop, stop three count, pop, pop, pop,stop, three count, .....

I trend to fish each cast quickly, but will stay on a spot casting back to it repeatedly until I am satidsfied there is nothing there to hit. Then I move a few feet up shore.

[fish-n-geek]

I accidentally found out last year that crappies will drill a small inline rattling spinner. The one I have is a firefox or something like that. It is great for covering lots of water. The bass like it too, so if you're catching to many of them, you might have to try something else

-r-

[CALVINIST]

These are some great tips for searching for crappies...I'll definitely use 'em next time out!

[fishingmike0770]

Blue Fox?

I love throwing a unweighted tube jig to get those finicky crappies to bite and thats the way to find them in shallow water. I really like the red tubes mixed with brighter colors: silver, white, orange, chartruese.

[koWALLEYEski]

also a big fan of the beetle spins and jigs. always seem to work for me. But with all the talk of paddletails I HAVE to get out and get some. Do you know if they sell them in like a Fleet farm or scheels?

[delmuts]

i finally found a place near here that had the crappie slider paddle tails. so far i haven't had much success with them( where as a white flu flu with a waxies smushed into the fur gets them) but the exsperiment is just starting ! glad i bought that bigger plastic box with all of the plastics i have . getting to be as bad as my bass plastics.

[krats]

Thanks for all the response...I am learning alot of new things to try...Sound like I will need to pick up some of these paddle tails and try them out soon.

Keep the ideas coming.