We don't need no stinkin' Crappie Minnows!

[hanson]

Can I take a poll?

How many of you think you need to use minnows to catch crappies in the winter?

I guess I used to think that but not anymore. The only time I have caught crappies on minnows this winter is on Upper Red Lake. And of the Upper Red Lake crappies that I have caught, less than half were on a lively minnow. Most have been caught on a jigging spoon & minnow head or a jig with finesse plastic.

Now my grandpa loves to catch crappies. The problem is, he doesn't listen to me. I can lay out the perfect game plan for him to get his limit and he'll pull out a plain hook with a crappie minnow under a bobber and sit and wait. Nothing wrong with fishing that way but there are much more efficient methods IMO.

My dad is another one that I'm having a hard time persuading. But then again, you don't have to follow the line of teaching back very far to figure out where his techniques came from either. But I will give him credit, he switched up to using spring bobbers this winter and I think he's happy he did. Now if I can just get him to take on the full run & gun style of panfishing, he'll reap great rewards!

What I have learned over the last few years has been a different way of chasing panfish. I believe I owe that to the great teachers we have here at Fishing Minnesota. I don't want to name drop but CrappieTom, Matt Johnson, and Corey Bechtold are all great panfish sticks that I've learned a lot from.

I used to be a casual panfish angler but I've definitely taken a liking to the more aggressive approach that I use now. That being augering lots of holes and searching for the fish, not letting them come to me. When I find them, I auger even more holes in a tighter area and continue to hole hop with my electronics fishing each hole for a few minutes if there are fish present.

The shallow water bite is another technique that I've been pleasantly surpised with and especially this winter. I don't think the panfish left the shallows on many of the lakes I fished. And the part that really confuses my dad & grandpa is when I tell them that I am catching crappies in 6-8' of water right now mixed in with nice bluegills. They just don't get that quite yet.

Another revelation has been catching crappies with great success on plastics alone or plastic tipped with Eurolarvae. My go-to confidence lure all winter long has been a Custom Jigs & Spins Ratso (pink head, white body). I'm not sure what it is about that lure but I tie it on 1st each and everytime I'm out searching for panfish. It even worked on Upper Red Lake without bait! The crappies up there annihilated that jig even rising 5' off the bottom to hit it on the fall. I've also begun to experiment with Little Atom plastics as well. Gaining confidence in plastics this winter has made trying these new plastics a little easier.

And single handedly, the one thing that has changed panfishing for me is my St. Croix Legend spring bobber rod. I've voiced my opinion before about this spring bobber and I will continue to voice it, its amazing.

Those are just a few of the things that I've learned from FM this winter and have applied to the ice with great success. I'm looking forward to the next few weeks of late ice panfishing. Its fun when you don't have to auger holes or even bring your auger on the ice.

[Slyster]

Where do you buy your Ratso's... when I look at the Tackle City (FM Outdoor store) I can only find them in the panfish/perch kits. Can you just buy them alone? Am I just not seeing them? http://outdoorprostore.com/index.html

[Corey Bechtold]

Most all Sporting goods stores carry a good selection of Custom Jigs and Spins Ratso's. Gander Mt in Fridley had a good selection of them on clearence a few days ago. They typically come in 2 packs and in several different sizes. Size 6 and 8 are great for Sunfish and Crappies. There are times when the smaller ones will be preferred by fish but 8's are a good all around size.

Thanks for the kind words Hanson. I'm glad we were able to make you a better all around Ice angler and help you with your finesse approach. The cat has been out of the bag for a while on mobility, plastics, electronics and other equipment. It just takes a few outings to develop the confidence in the newer techniques. My dad was the same way. Watching his flasher just to see the fish come to his Crappie minnow and then get ready for the bobber to go down. He now talks about small horizontal baits and larvae like he was the first person to ever try this presentation (sorry dad ). The fact is we need to break out of our old habits to see if there is something better out there to catch fish. Believe me, I have a whole bunch of tackle and jigs that may never catch fish but at least I tried them.

Keep up the good fishing everybody!

Corey Bechtold

[Matt Johnson]

I haven't used a crappie minnow at all this winter. 90 percent of my crappies have come on plastics, no bait.

The misconceptions that crappies feed on crappie minnows has been brought up on several occasions. In all reality, crappies feed more on micro-organisms than they do on minnows during the winter months. In fact, a good majority og their diet consists of such creatures as plankton, zooplankton, blood worm, bugs, insects, etc...

Like mentioned, the Ratso is a phenomenal option for winter crappies. Size 6 has been my go-to, and it helped me land several crappies today...

Minnows have the possibility of catching fish during the winter, but I'm a strong believer that your success rate will increase for most situations and conditions if you switch to maggots or plastics instead...

[Quackaddict9]

You guys use plastics at night? the glow ones.. how do they work for ya? I have some but never tried them at night.

[madmax22]

i just found out about them a week or to ago and i now likr a smalll lindy fatboy with a lindy tail (minnnow type) and they love them especilly at nite

[delmuts]

click on the sponsors heading in hansons' post. then click on the custom jigs &spins. from there you can click on the finesse plastics and you will be able to order exactly what you want.

[rosspj59]

I usually fish crappies with a jig/waxie. I put down a minnow if I don't plan to move too much which is not often or while fishing suspended fish over deeper water. This is done in conjunction with jigging a ratfinke with a waxie or genz worm if fishing deeper. I have tried plastics with some success, but I need to give them more of a workout. I often tell people I usually catch crappies on waxies or spikes and they are often suprised. I learned to icefish panfish on the backwaters of the missippi on pool 9 where we always used a springbobber and small jig with a waxie. Often, a purist with no bait would work well for crappies.

[Farley]

O.k., I've heard enough, I'll try out some of these plastics this weekend. My buddies and I are pretty firm belivers in the power of a minnow. We have caught some nice crappies in the last few weeks on minnows (13-14"ers). The biggest (14.25") has come on a red go devil tipped with a whole minnow. BUT, I can see some of the plastics you guys talk about working well out there because of the very muddy bottom we are fishing over. Heck, if I'm feeling wild enough, I may even put a spring bobber on.

[CALVINIST]

Farley,

If you want to learn how to catch fish on plastics, leave all live bait at home, otherwise you will be tempted to use it. You have the testimony from anglers here at FM that plastics equal, if not excel over live bait. I have been using plastics for about a year now, open and hard water, and I am a believer!

[Farley]

Calvinist- I hear ya, but still I'll let the boys bring the minnows. If these plastics work as good as they say they do, then I should have no problem outfishing the boys. For all they know I'll be using minnows too!

[eyepatrol]

I've had success with the plastics this year, but for some reason, I've not had very good success with just plain plastics. I've had to tip mine with a spike or waxie to really get the fish to bite. Not sure if I'm jigging them wrong or what. Maybe the fish just prefer a little meat on there? Either way though, the plastics have really paid for themselves this year as I've tried my "old-time" lures and jigs and have had much more success with the plastics tipped with meat.

[harvey lee]

All my crappies have come on plastic this winter.Sometimes I will tip the hook with a spike,but thats it.I have had no need to use anything else this winter.I will be using a few jigging spoons in the coming weeks and then maybe a head or whole minnow.

Maybe I would have had a better winter on crappies this year with minnows,but with the luck Ive had,no need to do something else.I have caught the nicest crappies Ive ever caught in the winter this year along with my personal best.

Last spring I started using more plastic and way less bait and if anything,Ive caught more fish than ever.

All baits have there time and place,but these new plastics are great.

[Stratosman]

I don't think I have used crappie minnows for at least 5 years. I feel I can catch just as many on spikes or plastics.

[CrappieJohn]

Stratos....did you ever try that spring bobber you got at the Brawl?

[Stratosman]

I think you're losing it old man!! I never made it down there this year. Must be someone else, or did I send a stunt double? I use spring bobbers no doubt. Won't hit the ice without them.

[Cheeser]

Hello guys!

First time posting in this forum, although I must admit I’ve been ‘lurking’ here for a while.

I have to admit, I’ve been a pike and trout fisherman most of my life; in fact, up until this year, the last time I had been fishing strictly for sunnies and crappies was…well many years ago.

My 5 year old daughter been bugging me to go fishing for a while, so this year I decided to take her out for some pannies. So, I decided before I embark on this adventure, I better brush up on the latest techniques.

I had a chance to sit in on Greg Wilczynski’s seminar at the Ice Fishing show, and thought I would give the spring bobber a chance. Boy, I’m with Chris on this one; I ‘sprung’ (no pun intended) for a St. Croix Ice Legends rod, and I’m sold! In the beginning, I was a little unsure if the spring bobber thing was gonna work for me – I even put it back in the case a couple of times and went back to a regular bobber – but after some patience and learning, it’s my primary rod.

I’ve also been reading the FM forums, and let me tell you most of my success has come from the advice given here. TO, CrappieTom, Matt, Corey, Chris, harvey lee, basscatcher, Tyler and Rick – you guys know your fishin’! Maybe someday I’ll get a chance to drop a line with ya! Thanks for all of the good advice.

After reading Matt’s article on flashers, I sold a bunch of stuff on hsolist and gathered enough scratch to purchase a refurbed LX-3tc. All I can say is WOW! Two weeks ago I was fishing 20 ft from a guy who was using an FL-18 with a minnow tipped spoon on an ice buster bobber. I had my LX-3tc with a red Mega Glow Demon not tipped with anything, and I was pounding the heck out of slabs for about 4 hours! I caught ~50 while he caught only 7. Holy cow, I hadn’t been on a bite like that since I was a teenager. I had a #6 Ratso on my other rig, and could catch them off of that too, but not as aggressive as the Demon. I mean, I wouldn’t even get the jig down to the fish, I could watch the red mark just steam up and hit the jig as I was lowering it. I drove all the way home that night with a HUGE smile on my face! (Didn’t get home until 1 am)

My point is, I’m sold on plastics. But I still will take waxies, eurolarve and minnows out ‘cuz you just never know…

Oh, and my fishing trip with my 5 yr old? Well, we went out to French one Saturday, and I had a Genz bug on her line tipped with a minnow, and something (don’t remember) on mine with a waxie. She hooked her first one – an 11 ½” crappie! It didn’t quite work the way I expected; she got scared ‘cuz it was so big, started crying, wouldn’t go close to it. I couldn’t even get a picture of her with it. Oh well…the good news is she still wants to go again! Better luck next time, eh!

I do have a question though, and I'm not really looking for an exact spot, just a lake: Where can I go to catch White Crappies? I also carve fish in my spare time, and I would like to get some reference photos and get a really good look at a nice White Crappie. I understand how guys are protective of their 'good spots', I'm kinda that way too. I'm looking for someplace close to home (I'm in Northfield) if not, thats kewl I understand. Maybe someone has some nice sharp photos?!?

Thanks again guys,

--Mark

[oil painter]

Glad to hear your having fun w/ your daughter, my grandson is scarred of big fish too!! he 3 but he is game. I also fish w/ demons and have fished w/them for a couple years {my favorite has a dark red spot! I to carve fish altough not as often I paint them on canvas instead,the st. croix is the place to go for whites,got a 14 1/2 couple weeks ago also tonks has them but for a carving you want to go to the croix!!Do you use blanks or cut your own blocks?you get a more lifelike rendition if you use your own pattern.I have wood burned the scales on some and built them up w/paint on others the scale burning realy sets them off!!Go to the river by redwing too that also has whites, they have a great look to them in fact I will be doing a painting of one soon!!! good luck.

[Cheeser]

Thanks for the advice! I cut my own blanks, usually from white pine, white or red cedar and basswood. It really depends what I am carving, because the scales burn differently in different wood. I usually use hickory and oak for muskie plugs, 'cuz the big pike can destroy a soft plug pretty fast! You are right, burning the scales really makes the fish, especially if you tip the scales (long and arduous process, but worth it)

[eyepatrol]

Quote:

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I’ve also been reading the FM forums, and let me tell you most of my success has come from the advice given here. TO, CrappieTom, Matt, Corey, Chris, harvey lee, basscatcher, Tyler and Rick – you guys know your fishin’!

---

WHOA! We need to pull my name from that list as I don't think my name can be mentioned in the same breath as these guys. I'm just as wet behind the ears as you Cheeser. I will agree with you 100% though, info from these guys and many others has helped me understand panfish fishing more than I could have imagined just one year ago. I'm just glad I've found this site and have the opportunity to share what's worked or not worked for me.

[kjgmh]

Does anyone have pics of one of thier jigs with plastics rigged. I have tried them a little but not sure that I am even rigging them correctly and usaully give up after a couple of minutes. If I saw some pics of what others are doing hopefully it would give me some confidence in giving up the minnows.

[Corey Bechtold]

2" Power Minnows

1" Power Tube

Size 8 Ratso

I hope this helps a bit,

Corey Bechtold

[delmuts]

nice pictures corey!

[kjgmh]

Thanks Corey, that helps alot. I will have to give it a better try this weekend.

[mark n]

I'm almost certain, you guy's are better fisherpersons than I. However one thing I do know for sure is that I can be fishing plastics in a hole and not mark a fish. Oh sure I get the lookers at the initial presentation, but typically, for me, the fake bait wont hold them there. On the otherhand if I throw a minnow on, and drop it down the hole, the fish come screamin in. Sometimes they won't take it, but it holds the fish there longer. Time enough to help figure them out.

Thanks for all the great tips over the years.