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Crappies Through the Ice

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By Guest
in Ice Fishing

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Crappies at first ice can be fast, fun, and put a tasty meal on the table. But for the more serious angler, slab sized fish might be more of a priority.
There are a few tricks that may make catching a few slab Crappies a little less of a challenge.
Presentation is just as important as location. My best success catching Crappies has come from fine tuning some of the smallest factors, and making them the main points of presentation.
I prefer to use lead head jigs and plain hooks over teardrops and such lures in the winter. The reason for that is the orientation in which the jig lays.
The most natural presentations are the best for catching slab Crappies. So making your lure look as natural as possible obviously is the best way to "trick" that slab into biting.
When presenting a lead head jig, make sure to pull the jig so that it hangs in a perfect horizontal fashion(so that the head is level with the hook, rather then a 45 degree angle, or straight up and down). This will make the jig do what it was meant to, and impersonate a minnow in its most natural fashion.
When tipping the jig, I often use wax-worms. The best way I have found to hook the worm is to run the hook through the body and up the jig, making sure that the tip of the hook is completly covered by the worm. Sometimes, if the fish are still hesitant to bite, I "mush" the worm some to help trigger a strike.

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Also, the best color, regardless of water clarity is a solid graphite(lead)color.
My best success comes from taking a #8 or #10 plain dark shank hook, and taking the smallest lead split shot I can find and crimping it right on the hook, without tipping it with any bait. The fish eagerly race to investigate and suck the bait in to see what it is. However, if you don't have electronics on the ice(namely an FL-8) the bite you usually goes undetected. When the signals on the screen come together I set the hook and the fish is there most of the time. Sometimes it takes some experimentation with timing, like a one-thousand-one count before setting the hook, but once you find the right timing fishing can be fast and exciting. This tactic works good for bluegills too. But the same rule applies: the hook MUST be horizontal. So you might need to experiment with placement of the sinker on the hook to help "balance" the jig out.
After dark I prefer to use a silver or bright colored jig in clear water(5 feet and better) tipped with a minnow or wax worm. In darker water, two tones seem to work best. (pink and yellow)tipped with the same baits.

[This message has been edited by Pro Crappie Guide (edited 12-12-2001).]

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I am in the Aitkin area, and have ice on a few lakes here that are fishable.
Crappies are our friends.
Especially when you fry them and dip them in a sauce made of Miracle Whip and Ketchup
I better go catch me some

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crappie todd Enthusiast

crappie todd

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Well this year looks like the 1st year with no 1st ice, on ice experience. looks like we will have to have pro crappie guide, guide us. Would have been a blast to be slip sliding around on the lake this weekend with sore leg muscles on monday morning to boot.......( hard walking on that stuff with out ice walkers) good leg work out.
No fish in the frying pan for this crappie angler. Pro crappie guide........Make me up a pan of those crappies, but throw back a few for the rest of us stay at home dreaming 1st ice fisherman this year.
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markinthemslabs Newbie

markinthemslabs

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That all depends on the fish though. I know some spots they only like shinners, and the other spots they like wax worms. It all depends on the fishing pressure and the setting of the spot. I'll have to try out your method. Thanks for posting.

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