My Top 5 Crappie Baits

I do not use a wide variety of crappie lures normally when I fish, I do generally stick to a proven few that have given me the most success.  I try to keep a few simple rules in mind.  The first is slow down.  The second is don’t stop using what works, and the third is don’t leave fish when they are biting to go find more fish.  I vary my approach up depending on what type of fishing I am doing, and what time of year, and according to conditions, light, temperature and all manner of other variables.  My system is by no means perfect, but it does seem to be consistent.  I have not had the greatest luck with shad or minnows.  I prefer artificial baits because they are easier to handle, there is no need to keep them alive, and they can catch quite a few crappie before having to change up.  Here are my top 5 crappie lures that I use.

                                                               Shadpoles

5.  Shadpoles.  I like the way the shadpoles swim with the tiny ball on the tail and the fat body that gives a little bit more meat than some of the other offerings.  The bonus is that these are super for catching bream of all species as well.  I do not hesitate to throw bream on my stringer or in my cooler when I catch them.  I like to sort through the packets and find the lures with the chartreuse color on the tail when chartreuse is what they are hitting.  This seems to have more of a success ratio than the ones which whatever other color is incorporated into the scheme extends all the way to the end. 

Crankbaits

4.  Crankbaits.  I like crankbaits in the warmer weather when crappie tend to be more active and will pursue their quarry more.  These also offer a slightly bigger morsel and trigger more of a reaction bite most of the time.  I have quickly become a fan of these in the summer time and quite enjoy the strike they produce.  The downside to these is that they attract quite a bit of attention from green carp and other nefarious and non-target species. 

Slider Grubs

3.  Crappie Slider Grubs.  These I fish under a small float generally and my main reason is because they tend to work best under at least a 1/16 oz head which is normally the heaviest I fish.  The 1/16 oz heads cause the baits to move faster than I like however, so the float is a great way to slow them down and produce strikes.  Also, it keeps them in the strike zone once you find it and as a bonus they generally are situated on a larger hook which keeps the fish on better. 

Baby Shad

2.  Baby Shad.  Baby Shad, or whatever other variation of name they go under depending on which brand.  I do not see any difference between the way the brands catch fish.  I find that these are great and almost always a winner in so many situations, and there is such a huge variety of colors that there is nearly no condition they won’t conquer. 

Panfish Stingers

1.Panfish Stingers.  My go to bait for crappie that are being finicky and that are early or late, or deep or shallow, or for trolling, or for shooting or jigging has to be the panfish stinger.   These are some of the smallest baits that I fish, and they come in a very big variety of colors.  They can be fished deeper with a slightly larger jig head because they are small and sink a little faster, but they can be fished really slowly with smaller jig heads when the fish want things in slow motion.  The tiny size and tail motion seem to do the trick as often as anything else I have found. 

Those are in my own personal experience my go to lures.  Occasionally I will use some others, but those are the ones that consistently seem to catch my crappie.  The colors may vary a bit, but I generally do not go wrong with white/chartreuse, black/chartreuse, or something clear with sparkles if I had to narrow it completely down to bare bones.  Its amazing to me the ingenuity that God bestowed on man to come up with ways to fool nature into becoming a meal.  These little soft plastics always give me pause when I think of how they work on a fish that is used to living its life eating live things in the water, and suddenly a piece of soft plastic surrounding a hard metal hook and weighted lead jighead comes swimming by and entices a bite. 

Romans 8:28