Techniques For Baiting Crappie

There are many techniques for baiting crappie that work very well, but one that works particularly well is a sort of spider system - just modified a little bit! As is the case with all spider rigging, you can use this system to fish more than one pole at a time.

Using this modified technique, you will want to use somewhere in the neighborhood of half a dozen 12' crappie poles. About 10 lb test works well, and should be set up on a rod holder system. Simply tie on a 3 way swivel and two leaders using about 8 lb test, and tie on 2 hooks or lures.

Make the first lead about 7" long, then run a dropper about 24" long for the crappie holding close to cover in a tight school, and extend the leader 3 or 4' whenever the crappie are scattered.

Use an egg sinker on a 24" dropper, attached between the swivel and bottom lure. Just use a double knot to tie it on about a foot under the swivel and tie your jig about a foot below the weights. A half ounce slip sinker will usually work well, but you might want to switch over to a three quarter ounce if you are fishing in windy weather.

When the fishing gets tough, and it seems like the crappie are just not biting anything, go for the tried and true. According to most crappie anglers, the most natural bait is a minnow on a straight hook. An Aberdeen hook in a #2 works really well when you add a small spinner to give it a little flash.

Anytime you are fishing with minnow, you can try tipping it with something like a Crappie Nibble to help keep the minnow on the hook. You might also want to spray your lures with a commercial fish attractant scent for special incentive to getting the fish on your hook.

Especially during the early part of the fall and spring, when the crappie are especially aggressive, spinner jigheads usually show good action and get lots of bites, as do various crappie tubes and solid plastic baits.

Another consideration should be water clarity. If the water is stained, choose a lure in chartreuse. Really dark lures in colors such as purple and black work well in muddy water. In clear water, choose something like yellow and white.

When you are fishing in familiar territory, you often know what works best, but when you are in unknown territory, often the only way to determine what is going to work, is to try different things until you hit on a winning combination.

Start by getting as much information from the locals as you can, but move on from there by trying several approaches and then sticking with the ones that are working best for you at any particular time or place.

Start by setting some rigs at about 3 feet, and move up to about 14 feet. If you see that you have to move deeper than that, consider vertical jigging on a single rod. Anything deeper than twenty feet is rarely good for spider rigging.