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Crappie
Winter Panfish Toolkit
The essential gear you need to ice panfish isn’t extensive. An
assortment of baits, a light action rod, and a good auger are the key
ingredients. Spicing up this menagerie are sophisticated tools, such as
electronics. These aren’t mandatory, but they’ll help you catch more
fish. The following items represent a well-rounded toolkit for coaxing
pannies topside. 01/12
Hauling Baits for Panfish
Spring to autumn, panfish occupy a range of habitats from shallow weed
flats to deep, rocky structures. Casting has merits, but there’s plenty
of trolling methods that will pull big panfish topside. Here are some
popular strategies. 08/11
The
Three "C" s of Early Spring Crappie
Immediately following ice crappie flock to protected, shallow water
areas. These zones are teeming with forage and crappie will feed
heartily for several weeks until the water’s warm enough for spawning,
which occurs between late spring and early summer. Cracking the code on
early-season crappie relies on the golden rule of real-estate: location,
location, location and when talking paper-mouths in spring, this means
fishing the Three Cs: coves, creeks, and canals. 05/11
Panfish Jig Details
If you're a fan of panfish you
undoubtedly have a good selection of jigs in your tackle box. Baits
ranging from 1/32- to 1/8-ounce are common weights for catching perch,
sunfish and crappie. Yet beyond their weight, another big factor is how
these tiny jigs are dressed. When fish are finicky this is a critical
detail. Read on for a review of some of the top panfish jig styles you
should have in your tackle box.
Night-Bite
Winter Crappie
The sun about to hit the tree tops. I was sitting on a great crappie
lake, charging up my glow jig and waiting for the start of the night
bite. It didn’t take long and the action was fast and furious for just
under an hour. While many anglers focus on walleye, crappie are another
species worth chasing at twilight. Here’s what you need to know about
this productive technique to catch more paper-mouths.
Spring
Bluegill Micro-Crankbait Tactics
Come spring, many species of the sunfish family move to warm, shallow
water to spawn. Bluegills are no exception, and targeting these scrappy
fighters with ultra-light tackle is an amazing way to spend a sunny,
spring afternoon. Several lures will fool bluegills come spring, but sight
fishing with micro-sized crankbaits lets you precision fish schools and
target the largest fish.
Searching Out
Springtime 'Gills
The spring heralds in new beginnings for those in the fishing fraternity.
Making the change from ice gear to open water tackle and from portable
huts to fishing boats feels like a time of renewal. And for many, taking
that first cast for walleye or pike has become a rite of passage as the
season unfolds before us. But what about the saucer-shaped 'gills that
flood the shallows during this time, eager to bite and hard fighters to
boot?
Tough Bite?
Try a Little Ice Fishing Finesse
There were already a few anglers jigging as I pulled my hut up to the
community crappie hole. "How's the fishing?" I asked. "Slow. We haven't
got any yet," answered one angler. I walked several yards away from the
group, drilled a hole and settled into my hut. Over the next few hours I
caught several decent crappies despite the slow bite. The trick was
downsizing, finesse fishing, and trying several spots. Here are some
details on the day's events that will apply to most ice fishing conditions
when crappies aren't aggressively feeding.
Triggering Crappie
Description: Crappies are a great species to target through the ice. At
times they can be challenging to find, but worth the effort once you
locate a school of slabs. Often eager to investigate lures, crappie can be
wary to hit baits and, even then, takes can be extremely subtle. Here are
some hints on how-to trigger crappie into biting this ice season.
An
Introduction to Springtime Crappies
We all as anglers have our special rites of spring. For some it involves
floating roe down a tributary stream for early season steelies. Others
enjoy the opportunity to lock horns with the ice out water wolves that
slowly cruise the shallows. My early season angling is occupied by one
specie and one specie only - and that is Mr. Crappie.
Scoring BIG on
Springtime Slabs -
As spring slowly makes its appearance, thoughts of
opening day crappie waken me from my hibernation and begin to make my
pulse quicken.
Panfish on
Floats: Spring, Summer and Fall
We all grew up with ‘em. Ah yes,
those glistening oversized red and white bobbers. They were a better match
for Orca than nearby sunfish, buoyant as a “no-wake” marker and nearly as
large. Never once did a tugging fish submerge it.
Pounding
the Panfish of Winter
Playing tug-of-war with panfish during the
cold of winter can be a rewarding and exciting endeavor for anglers across
Canada. Nothing beats the pull of the line or the taste in the pan when
dealing with these scrappy adversaries. Whether it be crappie, perch or
jumbo 'gills, finding and knowing how to catch them is the key for a
season of constant action.
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