Crappie Help please

[huntfishlive]

This being my first year targeting these fish and I'm not having any luck:( . Tried 3 different lakes, numerous color and size jigs, plain hooks, Swedish pimple jig used all with spring bobber, and hooked minnows in the back (still alive) and in the lips. I try my best to find good drop offs into deep water, (I don't own a vex).
:help: Would like to tag along with someone that knows what he or she is doing, (to see if I'm even close with presentation). I have a shanty (a small one) heater and lantern.
If someone is willing to help me out, I would greatly appreciated it. I would buy minnows, and beverage of your choice.

Please feel free to PM me.
Thanks

Bob

[Connor4501]

Every lake is different when it comes to crappie locations...I have fished lakes where the crappies are caught right in the weedbeds right at dark and dawn, then have fished others where they were suspending between 1/4 down and 3/4 down in over 20 feet of water right at dark and afterwards...The key is to be observant. Watch where the people who come out just before dark set-up shop, set up without being right on top of them and strike up a conversation with them...A Vexilar is very important to have but not essential...Between dusk and 8:00 has been my best hours to hit the crappies over the last 2 years...Good luck in your endeavors and let us know if your fortunes change...

[Whit1]

When first exploring a lake for specks I like to get out on the ice at about 4PM and fish through about 7-8PM with a lot of moving both on the ice in vertically in the water column. Specks are notorious for suspending.

[Kid-in-the-Ranger]

(I don't own a vex).

Bob


You said it all right there

[zx10r2004]

fishing for crappie without a vex is like bow hunting without arrows.;)

[wally-eye]

Last time I caught a mess of specs I caught them right at dark 12 foot down over 38 fow............that was a lake around Mesick.

We used to fish a lake in Jackson that my dad lived on. Would go out at midnight and catch them 4 foot under the ice over 18 fow...........

They can be anywhere..............................also you can't catch them if they ain't there. Run and gun. Go out a few hours before dark and drill all your holes, from deep to shallow then start hole hopping........

[steelhead05]

if you were willing to travel to the Ionia area i would put you on so many specks that you will not wanna fish for them again...and i'm not lieing

[tommytubular]

if you were willing to travel to the Ionia area i would put you on so many specks that you will not wanna fish for them again...and i'm not lieing

That there offer is hard to refuse....

I don't own a vex either....and have pulled many a crappie on the ice.

not saying I wont own one.....but the way you guys talk about them.....it's a wonder we even caught a fish without one.

I believe the key is to find a little structure.....heck maybe even create you own structure.....there was a thread going here a little while ago and you could get some pointers on how to make it happen

[huntfishlive]

steelhead05 I'd like to take you up on that offer.
Sending you a PM

[huntfishlive]

These are the lures that I've been using. Posting them to see if I'm even using the right (good) ones.

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/529/medium/S5000037_edited.JPG

sorry for the fuzzy pic.

[Little Roober]

I nailed em a while back and I was hole hoppin in about 28 FOW w/out a vex using a swedish pimple tipped with a few spikes. Catch a few out of one hole, move to the next, catch a few more, etc. Just gotta find em. And I took those little colored blades off of it. I really don't think they do much. Just a plain silver one is great.

[QuickStrike]

These are the lures that I've been using. Posting them to see if I'm even using the right (good) ones.

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/529/medium/S5000037_edited.JPG

sorry for the fuzzy pic.

Don't worry too much about what style of lure to use. Any of these will work. Just put some meat on the barb and work up and down the water column. S . . . L . . . O . . . W . . . L . . . Y . . .

Most important is to make sure you are on a lake that supports good speck numbers. Can't catch 'em if the fish are few and far between.

[steelhead05]

crappie arent to picky usually...if they wanna eat their gonna eat..were i go and get i use a glow tear drop with a couple of spikes..when the spike bite slows down put a minnow on..one of the two is gonna produce..i've been out 4 times this year nite fishing and limited out everytime within a couple of hours usin this...i fish in 20fow and they have been from the bottom to 10ft up solid on my screen the entire time..it usually dont make it to the bottom but if it does get to the bottom i have been catching nice gills(at nite)

[redneckman]

I fish for crappie with a #25 hali jig. Hook a minnow in the middle of the back. Has worked well for me and my friends. I like the natural colors best.

Redneckman

[mrblugil]

don't need all that fancy stuff for specks,hook a good minnow(I prefer mud minnows) thru the back an don't run hook thru the bladder,I only fish 3-4 ' below the ice,may not know everything about specks but I did win 1st place at Gladwin Ice Carnival for about 3 years when I lived there,biggest was 15" I didn't get into the slabs,still nice fish:) :fish:

[krt]

biggest was 15" I didn't get into the slabs,still nice fish:) :fish:

Are you kidding? A 15" crappie is a slab in my book!

[jlcrss]

Are you kidding? A 15" crappie is a slab in my book!

15" crappie is almost a record isnt it?

[MAttt]

I really hate ice fishing deep water and avoid looking for them there.
I like to catch them on the 10 ft or less flats with weeds where I catch gills.
Usually if a lake has a decent population of both I can catch bluegills until dark and just change over to minnows come last light.
Fortunately, most of my good gill spots are my good crappie spots.
One pole I usually have rigged with a small splitshot with a #8 trueturn hook.

Mattt

[StumpJumper]

My friend caught a 15.5" crappie last week :eek:

[Whit1]

15" crappie is almost a record isnt it?

Nope and not close. Below is an entry from MI's Master Angler Awards. The State Record speck is over 4lbs., but no length is given so I picked this one out for comparison. Going through the Master Angler pages on the DNR's website makes for some interesting reading.

Catch and Keep BLACK CRAPPIE Arenac Forest Lake5/26/2000 9:00:00 PM20003.5919.50RICHARD G. HARTWICKALGERBaitcastingMinnow

[jlcrss]

Nope and not close. Below is an entry from MI's Master Angler Awards. The State Record speck is over 4lbs., but no length is given so I picked this one out for comparison. Going through the Master Angler pages on the DNR's website makes for some interesting reading.

Catch and Keep BLACK CRAPPIE Arenac Forest Lake5/26/2000 9:00:00 PM20003.5919.50RICHARD G. HARTWICKALGERBaitcastingMinnow

WOW!:yikes:

[jlcrss]

I had more luck fishing the lake that I fish in the shallows/flats for specks. I had the lantern on the ice next to my hole and they seem to come in just after dark on minnows and a jig. I am thinking of trying a double hook crappie/perch rig with the weight on the bottom with two leaders coming off of it.

[Whit1]

Big Whitefish Lake north of GR used to produce specks in the 14-16" range, but that was many years ago and I don't know what it's like now.

[tjfishinboy]

i fish from dark to light with small glow teardrops and about a 3 inch minnnow through the lips. dont jig it just barely twich it every now and then. usually about 3 feet up from the 18 foot bottom