live bait

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Fishing with crappie minnows is the most accepted way of fishing for both black crappie and white crappie throughout the united states. You can take your children out for a fishing outing with just a simple fishing rig such a inexpensive cane pole with small bobber split shot sinker and a hook to catch crappie. Or you can become a skilled crappie angler and target large slab crappie. In both of these examples the use of live bait such as crappie minnows is an important part of crappie fishing. In our article today we will discuss crappie minnow rigging methods.

Crappie minnows as a live bait presentation can be fished in many ways such as under a bobber at a fixed depth, tight line with no weight, just a hook and a minnow, trolled tipped on a crappie jig, casted and retrieved tipped with crappie minnows on spinner baits to name just a few. There are so many ways to catch crappie I could not mention them all. You would think these great tasting table fair would get fished out but that is not true, because these fish populate and grow very quickly. My point is that crappies plain and simple love crappie minnows and it will bite on just about any live bait presentation you put in front of them if you use the right presentation at the right time.

There are some crappie fishing basics you need to understand even for the simplest of live bait fishing used to catch crappie.

#1 Hook selection for crappie fishing.
You want to select a light gauge wire hook with a long shank such as a gold Aberdeen hook. The hook size will depend on the size of the crappie minnows you are using for live bait. For small to medium crappie minnows the hook sizes range would be from a number 4 to a number 1 hook. If you are more experienced and you are going after the elusive slab crappie you will need to use large crappie minnows so your hook selection will increase in size to between a number 1/0 to 2/0 hook.

#2 How to hook crappie minnows.
Now that you have selected your hook size it is time to rig your crappie minnow. You are probably think this is so trivial but rigging a minnow correctly can make the difference between catching crappie or going home empty handed. You want to hook your crappie minnow live bait presentation so it looks as natural to the fishes environment as possible. The most common and excellent way to hook your crappie minnow is by pushing the hook up through the lower lip through the upper lip so the barb of the hook is pointing at you when you are finished. This method works great for fishing under a bobber or while you are drifting or trolling.

I want to thank you for reading my article about live bait presentation. Have a great day and the the best of luck to you on your next fishing trip

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crappie fishing tackle

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When you you go bait fishing for crappie with live bait having a stocked tackle back full of needed crappie live bait fishing tackle is very important to make up your crappie live bait fishing rigs.If you plan on only fishing crappie minnows than your tackle box may be quite small. But if plan on tipping artificial crappie jigs and spinners then you’re your tackle box and size will be much bigger.

To start with if you plan on fishing for crappie with a live bait such as small fathead crappie minnows. To fish with crappie minnows you will need a nice assortment of crappie Aberdeen gold hooks ranging in size from number 4  through number 1. Have at least 10 of each on hand. If you plan on fishing larger crappie minnows such as shiners then you will need 1/0 to 2/0 Aberdeen gold hooks. Again keep a minimum of 10 each on hand.

You will need a variety of crappie fishing bobbers that are designed to fish at a certain depth. You will need small fixed depth bobbers, I use a Styrofoam bobber that slides on your line and then you put a small wooden stick at the top of the bobber to keep the line from sliding through. You can move the bobber up and down the line you need to remove the stick first, then replace it once you are at your desired depth.

It is very important if you are going to go bait fishing for suspended crappie to have an assortment of different slip boobers. Slip bobbers come in a assortment of different sizes and shapes. One of my favorite types for suspended crappie is a pencil shaped slip bobber. Make sure you size your slip bobber to the size of the live bait you plan on fishing with, and the sinker size you intend to use. If you are fishing deep water you will need more weight to get you bait down to the desired depth quickly. As a result you will need a larger slip bobber. You want your slip bobber to just barely stay afloat with your live bait and sinker attached so you you can notice the very slightest of crappie hits. You also do not want the crappies to feel any line resistance when they take your live bait presentation.

If you plan on fishing for crappies with any crappie jigs that you plan on tipping with live bait then you will need at least a selection different plain jigs in various sizes, from 1/64 ounce to 1/16 ounce. Have at least a quantity of 5 each of the different sizes. You will be able to cast the smaller jigs if you add a bobber.

You also will need to keep a spool of 4 to 8 pound test line in your tackle box for situations were you are fishing with ultra light crappie fishing tackle. You should also have a spool of 15lb test line in case you find an area to fish heavy brush or weed cover. It better to bend your Aberdeen hooks then break your line in these situations.  A good quick fishing knot to use when you are crappie fishing is the Palomar knot. And this knot works well for any test line you will use.

Another very useful piece of crappie fishing tackle that works great for brushy or thick weed areas is the safety pin spinner and you should have a t least an assortment of 5 each in your tackle box. They are easy to use and assemble directly your existing crappie jigs. They not only ad some flash to your crappie live bait presentation but they also make your crappie fishing rig weedless.  The safety pin spinner bait is also a good way to get the crappies attention on a slow fishing day. Remove any plastic from your jig and slide on a fathead crappie minnow and let the spinner bait do its work.

I have had a great time writing this article we hope you enjoyed our information about crappie minnows. Have a great day!

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ARTICLE 112 Understanding the crappies feeding habits What Do Crappies Eat?

One of the most important key ingredients to developing a consistent crappie fishing pattern to find and catch crappie begins and ends with the golden question: What are the crappies eating? Determining what the crappie forage is and learning the habits of the crappies food chain means one thing catch crappie!

 The the crappie is a very sought after species of fish which goes by many different names through out the country such as calico bass, speckled bass, speckled perch, white perch, pole crappie, strawberry bass, and paper mouth. The strawberry bass has exceptional night vision and their eyes are the biggest of any other game fish when compared to their body size. This fact gives the crappie a distinct advantage over it’s crappie food such as zooplankton ,small shad,perch fry,shiners,crappie minnows,fathead minnows anywhere there is low light conditions.This is the main reason that strawberry bass turn on at dawn, and sunset and feed aggressively at night. If you have ever thought of going night fishing for crappie you would make a good choice because the   speckled bass is very active at night.

 The white perch is like many other preditors in the sense that they develop a close relationship with their prey. Once the conection is established where you find one you will find the other. Foe example if you notice that there is a new hatch of crappie minnows swimming near some weed growth you can bet there are some strawberry bass  close by feeding on them. You can use this connection to your advantage when you are selecting your crappie fishing baits. Determine what the forage is the strawberry bass crappie are feeding on at a certain location then select either your crappie artificial baits or crappie live baits to match as closely as possible. The more detail you include here the better your crappie catch will be. For example if the crappie are feeding on crappie minnows than an excellent crappie bait would be a crappie jig tipped with live crappie minnows or a artificial crappie jig and soft plastic that resembles a crappie minnow.

 The connection between the prey and the speckled bass normally begins when three conditions occur.  The number on condition that triggers the start of the connection is when there is a large population of a certain crappie forage food such as in our example crappie minnows. The number two condition  is the prey are vulnerable such as when they are moving in migration or spawning. or example at night where the crappie have a distinct advantage. The number three connection is when a certain forage exsists in locations that the pole crappie are spawning.

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Catching crappie in hill land reservoirs

Hill land reservoirs much like flatland reservoirs hold large populations of crappie any trophy crappie will be there for the taking. Crappies have some amazing names that local fisherman have given them over the years such as calico bass, speckled bass, speckled perch, white perch, pole crappie, strawberry bass, and paper mouth.

 Hill land reservoirs have many fingers and branches that originate from the main basin of the original river channel. These reservoirs are much deeper that flatland reservoirs but they are not as wide because these reservoirs are constricted by the adjoining hills. The main creek or river channel will not be located close to shore. Use your depth finder , a good topographical map to find the orginal channel, then record the gps coordinates for future use. The creek arms are full of sunken timber are paper mouth magnets.The water color in these waters can range from clear to a greenish tinge to even stained. The color can vary on the season of the year. Because rainfalls in the spring will turn the water color murky.

Catching crappie in these lakes can be easier if you know where to go. The  pole crappie in these reservoirs will migrate to new locations with the change of seasons. Crappie food will include small gizzard shad (in some reservoirs), small threadfin shad (in some reservoirs),crappie minnows,shiners, and insects. Crappie jigs with plastic grubs, or plastic tubes and tipped with wax worms will work fine for crappie bait when you fish near submerged timber areas in the creak arms. You can also catch crappie in the original creek channel using crappie live baits such as small gizzard shad, threadfin shad, crappie minnows, shiners, or small crayfish. You will want to use multiple crappie rods rigged with various crappie baits fished at different depths. Once you start to catch crappie anchor off and reset all your crappie poles to the depth and the bait you caught your first strawberry bass. You can also use ultra light crappie crank baits trolled or casted casted along the edge of structure such as sunken timber or drop offs.

Durring the spring and summer large crappies will follow shad schools and feed almost entirely of fresh shad as their diet. If you you can find the shad schools you can have great success catching crappie. Some of the most popular crappie jigs you use are Gum Drop Tubes,Micro Jelly Jig,Bailey’s Crappie Magnet,Micromini Jig, and Mizmo Mini Tube.

I have had a great time writing this article we hope you enjoyed our information about Shiners. Have a great day!

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Article number 111 Natural lake Fall Crappie Movements

As the water starts to cool in natural lakes much of the weed growth on the flats dies off. Some deep lying weeds will remain along the deep edge of weed growth along drop offs. After the weed growth dies off crappies holding in shallow flats will join crappie along drop off edges, so this is one of the locations you will want to target your crappie fishing efforts. Crappies holding in open water will also head for drop off edges. The the crappie is a very sought after species of fish which goes by many different names through out the country such as calico bass,speckled bass,speckled perch,white perch,pole crappie,strawberry bass, and paper mouth. Once the papermouth have moved to drop off ledges normally they will continue to hold there or move to close by deeper rock cover if it is available. You can catch crappie by using crappie jigs tipped with live crappie baits such as crappie minnows,flathead minnows,shiners,and shad if they are there. Fish your crappie baits just vertical or horizontal to identified drop off edge locations or deep rock cover approximately 5 to 10 feet off bottom, speckled bass will typically hold at these depths during the late fall going into winter. In natural lakes you will find drop off edges in a variety of different crappie fishing locations. Look for edges there is remaining weed growth such as at locations inside bends in the lake. You will also find excellent drop off edges where there is combination of remaining weed growth and rock cover. Your prime crappie fishing locations to concentrate on in the fall season will be where there is remaining weed growth, and rock cover combined together and adjacent to a drop off into deeper water. You will normally find these locations along bends in the lake contour. Fall strawberry bass will be normally be feeding on plankton or crappie minnows or shad that are feeding on the plankton. A good fall crappie bait would be artifical crappie baits that resemble crappie minnows or shad or Live crappie baits such as crappie minnows,small shad,shiners, and fathead minnows. You can also use small crayfish when you are fishing off the bottom in rock cover. As the remaining weed beds die off pole crappie will move to rock piles, humps, sloop points, that drop into the lake basin, and transitional points that go from a hard pan bottom to a soft mucky bottom. Concentrate your crappie fishing efforts after the weed die off to the areas just mentioned.

Well that concludes my article about Crappie Fishing Jigs. Have a great day!

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 In low – land reservoirs you can go crappie fishing much like in natural lakes. Crappie will be called such names by the locals such as calico bass, speckled perch, speckled bass, white perch, pole crappie, strawberry bass, and papermouth. Low land reservoirs will hold good populations of calico bass. You will be able to catch crappie with traditional crappie baits in these reservoirs.

 Low land reservoirs are th shallowest of the impoundment reservoirs. Many times these reservoirs are no more then 15 foot in depth. The deepest part of low land reservoirs will be the old river channel close to the dam area. Low land reservoirs will have vast flats with timber and thick vegetation ideal habit for crappieThere is little current in these reservoirs so your crappie fishing patterns will be similar to those you use in a natural lake. For example in a natural lake that is fairly clear water with an abundance of weed vegetation you would concentrate crappie fishing along the edges using various crappie baits like crappie jigs and plastic grubs tipped with wax worms or livebaits such as crappie minnows, flathead minnows, shiners or small crayfish. In low land reservoirs that are clear with abundant vegetation you would follow the same pattern.

 You will locate paper mouth by fishing the edges of weed beds and submerged brush (just like my example above). You will also find crappie in the old creek channel or river bed. You will also be ale to catch crappie in large flats where there are roaming calico bass by drifting. Many times you will also find  speckled perch in the wide inlet areas of the reservoir.

 Low land reservoirs will also have many shallow bays and low  islands that are crappie magnets that are great locations for catching crappie. You can drift these areas with your crappie rods set at deferent depths with a combination of crappie rods set up with a crappie jig and a plastic grub tipped with wax worms and also crappie live bait such as crappie minnows or shiners.

You can also go crappie fishing by drifting or trolling points that have a hard bottom. These areas will normally hold roaming papermouth. You can sometimes catch crappie using submerged crappie crank baits and this is an excellent crappie fishing technique to find what depth the papermouth are located.

 Just a note of reference, the old main river or channel will seldom be close to the shore line. This area  is always a hotspot for white perch. A good way to locate the old channel is using a topographical map in combination with a GPS and good fishing finder.

 If you target submerged structure along the edges of the old channel you can catch crappie.  You can use a re variety of different crappie baits that will allow you to fish very close to the old river channels edge and drop your bait into the drop off. This is an excellent technique to catch crappie that are suspended there

I have had a great time writing this article we hope you enjoyed our information about Papermouth. We wish you the best of luck on your next fishing trip!

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 The crappie thrives in reservoir environment and they are easy game fish  to catch in reservoirs if you understand where too look. The crappie is one of the most sought after game fish in America and they have been named odd names like calico bass,speckled perch,speckled bass,white perch,pole crappie,strawberry bass, and paper mouth across the country. In my article today I want to talk about classifying reservoirs for crappie fishing.

 There are typically six categories that a reservoir can be classified to too. There are canyon, plateau, highland, hill land, flat land, and lowland (sometimes called wetlands). All of these types of hold populations of white perch and if you understand where to look you can rig up your crappie rods with good crappie bait and catch crappie. Both man made and natural geological specifics will be combined together to determine classification of each reservoir. Thes classifiecations are to be used as reference only and they make good starting points when you plan a crappie fishing trip but every reservoir has it’s own unique classification components that may crossover to other reservoir classifications in some areas.

 Typical reservoir features are the head water or inlet area, the upstream area, the mid lake area, the downstream area the river arm area, and the dam area.  You can catch crappie in all areas of a reservoir depending on the season. Typically you can use crappie baits like crappie jigs tipped with live bait such as crappie minnows,small threadfin shad,small gizzard shad,flat head minnows,shiners,and small crayfish. You can also fish with crappie jigs with plastic grubs and tipped with wax worms.

 During the cold water period speckled bass will be in deep water so they can be located in the downstream area close the the dam. Durring the spring period the calico bass will be located in the shallows which typically will be in the upstream areas or coves and feeder creeks. These areas are the where the speckled perch will spawn also.

 The middle of the reservoir is a transitional area for the calico bass during the changing of seasons where they migrate to different areas of the reservoir. Typically there will be some papermouth crappie holding here during all but the during the cold water period. A good way to catch crappie in the midlake area is by drifting. If you are located in a state that allows multiple crappie rods, set they up at different depths and start drifting or back trolling until you start to catch crappie. Then anchor off and change all your crappie rods to the depth that you started catching crappie.

We hope the information in this article about Ppapermouth. We wish you the best of luck on your next fishing trip!

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top live baits

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Most people think that the crappie jig catches the most and the biggest crappies, but contrary to popular belief it is live bait that has caught the most and also that largest trophy slab crappie over the years. According to studies and statistics that have been kept and the studies that have been done since the early 1970’s crappie live bait has come out the winner for catching the most and biggest crappie. It is key to know crappies are some amazing and very adaptable fish species. These fish have so many aliases such as calico bass,speckled bass,speckled perch,white perch,pole crappie,stawberry bass, and papermouth. The best live baits that have caught the most and biggest crappie are such crappie baits as crappie, minnows, crappie shiners, waxworms, small gizzard shad, small threadfin shad, and earthworms. These crappie live baits were used in combination with slip float fishing rigs, crappie jigs, worm harnesses, crappie spinner baits and crappie ice jigs. Crappie spinner baits were tipped with crappie minnows, shiners, and night crawlers. Crappie jigs were tipped with crappie minnows, shiners and nightcrawlers to catch crappie. Worm harnesses were used using small earth worms or pieces of night crawlers. Top live baits that have produced award winning crappie catches are large crappie minnows, shiners, waxworms, fathead minnows , small gizzard shad, small threadfin shad, leaches, earthworms, creek chubs, and herring. These live baits were used with jig head and spinner bait combinations.

The best artificial crappie baits used to catch crappies were in the size range of 1/16oz to 1/2oz. The crappie artificial bait types varied greatly. Crappie jigs in the size range of 1/16oz to 3/8oz tipped with a plastic grub or other soft plastics in combination with a crappie jig head of a variety of colors caught a good number of award crappies too. If the jigs were tipped with wax worms the number crappies caught increased even more. Plain crappie jig heads of a number of colors tipped with crappie minnows or shiners were a producer when bait fishing for crappie also.

Over the years there are a few crappie fishing jig head and soft plastic combos that have consistently caught large numbers of crappies. A jig head painted different colors in the size range of 1/16 oz to 1/8 oz tipped with a Mister Twister curly tail is the top producer of crappie catches of all times. Mepps crappie spinner baits and small floating rapalas have also been top producers of large award winning crappies. When you combine these artificial crappie lures with crappie live bait they have produced even more consistently.

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crappie fishing

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Crappies have numerous different names that include calico bass, speckled perch, speckled bass, white perch, pole crappie, strawberry bass, and papermouth. They are also plentiful at different speckled bass locations throughout the lower 48 states and parts of southern Canada . A simple equation that will work every time to catch crappie is speckled bass + Location + presentation = success!

We are going to break this equation down into what this equation means in our article today.  One of te most important things you must learn to be consistently successful at catching crappie is understanding the classifying of  pole crappie waters. One very important fact you need to understand when classifying papermouth waters is that Similar  papermouth waters in one location of the country will behave the same a similar waters in another part of the country. Foe example, speckled bass in cloudy pounds and natural lakes in the north will react the same as cloudy pounds and natural lakes in the south. The key to this comparison is understanding the cloudy pounds and natural lakes in the north waters classification process.

 If you learn to to classify strawberry bass waters correctly you can converse with crappie fisherman all over the country. You can use crappie fishing skills no matter what location you intend to go crappie fishing.

 You can eliminate a great deal of fishing waters by understanding the needs of the  crappie and what type of habitat they need to survive. For example the crappie is primary a warm water fish so you could elimate any oligotropic lakes which are very cold and normally only hold populations of cold water fish species such as trout and walleye.  We are going to concentrate on the different lake categories and what type of crappie baits may work best to catch crappie in these locations in today’s article.

 Lakes can be classified in three enviremenal age groups such as oligotropic,mesotropic, and eutropic.  In geological terms oligothropic lakes are the youngest. Mesotropic lakes are considered to middle aged while eutrophic lakes are considered to be the oldest of lake. Lakes change constantly se even your local crappie lake is changing daily. The aging process for lakes is called eutrophication. During the eutrophication process structural makeup, food chains, vegetation , and the dominate fish speices will be changing. Many times these changes are very subtle and may take years to change significantly.

 You will be able to catch crappie in these lakes using a variety of different crappie fishing baits. You can use crappie live baits such as crappie minnows, shiners,fathead minnows, small crayfish and wax worms. You can use crappie fishing jigs with plastic grubs. You can use crappie jigs tipped with live baits such as crappie minnows, and wax worms or even small crayfish. You can make your crappie jigs into safety pin spinner baits and also have some crappie fishing success. There are just thousands of different crappie bait combinations you can use at any lake that holds good populations of strawberry bass.

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Article 108

Catching suspended crappie in confined open water

True open water involves vast expanses of water over 20ft feet in depth. “Confined open water” defines areas of open water adjacent or near to shallow structural elements. The crappie is a very popular game fish that young,old, and novice and experienced fisherman have given names such as calico bass, speckled bass, speckled perch, white perch, pole crappie, strawberry bass, and papermouth. The paper mouth is a suspending species of fish but not a true open water fish like the steelhead, stripper bass, or salmon. True open water fish are streamlined, and powerful and able to cover large distances in a short period of time. The calico bass is not built for speed or power and stay near structure where most of the crappie food is located.

In lake and reservoirs where there is submerged timber lines key suspending crappie depths will be 30 to 55 ft deep. Using a slip bobber rig with a crappie jig tipped with a plastic grub and wax worm will work here. Try using weedless hooks on your crappie jigs and make sure you have enough weight to get your crappie jig down 30ft quickly. The weight of your crappie jig and a large split shot should do the trick. You can also use crappie jigging spoons tipped with crappie minnows and shiners. In stable weather there also will be suspended crappie just above the timber tops of the trees located out on the edge of the timber line.

Environmental circumstances will determine the paper mouth position on a timbered point. When weather conditions are mild and stable suspended crappie will be located high in the tree tops or they will move to shallower trees, but rarely in water less then 15ft deep. Yo can sometimes run suspended crappie artificial baits such as crappie crank baits at a specified depth and you will catch some speckled bass. Cold fronts, and fridgid wate or a drop in water levels will push the pole crappie into deeper water and into dense cove in the heart of the trees. These fish will have a negative feeding mood and will be hard to catch.

Suspended crappies in timberline areas are fun to catch once you learn where they are located at and at what depth. Just keep in mind that you can use a variety of different crappie baits such as crappie live baits like crappie minnows, gizzard shad, threadfin shad, shiners, fathead minnows, and even small crayfish to catch crappie. Or switch it up and a use a combination of artificial crappie jigs tipped with crappie live bait. Just use your imagination. 75 percent of you fishing is going to be finding the  paper mouth location.

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