Posts Tagged ‘crappie Minnows’
Old School Crappie Fishing Family Secrets
If you plan on going live bait fishing on a regular basis for crappie it is a good idea to stock your tackle box with only the tackle you will need to make 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.
Or if you are fishing suspended crappies at deeper depths you will need an assortment of slip bobbers. 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.
Well that concludes my article about crappie jigs. Have a great day!
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Old School Crappie Fishing Family Secrets
Old School Crappie Fishing Family Secrets
Another excellent crappie fishing rig that works well if you are fishing waters that are muddy or if you are fishing for crappies at night is a crappie spinner bait. The spinner fishing rig vibrates, flashes and shows motion that will attract curious crappie. One of the keen senses of crappie is their hearing. They are very sensitive to underwater vibrations. When water is muddy or stained and visibility is low crappie are likely to strike a flashing vibrating spinner fishing rig.
Another significant reason to use crappie spinner fishing rigs is the fact that you can cover allot more fishing waters. This may not seem important but if the crappies are hard to find you can save allot of valuable time. Crappie minnows and crappie jigs are excellent for known crappie fishing areas where slow and stationary crappie bait presentations work well, but if you are fishing new waters and you are not sure where the crappies are located fishing crappie spinner fishing rigs is a excellent way to find prime crappie fishing waters.
Crappie spinner fishing rigs are also great to use because you can cast them much farther and away from the water area you are located. There are a number of crappie fishing rigs that work well to catch crappie. One very simple spinner that can be clipped on to any crappie jig is called a safety pin spinner. A safety pin spinner has a v shaped wire frame with a small spinner blade. A line tie loop is located at the point of the v. The small spinner is located on one of the arms. On the other arm there is a clip that used to mount a crappie jig. Safety pin spinner fishing rigs can cover allot of water when you are fishing ultralight fishing tackle. The do catch crappie and other gamefish on a consistent regular basis. They also are very simple to fish with and are virtually weedless.
Well that concludes my article about top live baits. Have a great day and the the best of luck to you on your next fishing trip
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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 have had a great time writing this article we hope you enjoyed our information about live bait presentation. Have a great day!
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Old School Catfish Fishing Family Secrets
For anyone leaning about fishing, baiting a hook is a key part of that knowledge. For experienced fisherman there is a constant trial and error process that occurs, and what works is documented for future fishing trips. Seeking new bait fishing methods and techniques to improve your fish catch is very important. The real challenge to fishing with bait is keeping your baits looking natural to the area you are fishing. the closer you can match your bait fishing presentation to the natural food source of the fish you are targeting the more successful you will be.
We all love fishing with artificial lures, we check out all the latest artificial bait imitations, we purchase them just to say we have the latest and greatest in new artificial bait fishing lures or plastics. But when fishing gets really rough and artificials just are not getting it, Guess what ? we turn to the real thing live baits! Bait fishing naturals such as live baits which include crayfish, scuds,freshwater shrimp,saltwater shrimp,mud shrimp and ghost shrimp, also salamanders such as waterdogs,spring lizards, mudpuppies and leopard frogs. We also turn to fishing with live insects such as aquatic insects which include may flies, stone flies, caddis flies,crane flies, dragon flies. and dobson flies ( hellgrammites). And we cant forget terrestrial adult insect types such as crickets and grasshoppers as well as larva forms of catalpa worms, waxworms, goldenrod grubs, mousees, spikes, euro larvae, and meal worms. To be honest , it is estimated that 75 percent of all fish caught with a hook and a line are caught with live bait. We hope that our bait fishing information will help you when the fishing gets tough and you need to turn to natural baits.
There just hundreds of bait fish that work for freshwater fishing baits, and saltwater baits. You can use bait fish such as bluegills or sunfish, golden shiners, spottail shiner minnows, redbelly dace or rainbow minnows, fathead or tuffy or mudminnow, horney head or redtail chub, and freshwater shrimp baits. Some of the many saltwater bait fishing selections include herring, mackerel,smelt,mullet,mussels,saltwater shrimp, squid and tuna. All these bait fish both freshwater and saltwater are excellent selections for you bait fishing rigs.
Also we can’t for get the old reliable nightcrawlers as live bait. Nightcrawlers and other worm type such as the common nightcrawlers, european nightcrawlers, african Nightcrawlers, grunt worms, garden worms, red Wigglers,and leaf worms
Also There are just thousands of freshwater catfisherman so we thought we would mention a little bit about catfish baits. The catfish baits we have identified work for live bait presentations or dead cutbaits and prepared stink baits. These baits include nightcrawlers, suckers, chubs, shiners, goldfish, shad, skipjack herring, bluegills, catalpa worms, grasshoppers, leopard frogs, bullfrogs as cutbait, waterdogs, adult salamanders, crayfish, saltwater shrimp, clams, and blood baits. As you can see Catfish will will eat just about any natural bait presentation you put on your bait fishing rigs.
Most of the baits listed in our article can be caught or made by your self but sometimes these natural baits will be very hard to catch so finding reliable bait shop for for your bait fishing needs will be important. Also some of the baits listed are not normally sold in bait shops to learning to catch them yourself to use on your bait fishing rigs will be important.
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It has been a long known fact that if you can master and match the crappie’s natural food source of bait fish that they eat on a daily basis you can catch a ton of crappie. And this sounds like a simple process but truth be told it takes some time and patience and some research to be proficient at it. It’s no secret that many of the great pro crappie anglers use live minnow rigs tipped with the bait fish choice for what ever location they are fishing. We are going to discuss some crappie catching tips on how to select the correct type and size of crappie fishing bait fish so the next time you are out on the water you can be more successful.
1. Picking the right size bait fish type such as crappie minnows for black crappie and white crappie is critical to be successful.
As a rule of thumb use a smaller bait fish such as tuffies 1 inch in length to catch black crappie and larger bait fish such as 3 to 4 inch shiners to catch white crappie. The type of bait fish does matter if you want bigger fish. It is best to catch your own crappie minnows at the location you are fishing these fish have not been commercially raised and are already a part of whichever species of crappie you are fishing for so therefore the crappies see these bait fish as a natural food source when you use them as on of your live bait presentations. Also a tip that may be of use to you. use smaller crappie minnows when the water is colder say 55 degrees or below. When the water is cold crappie white or black tend to inhale the fish apposed to attacking it.
2.0 Keeping your bait fish alive is very important.
Make sure your live bait container for your bait fish has a good aerator. also if you are using larger bait fish for crappie fishing make sure you keep the container cool. One method I always use is to drop ice cubes into the water on a regular basis. Also make sure you are using the same water in your bait tank as the location you are fishing. No matter what you do you will have some fish kill, but you want to limit that as much as possible so your bait fish last throughout the day. Also don’t mix your crappie bait fish in with your live well this is a big mistake keep them separate.
Well that concludes my article about crappie fishing. Have a great day!
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It is very important to understand a few simple pointers when you go to purchase your crappie minnow bait fish at your local bait shop or at any bait shop. Many times we do not have time to catch our own bait fish for our fishing trips so we go to our local bait shop to purchase some. In most case this works out just fine. Unfortunately there are so many bait fish that make great live fishing bait presentations that you cannot purchase in at at bait dealer, but for the basic bait fish types or worms bait shops work fine.
One thing you may not know, bait shops do not adhere to any set standards on naming the bait fish they sell many times they list their baits as they are called by the local fisherman in the area. For example they may be selling rosy red minnows but they advertise them as tuffies which in truth they are not. Rosy red minnows are actually a type of commercially raised fathead minnow used for crappie fishing that is sold throughout the United States and Canada to bait dealers. My point here is you need to be able to identify what type of bait fish you are wishing to purchase. It does make a difference depending on what type of gamefish you are targeting.
You also need to inspect the bait fish the bait shops have in their bait tanks to make sure they are healthy. Here’s a few tips to help with your inspection:
Number – 1
Look in the dealers bait tank to see if the bait fish are swimming in tight formation at the bottom of the tank. This is a clear sign of healthy bait fish.
Number – 2
Have the dealer pull a few bait fish up with a bait net so you can inspect them. If any of these fish have a red noses or missing scales, or have white fungus on their bodies, DO NOT BUY these fish are are sick and they probably have infected or weakened the rest of the bait fish in the tank. These fish will be dead before you can ever use them on the water. Go to another bait shop if you can.
Number – 3
If any of the fish pulled out to inspect are discolored or darker then the others do not buy these fish are probably sick also and have probably infected the other fish in the tank. Don’t get the the dis colored fish confused with breeding males. Breeding males will be darker then the other fish but will have tubercles on the top of their head. These fish are healthy but really not a preferred bait either over the lighter females.
Number – 4
As mentioned in tip number 3 breeding males do not work as well as live bait as do the lighter females so if you could have the bait dealer separate the dark males from the lighter females and purchase only the lighter females you will have better fishing luck.
You also need to keep your bait fish lively while you are transporting them and also while you are fishing heres a few tips to keep them lively:
Number – 1
We suggest you purchase at minimum a battery powered aerator they work on the same principle as aerators that you see on in door tropical fish tanks. You can purchase them at any department store that sells fishing supplies or you can purchase them on line at bass pro shop or cabala’s. As soon as you transfer the bait fish you have purchased install the aerator and turn it on. you will be surprised how many fish you can loose if you don’t do this little simple step.
Number – 2
Normally bait shops keep their water temperature in their tanks much cooler then the outside temperature. To make sure the water temperature in your bait bucket does not go up rapidly, drop a few ice cubes in every few minutes. this will keep the water cool for the duration of your fishing trip and save you some money.
Well that concludes my article about crappie minnows. We wish you the best of luck on your next fishing trip!
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Old School Crappie Fishing Family Secrets
We will be focusing on live baits that are seldom used as crappie baits in our article today. Any combination of these crappie live baits can fill your crappie basket so read on for details. Most crappie fisherman never use these crappie baits because they probably never need too 80% of the time if they are fishing with crappie minnows such as fathead minnows. So why bother with these other types of live bait selections for crappies? Well there are times that crappies turn off of the standard crappie live bait selections and you need to try something different or go home empty handed. We will talk about two of the most common alternate crappie baits that work quite well.
One of the best crappie baits to use in farm ponds are bluegill fry when there is a bluegill and sunfish hatch underway. I would recommend you check with your local department of natural resources because in some states using these fry as bait may be illegal. The best size fry to use to catch crappie are 1″ to 2″ in length. You can use a minnow Seine, cast net or minnow trap to catch these fry. You won’t find them at any bait shop. Actual bluegill and sunfish fry make up a big percentage of the crappies natural food source. Make sure when you fish bluegill fry you stay just a little bit farther away from the cover then if you were fishing standard crappie minnows. Bluegill or sunfish fry will tangle very easily in any standing cover. It will take a bit of practice because the bluegill fry may feel exactly like a actual crappie bite to you. So you will need to be able to figure out the difference quickly. But to be honest most of the crappie bits you will get using this live bait will be hard strikes.
Shad are another excellent choice if you want to catch a mess of crappies. The shad actually makes up from 50 to 90 percent of the crappies food source in some locations where there are large populations of shad. Amazingly shad is not often picked as a crappie fishing live bait selection. Probably the main reason is they are hard to keep alive in your bait bucket. But if you can catch them fresh and use them right away you will be surprise how many crappie will hit this bait and hit it hard! The two types of shad that are populated throughout the united states are the threadfin shad and the gizzard shad. You can use either of these shad in the 2 to 3 inch size range to catch crappie. The smaller size fish make excellent a excellent live bait selection. The best way to catch fresh shad is to use cast net. Go to areas such as bridges, power plants piers and rip rap where shad tend to school. The best way to keep shad alive is to use a bait container that floats in the water and has freshwater moving in and out of it. If you use a bait container on your boat it needs to be aerated. these fish like I said will die easily. You can hook shad through the lips or just below the dorsal fin. Shad work great where the water is very stained and traditional crappie minnows are not cutting it.
I want to thank you for reading my article about live bait selections. We wish you the best of luck on your next fishing trip!
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Old School Crappie Fishing Family Secrets
Old School Crappie Fishing Family Secrets
The Crappie’s Fishing Basics
Crappie are found all over the United States From the east cost all the way to California, from southern Canada, To Florida and just about any other place there is a lake river or stream. if you are a beginning fisherman, this species of fish is ideal to target because of the in expense of fishing equipment you will need and of course the abundance of this fish at so many local locations. If you have young children who are interested in trying the sport of fishing than taking them crappie fishing would be the best way to perk their interest.
The crappie’s numbers are abundant and the action is good. To start fishing for crappie is really inexpensive. Basically all you need is a cane pole 10ft plus in length, with a line hook and a bobber. Amazingly all these items can be purchased for under 25$. Of course if you get really interested in crappie fishing you will need to invest in some better equipment, but why bother until you get the fishing bug.
You will still need to learn some basic facts about this fish before you attempt to go fishing. I would suggest you do just little research on the crappie species so you have an idea of where they are typically located and to find out when the best time to catch them. This will save you time and also keep you from getting frustrated. You need to know what their favorite foods are so you know what crappie live baits to purchase.
You also need to know what they look like. For instance, if you are new to fishing for this species you need to know that the there are two types of crappie. The two species of crappie are the black (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) and the white (Pomoxis annularis). Both these fish are found only in North America, and they belong to the sunfish family (Centrarchidae).The sunfish family also includes such fish as the largemouth bass, bluegills, and other warm water game fish. No need to worry to make special preparations to catch either the black or the white, the same crappie fishing basics will work well on either of them. To identify either of these fish here’s a few tips As a rule of thumb, black crappie are darker as the name indicates, with a irregular pattern of spots on there bodies. The lighter colored white crappie will have a distinct vertical pattern of spots on their bodies. But the easiest way to distinguish between the two is to count the number the number of dorsal fin spines. Black’s have seven to 8 spines while White’s have five or six. The blacks really like colder water so they do better in the northern parts of the hemisphere as well as fast moving streams and rivers.The whites seem to like large lakes and slow moving rivers like in the south. To be honest through there Is no real separation because these fish can be found together in all the lower 48 states and into Mexico. And they do cross breed so there are a lot of cross breeds.
The crappie’s size will depend totally on it’s local environment, and there size will cycle over time, but on the average you can expect to catch fish from 1/2lb to 1lb each. In most local fishing locations you can catch fish into the 2lb range if you stick to good crappie fishing basics. A record white crappie was caught in Enid Lake Mississippi and weighed in at 5lb 2 onces. There is a tie for the record black crappie, a 4lb 8once black was caught at both Kerr Lake Virginia and Otoe Lake Nebraska.
The crappie’s food supply is made up mainly of crappie minnows , insects and small crustaceans. The young fish will feed primarily on the small crustaceans and insects while the larger adults diet consists mainly on small fish. There have been some biology studies that support the fact that black adult crappie tend to eat more insects in the spring and crappie minnows throughout other seasons of the year.
Just remember when your fishing for the crappies to have fun! If you stick to some crappie fishing basics there’s a good chance you will come away with a basic full of good eating fish, so GOOD LUCK!
Mark Fleagle is an Expert Author At Ezinearticles.com. and has over 30 years of fishing experience who has written 100’s of useful fishing articles. Would you like to max out your catch on your next fishing trip? Blow your fishing buddies out of the water and get your bragging rights today! Also don’t forget to get your free copy of “78 Fishing Discoveries Unleashed” http://www.oldfishinghole.com
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Old School Crappie Fishing Family Secrets
Crappie Live Bait Methods
How To Rig Crappie Minnows
You want the crappie to think your live bait presentation is a wounded minnow and a easy meal, so it is important that your crappie live bait set up is done correctly. Another Important element is how you hook your crappie minnow. The Minnow needs to be hooked so it swims freely while attached to the hook. Remember, you are trying to imitate a wounded minnow so a crappie will think it is an easy meal. I am going to show you how to make a crappie minnow rig that has proven successful for me. I also would like to introduce you to a little used crappie jigging technique that is rarely used these days.
Making A Three Way Swivel Dual Crappie Minnow Rig
You can purchase these rigs commercially but if you want to save a few bucks here’s a step by step procedure to make your own.
Step#1 You will need to have some 8-20lb fire line. For comparison, the dia. of the 20lb test is the same as 6lb mono-filament line.
Step#2 You will want your crappie minnow to swim as freely as possible so you will need to get some 3 ways swivels. The swivels will enable the minnow to swim in 360deg circles driving the crappie crazy!
Step#3 You will need some sinkers with enough weight to get your rig to the bottom. 1/4oz Egg or bass sinkers work nicely.
Step#4 Take some fire line off of your reel spool, or from the line container and cut 2 pieces 10” long, then tie a crappie hook to the end of each piece.
Step#5 Repeat Step 4, but cut 2 pieces 12” long.
Step#6 Open the bail on your fishing reel, make sure you have your fire line going through the eyelets, now pull enough line out so you can work freely while your assembling your crappie live bait rig. Pickup one of the 3 way swivels and tie it to your line that is coming from your fishing reel.
Step#7 Tie one of crappie hook leaders you made in step 4 to the open eye on the 3 way swivel that is 90 degrees clockwise. There should be one open eyelet when you get done, that is pointing strait downward.
Step#8 Tie one of the 12” pieces of fire line to the open eyelet of the first 3 way swivel. Then tie the other end to your second three way swivel. Make sure after you tie both ends that you have approximately 6” between the bottom eyelet of the first three way swivel and the top of the second 3 way swivel.
Step#9 Tie one of crappie hook leaders you made in step 4 to the open eye on the 3 way swivel that is 90 degrees clockwise. There should be one open eyelet when you get done, that is pointing strait downward.
Step#10 Tie one of the 12” pieces of fire line to the open eyelet of the second 3 way swivel. Then tie the other end to your 1/4oz bass sinker. Make sure after you tie both ends that you have approximately 6” between the bottom eyelet of the second three way swivel and the 1/4oz. bass sinker.
Step#11 Now to complete your crappie live bait rig, hook a crappie fishing minnow in front or the back of the dorsal fin on both hooks. By hooking the minnow this way it should make the minnow swim freely, as if he were wounded.
Here’s Your rarely used crappie jigging technique.
Look for a dead crappie minnow in your bucket or kill one and hook it to the left or right gill. Next , you need to imitate a wounded or dying minnow so start jigging the dead minnow up and down as you drop your line. This will cause the minnow to flutter as if it were a dying or wounded minnow.
Well folks that concludes this article I hope this will help you when you are using crappie live bait.
Mark Fleagle has been fishing for over 30 years. Check out his website to get some amazing fishing information and fishing articles loaded with fishing tips that really work! Also don’t forget to get your free copy of “78 Fishing Discoveries Unleashed” At: http://www.oldfishinghole.com Get Your Free Fishing Tips About crappie live bait Here!