You might not think of crappie as a year-round fish, but, if you know what you’re doing, you can catch crappie from spring through winter.
Is crappie good eating? They certainly are. Crappie has sweet, soft, tasty flesh which is great to eat. Properly prepared and cooked it is hard to beat the taste of crappie.
Keep reading to learn how to catch crappie, the best crappie fishing tips, and even how to cook your catch!
Crappie Basics
Crappie is a freshwater species of fish native to North America.
There are two main species of crappie: the black crappie and the white crappie.
White crappies tend to look like they’re made of vertical bars, and black crappie have some dark speckles on their spines.
Crappie tends to feed on vegetation, so you’ll find them more in areas with vegetation than clear water. They spawn in shallow water, so that’s often a good bet for finding crappie as well.
Crappies don’t get to be too big, with an average length of 19 to 20 centimeters for both white and black crappie and a weight of 4 to 8 ounces. But, that means that you can catch more of them while you’re out on the water!
If you hear other anglers talking about papermouths, sac-a-lait, slabs, specks, or speckled perch, they’re talking about crappie.
How to Catch Crappie
Time of day is key when it comes to understanding how to catch crappie. During the day, they will usually stay pretty deep underwater. Your best bet is to go out at dawn or dusk when they come much closer to the shore.
Crappie also like to stay pretty close to anything underwater, so if you see an underwater tree or a tangle of weeds, you might have some luck in that area.
When it comes to crappie fishing, you have a lot of options. They tend to be plentiful enough that if you go out with a rod and reel, plus some common bait, you’ll have success.
One of the great things about crappie fishing is there’s no one right way. You can usually catch crappies with a minnow with a bobber. Other common techniques include casting a small jig, a beetle-spin lure, or a small plastic lure.
As crappies mature, their diet usually is smaller fish. So if you have any lures that look like a small fish, crappies will likely find that particularly enticing.
No matter what season it is, you’ll want to remember that crappies have a very soft mouth. So, when you feel a bite on your line, resist the urge to set the hook too hard. Instead, reel in with a slow and steady motion and keep your line tight. Do those things and you should be in great shape.
Gear to Catch Crappie
When learning how to catch crappie a standard spinning rod and reel will get the job done. That said, a 9 to 10-foot rod or even a larger rod will do if that’s what you have available. If you’re going out with kids, a telescopic fishing rod will work fine for them because crappies are pretty small.
You have a lot of options for lines as well. A good six-pound monofilament line will work in most situations. But you can use a much lighter line if you’re fishing in clear water (like a 2-pound fluorocarbon) and a much heavier braid if you’re in standing timber. The heavier line will hold up better against the underwater structures that crappies tend to be around.
If you don’t have a split shot, that’s a good thing to invest in for crappie fishing. Ideally, attach it to your line between your hook and your bobber. There’s no exact science to it, but the amount will depend on the size of your bobber.
If you’ve put too much on, the bobber will sink. Not enough, and the bobber will sit high in the water. Experiment until you’ve got something that works.
Crappie Bait
The best tactics: tailor your bait to the conditions, depth, and time of year.
Remember presentation is important. Prey don’t present themselves vertically in the water column, so if your bait is hanging tail down it won’t look natural.
Here are four of the most common baits to use when targeting crappie:
Live Baits
One of the best live bait rigs for crappie is to use a hook (#6 works best), a bit of split shot, a live minnow, and a slip bobber. You can adjust this setup when you’re out in the water and can see how deep the crappie are swimming that day.
If you’re casting into a more vegetated area, like a brush pile, try to cast your rig right over the top. Crappies love that kind of environment, so, with the right rig, you’ll be reeling them in no time at all.
Jigs
Try using a Marabou Jig. These are possibly one of the oldest and well-known crappie jigs available. They consist of feathers that are dyed and tied to a weighted hook.
The thing that makes a marabou jig different from any other type of jigs is that it appears to move even when it is stationary in the water column. Any small current makes the feathers move and the jig appears to be alive. For this reason, marabou jigs work extremely well with a variety of freshwater species including crappie.
It’s a favorite of many crappie fishers. With a feather tail and a little furry body, they usually come in either 1/16 or 1/32 oz. sizes, and there’s no wrong way to fish it.
Grubs
Crappie love any kind of grub bait you throw at them. But as any seasoned angler will know some baits will work better for different days.
With grubs, there is no science to tell you which colors will work best at any time. But there are some general rules to help increase your success.
In clear water try using natural-colored grubs. Select the color based on what natural prey crappie might be feeding on.
In darker water, bright colors should be your go-to. Try yellow or electric pink. Anything that will reflect as much light as possible.
Spinners
There are lots of different kinds of spinners. The important thing is the way that you fish them. You’re trying to make a vibration in the water and reflect light to entice a bite. So it’s best to vary your retrieval speed and find what works best. For crappie often slower is better.
Slow and Steady
The crappie is a fish that will react better in a calm environment. They can be considered lazy predators. They ambush prey rather than chase. So when you’re retrieving your cast, remember to take a deep breath and slow down. Slow the fall of your lure and the action will come. Choosing a light head jig will help slow the fall of the lure and increase your chance of a bite.
Know Your Depth
Crappies are usually found in around three to six feet of water. If you’re fishing an area that has a topographical map available, try to find those areas and also any underwater vegetation. Those are where crappies love to be.
Spring Crappie Fishing Tips
Crappie fishing in the spring can be a boom-or-bust proposition. Crappie usually spawns in the spring, so that means that there should be a lot out there. The key, though, is to identify those spawn spots and get to them early. If you’re the third or fourth boat to a particular spot, you’re not likely to have a ton of success.
During a pre-spawn phase and during cold fronts, crappie tends to stage much deeper than they do in other seasons. You’ll often find them as deep as 12 to 16 feet. Since that’s the case, consider using a brighter color lure that will stand out in those deeper waters. That’s especially true in the morning hours.
Boat speed is especially important in the spring as well. Boat speed shouldn’t be more than 1 mile per hour, especially if you’re in a spawning area.
Finding Crappie In The Spring
Crappies tend to roam so you may have some trouble locating them at first. Here are a few tips:
● Crappie want to be where it’s the warmest so, in the early morning, look for the banks getting the most sunshine.
● Creek mouths, bend, or anywhere close to deep spots in lakes will usually have some crappie.
● If you have electronics, look for tight patterns of smaller fish. Adult crappie feed on smaller fish, so that would be a big clue that there might be crappie in the area.
Summer Crappie Fishing Tips
Springtime is often considered the best time to fish for crappie because they’re plentiful and the weather’s a little bit cooler.
If you’re going out on the lake doing the same thing in the summer that you did in the spring, you’re probably going to come back empty-handed. But if you change up your gear and your strategy a bit (and can deal with the mosquitos and the heat), you’ll still find plenty of crappies out there.
Bring Some Chum
Because crappies eat smaller fish like minnows, start by getting some minnows around your boat. Bring some stale bread or dry dog food (small chunks) and spread in small cupfuls in shallow water. After a bit, cast with a minnow on your hook. If you’re chumming in the right areas and attracting minnows, those minnows should bring the crappie in as well.
An important point to note about chumming is that many states have laws that regulate the type of bait allowed. So make sure you check and understand the rules for the area you are fishing.
Be Aware of Temperature
If the skies are clear and the water is getting hot (anything above 75 degrees), search out for any areas of brush or small submerged islands known as humps. Crappies are going to search out for any shady area they can so hunt them out there. Cast your line around 15 feet and see what you can attract. Again, a live minnow or chumming should help out with your success rate.
The same slip bobber rig you put together in the spring should work here, too. But, if it’s too windy out on the lake, consider taking the bobber off and going minnow only. High winds can make your bobber look out of place and the crappie won’t go for it.
Fall Crappie Fishing Tips
Contrary to popular belief, crappies are still viable even in the autumn months. Once again, though, you’ll need to change up your strategy a bit but that’s part of the fun. The good news is that a few things always hold true about crappie.
Look For Vegetation
The first is that crappie will always gravitate toward vegetation. When the weather turns a bit colder and some of the lighter shallow vegetation starts to die, crappies will generally move toward denser, thicker vegetation. In many cases, this will be between 15 and 25 feet below the surface, so adjust your line accordingly.
Upsize Your Bait
Because the water is getting darker, you need to make sure that your bait is standing out. Larger hard plastic baits work best this time of year. Fish-shaped is always better because it’s a closer match to what the crappie naturally eats.
Head Toward The Basin
A crappie’s main concern this time of the year is a food source. If you’re not having a ton of luck with vegetation, head toward the basin of the lake. The basin of the lake will usually have lots of minnows, or, barring that, bugs.
If you have a fish finder on your boat, use it here, and don’t be surprised if it shows tons of crappies for you to catch.
Once you have found the schools of crappie try trolling a 2-inch diving crankbait through the fish.
Winter Crappie Fishing Tips
If you’re fortunate enough to be living in a climate warm enough to fish in during the winter months, crappies are a great fish to catch. They love to congregate around underwater islands, brush piles, and standing timber. If you’re in an even colder location, crappie makes for a great ice fishing catch as well. Here are a few winter-specific tips:
Check For Steep Banks
Lakes that have steeper banks will tend to have lots of stumps and brushes as they enter the water. Because these are denser, they tend to stick around in the colder months. And, as we know, crappies love vegetation.
Look for areas of brush and cast your jig there. That will create your highest chance for success.
Switch To A Hair Jig
As the water gets colder, the plastic jig you used in the early spring and fall won’t be quite as attractive out there. The plastic will start to freeze and get rigid and won’t move as naturally as it does in a warmer climate.
A hair or feather jig will hold its shape better and sway more naturally even in winter. That should keep crappie coming.
Ice Fishing
Crappie makes for a great catch if you’re out ice fishing. Just like lake fishing, you’ll want to be aware of where the underground vegetation is and aim for that. Use a tungsten jig with soft plastic to best mimic plankton.
Drop your jig straight to the bottom, and very slowly pulse your line back up to the top. With ice fishing, most crappies bite on the way back up so take your time and make your bait as attractive as you can.
How to Cook Your Catch
So you’ve learned how to catch crappie. Now it is time to learn how to cook crappie. Crappie has sweet, soft, tasty white flesh, which is great to eat.
As with any fish, it is best to eat crappie fresh where possible. But it can be frozen and as long as it is slowly defrosted it is still great eating. Don’t use a microwave, just let the fish thaw slowly overnight in the refrigerator.
Common cooking options for crappie include pan-frying, deep-frying, grilling, and baking.
Pan Frying
Pan-frying crappie is a quick and easy option. Mix flour paprika and salt and pepper together in one bowl. In another beat one or two eggs with a tablespoon of water. Dip your crappie fillets in the egg mixture followed by the flour mixture. Pan-fry the fish until it’s golden brown on both sides.
Deep Frying
Start by making a batter. You can make a common beer batter as follows: empty a can of beer into a large bowl, add one a half cups of corn flour, a pinch of salt, and some pepper to flavor. Whisk until you have a light batter. In a deep fryer or a skillet heat your oil to 375 degrees. Dip your fillets in flour, then your batter mix and add to your deep fryer or skillet. Cook until your batter is a bubbly golden brown.
If you would prefer not to use beer in your batter, then check out this excellent recipe Crispy Battered Halibut with No Beer. They use halibut but it also works great with crappie.
Grilling
For a healthier option try grilling your crappie. Lightly coat your fillets with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and some paprika. Squeeze over some lemon juice. Lightly coat your grill with some olive oil to stop the fish from sticking. Grill the fish for about 2 minutes on each side.
Baking
Baking crappie is a very simple way to prepare fish. Lay the fillets down on a baking sheet. Using a brush apply some butter or oil to each side of the filet. Squeeze over some lemon juice. In the oven, baked at a temperature of 400°. The fillets will be done between 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their thickness.
Final Thoughts
Fishing for crappie can be a fun, rewarding, and relaxing way to spend your day.
Because they’re in good supply all year long, you can go out and get a great catch no matter what the season. Having the right gear and knowing the right strategy for the time of year makes it that much more fun.
I hope this article has improved your knowledge on how to catch crappie, and I’d love to hear how you get on.
