How To Catch Crappie In The Wintertime
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by: BillyBobDesroleauxIII
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The nice thing about Winter Crappie is that they tend to hold the same pattern for days, sometimes weeks, on end. Unless of course they're disturbed by a Winter storm front or days of constant weather changes. Even then, once the weather settles, they generally go right back to their same old patterns.
Day in, day out, Winter Crappie can normally be found hanging around brush in the deeper water of most lakes. This usually includes submerged river and creek channels. Long periods of warm stable weather can cause the Crappie to move shallow. Keep this in mind if the weather has been nice the previous days leading up to your fishing trip.
Winter Crappie can become lethargic. When this happens, which is a lot during Winter, look for them holding tight to brush in deep water hangouts like along submerged channels. There are times you can also find Crappie up in shallow water. One of these times is when you have several days of warm sunny weather.
Use the right tackle for Crappie fishing in the Wintertime.
Many anglers go after Winter Crappie with the same setup they use during the Spring and Summer. That is, they use heavy line and big jigs or large minnows. Winter Crappie can be finicky and you chances increase as the size of your terminal tackle decreases.
My favorite rod for Winter Crappie fishing is a 6 or 7 foot light to ultralight spinning rod with a good back, four pound ultra thin line and small tube jigs or ice fishing jigs in the 1/32 ounce range. Crappie prefer smaller baits in the Winter, even the slabs do! Make sure your rod is Graphite, you'll need it to feel the soft bites of Crappie at this time of year.
My other Winter Crappie fishing gear includes tiny ice fishings jigs or spoons, jigs in the 1/32 or 1/64 ounce range and 2 to 4 pound test line. I know what you're thinking. But Winter Crappie do not put up much of a fight and you should be able to horse any Crappie from a brush pile with this setup. Sure, you'll lose a few, but you'll catch more by downsizing than you will by using heavy rods, lines and baits.
Don't overdo your jigging during the Winter. Crappie probably won't chase down your offering, so move it very little and make it easy for them. One successful tactic I routinely use is to just do nothing with my jig. Sometimes just holding it motionless is all it takes. If you must move it, move the line ever so slightly with your index finger and keep the rod still.
If you'd like to learn more about catching Winter Crappie, just follow the links below.
About the Author
Crappie fishing can be a whole lot of fun during the Winter. Follow these hyperlinks for more Crappie fishing tips and informative articles and straight-talk on Crappie fishing.
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