[BigGoat]

Can someone give me some advice on how to fish for crappie? I was out yak fishing on lake wheeler this past weekend and didn't catch a thing, not even a bite. Not that I was fishing for crappie I was just out fishing, and testing out the new kayak.

When I came in for the day I notice a guy with a bucket full of a crappie, probably about 15 or so but I never got a chance to talk to him before he left.

I was wondering what is the best way to setup up my rod for crappie fishing.


Any help would be great.

Thanks.

 

[NCangler]

Hi Biggoat. You might want to try doing a search in the forums and a separate search in our Blogs for "Crappie". There may be some tips in there and I'm sure some others will jump in to give some ideas.

 

[tcfisherman]

when I Fish For Crappies I Use A Road Runner In Different Colors, If One Dont Work Switch Colors . Live Minows Work Well Also. I Dont Do It But I See Guys Spider Fishing, Using FoUR To Five Poles At A Time. Chris

 

[rangergreg281]

I'm still learning to fish crappie myself. I usually use about 4-6 lb mono with minnows and a slip cork, along with a small hook (#6 i think) when I crappie fish. I'll set my cork depending on the water temps and what depths I hear of people catching them at. I've got a co worker here who loves to crappie fish and I'll get a few bits of advice from him before I head out.

Seems to work since bankandsurf and I won the Falls Lake staff crappie tournament last year.

 

[backlash]

Probably the most effective way for you in the beginning will to get a bucket of minnows, an Ultra Light outfit and rig it with a slip cork so you can adjust your fishing depth. Crappie should be coming back shallow as the water begins to cool prior to winter. I would begin by fishing 2 to 3 ft deep around points that have brush or standing timber near deep water. I would not be surprised if you caught some near the bank in less than a foot of water for the next week or two. Crappie are very structure oriented fish. The key is the proper depth and a depth finder is a critical tool for finding fish on submerged structure or even the depth that the fish are holding around structure. Crappie feed up so once you find their depth you want your bait to hold just above. If I locate fish suspended at 8ft deep then I will set my float to suspend my bait at 7ft deep. Crappie are a lot of fun to catch. Good Luck

 

[sinker man]

I've never fished Wheeler but I'm pretty sure you will do better on the lower end of the lake. Crappie love cover. If you can find out the depth they are holding at and find cover at that depth you are likely to catch some there. Sometimes they scatter out but Normally where you catch one there will be several and sometimes lots of them. Marker bouys come in mighty handy. Permanent marker pens come in handy for marking your line at the right depth. Triagulation skills are very handy also.
The most common methods are jigs and minnows fished at the depth they are holding . Jigs range in size from 1/8oz to 1/80 and less. I generally stick with 1/16 and 1/32 oz models on 4lb line. You don't need to impart any motion to the rod. Keep your jig in the zone: the movement of the boat will do the rest. For minnows I generally use the smallest ones I can get. You can fish them vertical under your kayak or cast them out under a slip float. At times I just cast them out on the bottom but that generally works best from shore in the spring. For minnows I generally use a #4 Eagle Claw gold aberdeen hook unless it is wintertime. In the winter I drop down to a #6. A small split shot 12"-18" above the hook will keep your minnow down. If it doesn't your minnow is too big or your shot is too small. It is important to keep him in the strike zone.
The main two things to keep in mind is depth and cover. Jig brands and colors don't mean nearly as much. In fact you will eventually want several different ones so that when you get into a school you can switch when they get "schooled" on one. Usually a change in color will get a couple more and then a change will get some more. Especially in the spring when they are shallow and schooled up.

 

[BigGoat]

I am not looking to become the next big crappie wrangler, I just want to have my rod bent every once in a while. Hopefully some of this advice will work for me.

Thanks guys!!!

 

[NCPIERMAN]

MY DAD AND I USED TO USE MALIBU JIGS 1\8 OUNCE UNDER A BOBBER AND SLOWLY RETREVE IT BACK TO THE BOAT FROM THE BANKS WITH A STOP AND GO MOTION,USED TO LIMIT OUT EVERY TIME WITH THAT METHOD IN P.A NOT SURE ABOUT DOWN HERE.

 

[sundrop]

Small jigs 1/8 or less. White,chartreuse tails work well under a bobber or jigged over deep structure

 

[Crummy]

Don't overlook the docks. Shoot a jig as far under it as you can and let it fall. Bite depth will vary with time of year.

 

[mulletman]

When I was in Raleigh and fished Falls Beaver Dam in my kak I just drifted with 2 light rods. I would rig each with a single 1/8 or double 1/16 jigs in blue and white grub tipped with a minnow or without. I would very the depth till i found fish it seemed to work pretty well.

 

[fishman336]

in spring use a 1/8 once black jig head with yellow and white or blue and white grub. and a cork and you will catch all u want

 

[sundrop]

welcome to the party fishman336!! Be sure and say hi in the meet n greet post!!

 

[gilby1955]

My first question would be what lake u fishing on? Different things work better on different waters. Also you might check out crappie.com as well, there is a Nc board there with lots of friendly folks just like here.

 

[Scott Hobbs]

With your YAK it would propably be best to rig 2 rods with slip corks. Adjust them according to the depth of water you are fishing and ease around the lake by stump fields, standing timber, fallen timber. I would start with minnows, #4 gold hook, small bb shot, and set the cork to about 3-4 feet deep.

With the warming of the weather, so warms the water so the spawn won't be long off. The fish will be feeding steady on nice days to fatten up and you should be able to find them in large groups, when they spawn they spread out more and you have to look a little harder. but they won't be to far apart.

So if you are out on a nice day check out the shallow water and ease around, put the face of your yak into the wind and let it ease you backwards and that way all you have to do is drag a paddle to adjust your direction of travel. Might be nice to have yak anchor in the evernt you hit the mother lode and need to anchor.

Tight lines <*)))))>{