| When you begin looking into crappie fishing, | | | | when using real bait, the best way to catch |
| you may have noticed the wide range of bait | | | | crappie is to use live bait. By placing the |
| available. One mistake fisherman make is | | | | live bait on the hook through the rear body |
| getting comfortable with one type of bait, | | | | near the tail, live bait will live for a |
| and sticking with it. While some types of | | | | small amount of time after being placed on |
| bait may catch crappie year round, chances | | | | the hook. This allows the bait to move and |
| are there will be times when another bait | | | | swim, attracting the crappie. |
| would work better. The key is to experiment | | | | |
| with different types of bait, whether it be | | | | One thing is for sure, live bait will catch |
| changing the color of Jig you are using, or | | | | Crappie, or die trying. |
| going for live bait rather then artificial. | | | | |
| | | | Popular Artificial Bait |
| Your choice of bait should be based on the | | | | |
| area in which you are fishing, what season | | | | Jigs |
| you are fishing in, and the weather at the | | | | |
| time of fishing. Crappie will be attracted to | | | | The most popular artificial bait available is |
| different types of bait depending on the | | | | the jig. Thousands of varieties of jigs are |
| current situation they are in. | | | | available. While some fishermen swear by a |
| | | | certain type, color, or size, the smart |
| Live Bait | | | | fisherman's tackle box contains a variety. |
| | | | Each unique situation you find yourself in |
| Nothing will work better for Crappie fishing | | | | should warrant a different type of jig. |
| then the bait that the fish on a daily basis. | | | | |
| Crappie will always respond to the bait they | | | | Bodies - The body of the jig comes in a |
| know before responding to artificial bait. | | | | variety of types including rubber, plastic, |
| | | | marabou, hair, rubber bands, floss, tinsel, |
| The first thing you must do is find out what | | | | chenille, and many other types of materials. |
| the Crappie in your area eat. While minnows | | | | |
| is always your best bet, there may be a more | | | | Tails - curly tails, ripple tails, broad |
| predominate bait fish in the water, such as | | | | tails and triple tails |
| shad. Many states have websites or phone | | | | |
| numbers you can call to find out more | | | | Heads - lead heads, floating heads, diving |
| information about water conditions and the | | | | heads and standing heads. |
| fish in the water. By using these resources, | | | | |
| you can educate yourself and save time | | | | Colors - while thousand of colors are |
| experimenting with different types of live | | | | available, the most popular colors for |
| bait. | | | | fishing is yellow, pinks, greens, white, and |
| | | | blues. Clear jigs, Glitter jigs, and even |
| While frozen bait is available and will work, | | | | multicolored jigs are available as well. |