crappie baits

December 28, 2009

Crappie Live Bait: Article #26 Old Master Special Fishing Details On How To Rig Threadfin Shad Details Here!

threadfin shad

Click Here To See Old School Crappie Fishing Secrets From 12 Backcountry Crappie Masters!

When people think of fishing for crappie their first impression is that the majority of crappies are caught with crappie fishing jigs. But actually the majority of crappie are caught either with a complete presentation or artificial bait tipped with some type of living bait. The most important type of crappie that most fisherman use is some type of crappie minnow such as golden shiners, and flathead minnows. Both of these crappie minnow types are raised by the millions in fish farms through out the United States and sold at nearly all bait shops and bait dealers.

But there are still many fisherman that catch their own wild crappie minnows at the locations they intend to fish. The most common wild crappie minnows that fisherman catch on a regular basis for are the bluntnose minnow,blacknose dace,creek chubs,hornyhead chubs,red shinners, and mud minnows. These fisherman use minnow seines, nets and minnow traps to catch their .

The most hardy fish and small gold fish like fathead minnows, mud minnows, and small gold fish will stay alive for long periods of time if the bait container they are stored in is aerated and they are kept cool. Then there are moderately hardy living bait fish like baby bluegills, creek chubs, horney head chubs, southern redbelly dace, blacknose dace, and bluntnose minnows. Then there are the fragile crappie baits that fisherman use that need to be caught and fished with almost immediately and they are the emerald shiner, small gizzard shad, threadfin shad and spotted shiners.

If you are primarily a crappie jig fisherman here’s a good fishing tip when the crappies have absolutely turned off. Sometimes you can get crappies turn back on with a simple trick. go to your the most likely spot that should be producing crappie. Put about 1/2 dozen crappie minnows in a glass jar filled with water with the lid on tie a retrieve line on and lower the jar right next to the likely structure. wait about 15 minutes and tip your favorite crappie jig with a live minnow and start jigging right next to were your lowered the minnow.

I want to thank you for reading my article about creek chubs. Have a great day!

Click The Following Link At Mark’s Website For More Details On: southern redbelly dace

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December 23, 2009

Live Bait: Article # 20 You Gotta Read This About live Bait For Crappie Click Here!

live bait selections

Old School Crappie Fishing Family Secrets

Our article today is going to focus on some crappie selections that are often over looked as crappie baits. 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 selections for crappies? Well there are times that crappies turn off of the standard crappie 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 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 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 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.

Well that concludes my article about fathead minnows. Have a great day and the the best of luck to you on your next fishing trip

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