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The crappies behavior will change as the seasons change. crappie fisherman have given the crappie some very unique names such as calico bass, speckled bass, speckled perch, white perch, pole crappie, strawberry bass and papermouth. The The papermouth will suspend more in late summer and through the winter and will stay close to sructure during the long spring period into the early summer period. You can catch crappie with a variety of crappie artificial baits such as crappie jigs, or you can use crappie baits like crappie jigs tipped with soft plastic grubs and wax worms. Crappie live baits like crappie minnows, shiners, small gizzard shad,maggots,panfish leeches, and crayfish will work well too. The clearer the water is the more likely that The paper mouth at greater depths no mater what seasonal period it is.
Under the ice, The speckled perch will suspend 5 to 10 feet from the bottom and will feed primarily on zooplakton,or they feed on crappie minnows, small crayfish and other small crustations. The The strawberry bass will also feed on thread fin shad that are feeding on plankton, and small gizzard shad populations in habitats that they are available. To catch crappie under the ice you can use nice shinny crappie ice fishing jigs tipped with live crappie minnows. You will want to use a portable fish finder to locate the strawberry bass , then cut at least three hole in a triangle and set 3 different crappie ice fishing set ups set at different depths. Once you start catching crappie in one of the ice holes reset your other lines to the same depth. In the south where there is no ice follow the shad schools or target suspended crappie to catch fish. You can use conventional crappie fishing tackle such as crappie jigs and crappie live bait here.
At the end of the winter period crappie will start their migration to the shallows or staging areas until ice out or the water temperature rises above 42 degrees. Some of the shallow areas will be black bottom bays,closed end channels,and old reed beds. These areas tend to warm faster in the early spring period. Typically fish will stay and will stay shallows until after the crappie spawn and into early summer. Where they will migrate to main lake, or main reservoir locations. In rivers there may not be much of a migration because crappie do not like current.
The paper mouth migration right after ice out will be to find crappie food and will not be related to the spawing grounds. In natural lakes the speckled perch will stage near shallow structure during the early spring or pre-spawn period. The pole crappie will be feeding aggressively and just about any crappie fishing bait such as crappie jigs or crappie bait fish such as crappie minnows or shiners will work. Some popular crappie artificial baits include popular crappie fishing jigs such as the Flu Flu, Chubby Jig, Puddle Jumper, Zetabait Wobbly Eye Jig, Custom Jigs & Spin Shrimpo, Blue Fox Foxee Jig, and the Lindy - Little Joe Timber Jig. For added excitement you can tip these artificial crappie baits with wax worms,maggots,crappie minnows,shiners,redworms,live nymphs,or crayfish. To ad some flash for even more attraction add a safety pin spinner to your crappie jig, or switch up your crappie bait to one to a popular crappie spinner bait such as a Blakemore Road Runner, Tad's Cricket Spin,Terminator Tiny T, and the Bomber Mini - Whacker.
Well that concludes my article about Crappie Fishing Jigs. We wish you the best of luck on your next fishing trip!
