| Learn How To Create Your own Bait fish school to catch crappie Click Here |
| When you hook a crappie at night, you better hold on. This customer is tough, mean, feisty and smart to boot. |
| Night fishing for Crappie By Mark Fleagle At night i use a crappie rig with two hooks using minnows and I catch quite a few 'double headers'. At night I target brush or rock structure areas away from the main lake. Crappie love structure, more than most other fish species. They love docks, submerged trees and brush, underwater weeds, rocks and drop-offs, They will often congregate in large schools in and around structure, they will also school beneath swarms of bait fish, even away from structure. I take advantage of the swarming schools by using submerging lighting to catch crappie at night you can do this from a boat or from a dock .Click here to see the what I use When To go night fishing for Crappie In early spring before the spawn, crappie form tight schools that chase bait fish around the lake, particularly in or near structure. Then they begin to seek out water that is good for nesting. Crappie are part of the sunfish family, an spawn in the spring and early summer in still or slow water, digging holes on the bottom to build there nests. They often build nests close together in large groups, like bluegill, but they spawn in deeper water than bluegill. When The spawn is complete, Crappie spread out to find brushy or weedy structure. The schools are not tightly packed at this time of year, but the fish are still in groups. bait fish activity will influence both Crappie location and school behavior. When the water cools in the fall, Crappie bunch up into tight schools again and find a particular level of water and suspend there. They will be found near good structure all around the lake at this same level. Anglers should learn how to drop their line to the same level, using count-down techniques, i tie a rubber band on the line at the correct depth so i will fish the same at every spot. The cooler the water, the deeper the level at which the Crappie will normally be found. In shallow natural lakes 30 feet max. Depth, the Crappie schools will often be in or on the edges of the deep main river channel. The tightly schooled, deep structure behavior continues into the winter. Many ice-fishing anglers like to target Crappie, It is not easy for ice fishermen to move to different parts of a lake to find Crappie. It is important for ice fishermen to be familiar with the lake to find a likely Crappie spot from above the ice, using a GPS (Global Positioning System) or using points of reference on the land. There are also portable fish finders that can determine depth and locate fish through the ice. Crappie Vision for colors: (ONLY DAY TIME NO EFFECT when night fishing for Crappie) Crappie see colors well and you can use colorful lures to fish for them. Like all fish, their sight is influenced by water depth, light levels, water clarity and water temperature. A crappie's willingness to attack lures of different colors and presentations depends upon the fish's activity level. Water filters colors out of light and certain colors disappear first.The colors on the red side are filtered out first and the colors on the blue side are filtered out last. As water begins to get deep it looks green, but really deep water looks blue. Because of this natural law, red lures are visible only in shallow water, orange a little deeper, yellow even deeper, green deeper still and blue lures are visible in the deepest water. Black is also a good deep-water lure color. White is visible at many depths, because it reflects any available light. But the other vision factors should be considered before a lure is selected. The effects of water clarity and light levels are not always obvious. The simplest way to remember this concept is that richer versions of any color are most visible in clear water and bright light, while lighter, pastel versions of each color are most visible in stained or murky water and/or low light levels. In other words, red, orange, white, rich green and deeper blue are most visible in clear water with bright light. As light levels fade and/or the water becomes murkier, the best colors become pink, yellow, chartreuse, lighter blue, and black. When the fish seem to lose interest in a lure than was working well earlier in the day, it may be due to changes in light or water clarity. If changes in wind or current have let the water calm down and become more clear, or if clouds have cleared away to allow brighter light, change to richer lure colors or white. If the wind has churned up the water and decreased visibility or if clouds have moved in or the sun is going down, switch to pastel colors or black. In some recent studies, water temperature was determined to have a dramatic effect on fish vision. Since Crappie rely heavily on vision for hunting, this information is important for Crappie anglers to understand. The concept is very simple: the colder the water, the better a fish can see. This is because the lower temperatures help the cells in a fish's eye to function better. This means that Crappie, like other fish, may be able to see smaller lures at deeper levels in cold water than they can in warm water. It also means that they will be better able to see fishing line, so an angler may need to use lighter monafilament or fluorocarbon line in cold water. Finally, a crappie's activity level will determine how it reacts to lures of different colors and presentations. The most substantial difference in lure color is the contrast between lure and background color. Active fish are more likely to attack lures that contrast with the color of the water and structure in the area. Think of red, orange, yellow, white, and sometimes black if the background is light. Inactive fish are more likely to attack lures that blend with the surrounding background colors, like a bait fish would. Try green, chartreuse, blue, neutral colors, and occasionally black if the background is dark. For lure presentation, active fish are more likely to attack a lure with more movement, while inactive fish are more likely to attack lures with less movement. There needs to be some lure movement, though, even if it is followed by a pause, because movement is what tells the fish that the lure may be food, rather than part of the background. Always consider water depth, water clarity, light levels, and water temperatures to help decide which colors to try first. And always be ready to try something different if the first choice doesn't work. When fishing regulations allow multiple poles and/or multiple lures, it's easier to determine what will work best. Set Up Tips For a Successful Night Fishing for Crappie Trip: The Following list of items is a must to catch large and allot of catfish at night #1 you need a lantern and at least two flash lights. And some type of light you can attach to your hat.(you have to be able to see to bait and change tackle if needed. If your fishing from a boat you need to have some type of bracket the can extend your lantern out over the water. (you want to be able to see your line when you have a bite.) #2 you need some type of illumination device that you can submerged under the water. Click here to see the one I use. #3 you need to have a portable air pump to keep your bait alive. I use a in-expensive D cell battery portable air pump that i purchased from wallmart for 19.95$ . #4 Chumming and why it works Crappie rely on their senses at night to find and hone in on their prey. They must either "sense" wounded prey moving or smell the food. When the chum slick is combined with the submerged light you will see large swarms of bait fish swimming around the light area after about 20 to 30 minutes. You will be surprised how many sport fish are attracted to these swarms to feed. Here's how i do it: Get your self a small mesh bag with small openings that you can close with a string. Cut you dead bait up into small pieces and place in the bag. (i always cut up about 10 chubs or blue gills into small pieces and put the chum in a plastic storage bag and let them sit for a couple of hours before i go out night fishing. Then i empty the storage contents into my meshed bag. I use a 5lb weight that hangs from the bottom of the bag and a line at the top of the bag and then lower the bag into the water next to my illumination device. I also scatter all the blood remains on top of the water to create a "slick" for the Crappie to smell. YOU WILL BE AMAZED how this attracts fish. With the combination of the illumination light see the picture below to see the one I use. And the chum you will get allot of action in about 20 to 60 min. #5 Set up 3 to 4 fishing poles before you go out. Lets face it takes allot longer to rig poles up at night. If don't have to replace tackle you are better off. This tip will save you allot of time at night. BEST Night Fishing For Crappie Tackle & Equipment: Having the right tackle and equipment is crucial for a success night fishing trip. I always fish a Crappie rig with two hooks. For rod and reals i use 4 fly rods , with ultra light open face reels with 6lb test line. Uncle buck's Crappie poles are good too.I also recommend some type of night light you can submerge under the water to attract fish. I use a system that is 5 foot in length and operates on a standard 12 volt system Look at Picture Below To The whole underwater fishing light system in summary, you will be hooked on night fishing the fist time you try it. The big Crappie are definitely more active at night. Once you catch a big lunker of 1lbs plus i guarantee you will be hooked for life. |
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