04-13-2007, 07:47 PM
[font "Poor Richard"][size 3][green][cool]Hey there macfly55 - I guess one cannot receieve too much advise good or bad so I'll throw my hat into the ring.
Forget all about "matching the hatch." Simply throw anything as simple as a "made-in-China" cheap bug with rubber legs or any fly, wet or dry, you've used for trout. Whatever you throw is apt to be rewarded with a quick and savage strike. Panfish will hit almost anything from big bass bugs to silver spoons too big to fit in their mouth. What a deal and what more can you ask from a little fish the size of you palm?
When choosing colors flies etc. the all time crappie favorite appears to be chartreuse, followed by yellow. In the early spring, white is also good, especially if there is some fuchsia or hot pink in combination. Bright greens are also good - in fact any fluorescent color will have value on various days. If it is cloudy, early morning or late evening, use black, white, chartreuse or dark colors.
The single most important tip for catching crappie that I can give you is to very gently - keep your bait/lure moving – ever so slightly. You'll have the best chance of landing a crappie doing this - they bite so incredibly softly, and if you allow your bait to just sit there, they'll mouth and fool around with the bait/lure - and drive you nuts. If you are lucky enough to catch a fish using the 'just sit there' method - you'll be very lucky indeed; and likely the fish will have swallowed the hook. Be sure to keep your hooks needle sharp.
I hear that the Clouser Minnow is an excellent streamer because its lead eyes get down deep, and they cause the hook to ride tip-up. Hope to give the CM’s that I have recently tied a go next week. I don’t want it to bounce the bottom as Crappies look up for their food not down.
Catching these dudes on a 3wt rod would be a lot of fun. But how do you prevent a nice bass from taking your fly? You will have a good fight on your hands if you nail a sizeable bass on a 3wt.
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Forget all about "matching the hatch." Simply throw anything as simple as a "made-in-China" cheap bug with rubber legs or any fly, wet or dry, you've used for trout. Whatever you throw is apt to be rewarded with a quick and savage strike. Panfish will hit almost anything from big bass bugs to silver spoons too big to fit in their mouth. What a deal and what more can you ask from a little fish the size of you palm?
When choosing colors flies etc. the all time crappie favorite appears to be chartreuse, followed by yellow. In the early spring, white is also good, especially if there is some fuchsia or hot pink in combination. Bright greens are also good - in fact any fluorescent color will have value on various days. If it is cloudy, early morning or late evening, use black, white, chartreuse or dark colors.
The single most important tip for catching crappie that I can give you is to very gently - keep your bait/lure moving – ever so slightly. You'll have the best chance of landing a crappie doing this - they bite so incredibly softly, and if you allow your bait to just sit there, they'll mouth and fool around with the bait/lure - and drive you nuts. If you are lucky enough to catch a fish using the 'just sit there' method - you'll be very lucky indeed; and likely the fish will have swallowed the hook. Be sure to keep your hooks needle sharp.
I hear that the Clouser Minnow is an excellent streamer because its lead eyes get down deep, and they cause the hook to ride tip-up. Hope to give the CM’s that I have recently tied a go next week. I don’t want it to bounce the bottom as Crappies look up for their food not down.
Catching these dudes on a 3wt rod would be a lot of fun. But how do you prevent a nice bass from taking your fly? You will have a good fight on your hands if you nail a sizeable bass on a 3wt.
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