Crappie are among the most popular freshwater fish of North America. The white crappie is silver and greenish colored. Its dorsal fin has a maximum of six spines. The black crappie is similar, but has a deeper body and darker coloration. The black crappie has seven or eight spines in its dorsal fin.
Both species are members of the sunfish family of freshwater fish, all of which are native to North America. A variety of lures are suitable for catching both black and white crappie. One advantage of crappie fishing tackle is that many of the most effective rigs will also catch largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, rock bass, northern pike, pickerel, musky, walleye, yellow perch, catfish, trout and other freshwater species.
Jigs are the most popular type of lure for catching crappie. These include marabou crappie jigs, bucktails, feather jigs, and plain jig heads combined with soft bodied grubs, shad bodies, small jerk bait bodies, tubes or other lures.
Soft plastic worms were among the original bass fishing lures. Since the early versions, thousands of variations have been produced. The most common setups include Texas, Carolina, floating and wacky rigs.
Although large worm rigs may be a bit much for most crappie, they do catch trophy fish. Down-sized versions of these lures are usually a better bet for catching mid-sized crappie. Weedless worm rigs are a good choice when fishing from trophy class crappie in heavy vegetation.
Spinner baits are highly effective on crappie. These combination lures consist of a jig with a spinner blade. Various models may track near the surface or sink deeply, depending on their weight, blade size and other factors .
Poppers are a family of lures that feature a hard body with cupped or wedge shaped mouth. They are typically cast near heavy cover and then twitched violently to encite a strike from hungry fish.
Crank baits are popular for crappie fishing. These lures come in several shapes and sizes. Most float at rest and dive to a specified level when retrieved. Most crank baits share common characteristics such as a hard lip, multiple treble hooks.
Small spoons are another lure that can be effective for catching crappie. Spoons come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Typically, spoons are casted, trolled or jigged when fishing for crappie.
Tube lures are another crappie lure.These unique lures feature a hollow tube which is equipped with tentacles on the rear. They are available in lengths of about one inch up to several inches in length. Small tube bodies are rigged on jig heads. Larger versions can be rigged using an offset shank hook similar to weedless plastic worm rigs.