Wintertime Crappie Fishing by Brad Wiegmann

The days are getting longer and warmer, but it's still wintertime fishing for crappie anglers. Some days are better than others when it comes to catching crappie in the wintertime. Sunny days bring crappie up shallower and suspending around cover, but when a polar vortex blows in crappie dive back to deep cover often refusing to bite anything including live minnows.

Successful crappie anglers know where the crappie are and how to catch them. Mitch Glenn, National Sales Manager at Arkie Jigs (www.ArkieJigs.com), happens to be one of those crappie anglers that catches crappie year round, however, he loves catching crappie in the wintertime. "There's very little recreational traffic on the lake during the wintertime except for other anglers out fishing and some days not many of them. What they are missing out is some great crappie fishing if the weather and other conditions are right," said Glenn.

"Crappie anglers going out fishing in the wintertime need to be attentive to several things like structure, cover, channel swings, water clarity and lure selection," said Glenn. Glenn also noted condition like water clarity even water temperature can change daily or even hourly, so anglers need to make adjustments appropriately to catch crappie.



When searching for a location to fish, Glenn will look for obvious lay downs along the bank. Not just any lay down will have crappie. On Beaver Lake and other Ozark Highland reservoirs, Glenn is searching for lay downs with treetops extending out into the lake.

"For a lay down to be loaded with crappie it has to be located on a channel swing. Other lay downs may have a few crappie, but those lay downs on a channel swing can be loaded. It all comes down to having the deep water adjacent to it," said Glenn.

During the winter months on warm days, crappie will move up suspending around the tree trunks and limbs. "The tree trunks and limbs absorb the heat from sun rays and warm up. Crappie will move in suspending around them," said Glenn.



To find out what depth the crappie are suspending at Glenn relies on his electronics. His unit has traditional sonar along with down and side imaging. Side imaging allows him to see side-to-side out to where the lay downs are in the lake.

Once located, Glenn will fish with or without a bobber. "It all depends on where the crappie are suspended and around how much cover. Typically, I will use a bobber anytime the crappie are suspended in 10 foot of water or less because it keeps the lure in the strike zone longer. Later on in the day, on a sunny day, crappie will also move up shallower into the warmer water so you have to adjust your depth accordingly," said Glenn.

After locating a productive area to fish, Glenn begins selecting a lure. Water temperature will determine how much action he wants in a lure. Of course, the crappie have the final say in which lure Glenn will fish.



"I depended on a few lures while fishing in the wintertime to catch crappie. I have to have Arkie Lures Shineee Hineee, 2-inch Salty Tubes and Solid Body Tubes. Which one I will fish with depends on how aggressive the crappie are biting and how much action they want the lure to have," said Glenn.

If the crappie want a lure with lots of action, Glenn will use the Shineee Hineee with or without a bobber. However, if that's too much action, Glenn will change up to a 2-inch Salty Tube or Solid Body Tube with or without a bobber depending on where the crappie are suspending.

When using Arkie Lures 2-inch Salty Tube or Solid Body Tube, Glenn recommended using Arkie Jigs Unpainted Ball Head Jigs (RBBH) when fishing in brush and Weedless Ball Head Jigs (WBH) if the crappie are buried deep in the brush. He switches to Double End Barbs Ball Head Jigs (RPBHS) that feature a red Sickel hook anytime the crappie moved out away from the lay downs. (Click on the link http://youtu.be/ZOXmduNOXq0 to go to an additional wintertime crappie fishing tip by Mitch Glenn of Arkie Lures with a Solid Body Tube).

"I love the red hooks for crappie fishing, but it's also the first color to disappear in the water column. So anytime I fish in deep water, I will change my jig head to one with a gold hook. Gold hooks have lots of flash and get more strikes," said Glenn.

As for water clarity, Glenn likes some stain in the water especially when fishing Ozark Highland reservoirs like Beaver Lake in northern Arkansas. "One foot water clarity is good for fishing in the wintertime. Stained water will warm up faster, however, I don't fish muddy, cold water," said Glenn.

Most days, Glenn will fish a black/chartreuse colored lure. "Black and chartreuse is my go-to color to get a bite. In the 2-inch Salt Dipped Tubes, I love the white/chartreuse or Cajun cricket color. Every day is different so I always carry a good selection of colors in case my go-to color isn't catching them," said Glenn.

While some anglers can't wait until spring, Glenn and other crappie anglers find wintertime fishing fun and rewarding. Especially, on days when the sun comes out and warms up the water temperature getting the crappie biting.

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