Downsizing for Winter: Open for Debate

[INTIMIDATOR]

You really can't go wrong in the cooler months....Crappie are just a fabulous Predator that have "Evolved to Adapt"!
They can feed and flourish on large Prey if it is available, or find small prey to survive on.
With their keen eyesight they can see micro-organisms, larva, etc., and feed on them...this is especially important when the Temps really drop in certain places and they are unable to chase down regular prey. This is one of the things that allow Crappie to proper in their habitat.

These are midge flies that come out of our lakes in swarms like the Mayflies....you do not have to match size when they are hatching/molting, but you better have something close to the same colors....same with the Mayfly hatch, Shad hatch, etc.,....color match is always better than size at our lake....until it's time to ice fish.
Then you better have a larva sized bait!

[NIMROD]

Here our fish feed primarily of Shad and other fish. We have huge hatches of knats and such each summer . I don't want the dinks but target the bigger fish looking for a meal .

[INTIMIDATOR]

Here our fish feed primarily of Shad and other fish. We have huge hatches of knats and such each summer . I don't want the dinks but target the bigger fish looking for a meal .

Agreed...like I said, even during the hatches or shad season, as long as you have a color that matches what they are keying in on, size doesn't really matter....I choose to use a larger lure to weed out some of the smaller fish....But when Crappie are really feeding heavy in early summer, heck I pull out the 4.8 and 5.8 inch swimbaits, and I still catch a few dinks with a "Napoleon complex"!

At our lake, size really only matters during hard water periods!

[lowe175]

I just try to have small and large baits at all times. Sometimes they just want something small. I don't try to over think it.

[z520tom]

I downsize in jig weight but not necessarily in size because the colder the water temp the slower the retrieve needs to be in my opinion. I can retrieve a 1/16 oz jig slower than a 1/8 oz jig and still keep it in the depth that I want fish it in. I feel that slower retrieve means more strikes in colder water. My two cents worth.

[smoothlures]

I've always heard the shad are large in the winter like you, however I was catfishing last week and caught a bunch of 2-2.5" gizzard and threadfin shad in my castnet. I think a very slow bait is more important in the winter than a tiny bait.

[chaunc]

After November, I rarely fish any baits over 1/32 oz. seems like up in my area we catch more and bigger fish this way. I still keep a pole rigged with a bigger jig but they just don't produce like the smaller baits do.