Crappie Techniques

[matt1971]

Hey all,
Pretty new to this site so forgive me for asking for help!
I recently moved to a home on a small lake and im trying to figure out how to effectively catch mainly crappie.

I have livescope (currently) learning to use it.
Found large schools of fish(Hundreeds) in pre spawn areas.

seem to be bluegill, yellow perch, crappie, and white bass mixed together. I have caught all of them but very few fish.
Using 10' jigging rod with 1/32 plastics & hair jigs along with minnows under a float.
Also have tried casting and retreiving slowly.
Water temp is currently 44 deg
I caught crappie easily last spring but it was during the spawn. They hit about anything.
Im not having luck getting fish to bite, im letting the jig sit still & have tried twitching it some.
See fish come right to the bait but wont hit it. Tried raising bait as slow as possible, have fish follow it up a few feet to just stop and go back down.
Only had a few crappie take a live minnow.
Any help you seasoned professionals can give would be appreciated.
Thanks

[DockShootinJack]

Most folks on here are happy to help when they can. You may also ask this question on the Indiana State area located below

[CrappiePappy]

Ain't no expert, but I'd say with those water temps I'd be trying a 1/64oz jig ... and on the minnows I would go with the tiniest ones I could find.
See, you're saying the water temp is 44deg, but that's surface temp (+/-), so the water temp at their depth isn't likely to be any higher than that and probably somewhat lower.

[Grainraiser]

Yep that 44 degree water temp is going to make them unpredictable. I would find some offshore structure and fish it with some tiny baits or minnows.

[Ketchn]

pre spawn fish are often tough to get to go for it .
not sure what is the cure , they can be super frustrating at times .
it is sometimes tough to make them late winter fish do much .
we see that down here in the transition months .
a few weeks and it will all change , patience is the key

[Slabprowler]

As said already ! Try down sizing
and maybe some slab sauce!

[matt1971]

Sounds like everybody is in agreement.
Thanks for the advice.

[matt1971]

Thanks for the advice.

[DockShootinJack]

Never hurts to match the hatch so to speak. Feed them what they are eating

[Ketchn]

Never hurts to match the hatch so to speak. Feed them what they are eating

We often toss big baits at them due to what’s available in the way of shad , most late winter shad are full grown .
But downsizing can work pretty well in some cases too .