Quote Originally Posted by ballgamedrink
I am new to the bluegill/crappie fishing game so excuse me if this is a stupid question. While fishing for either fish are you just as likely to catch both species or is fishing for bluegills completely different than fishing for crappie and vice versa?
You are very likely to encounter other sunfish species, when Crappie fishing, and not just Bluegill
When fishing for Crappie, whether using minnows, other live critters, or artificial lures ... you're attempting to make the fish think it's something they want to eat, and it's an easy meal. That appeals to Bluegill (and other sunfish) as much as it does to Crappie. Crappie just have bigger mouths, and usually "inhale" their food .... whereas Bluegill and most other sunfish have smaller mouths, and "peck" their food (to injure or incapacitate it).
I don't often fish for Bluegills, or the "other" sunfish, so I can't say that Crappie will always go for the same baits used to catch them. But, I have caught Crappie on baits other than what is normally used for them, alive or artificial. And I've certainly caught plenty of Bluegill/sunfish when using minnows or tubejigs or Roadrunners, along with many other species of fish. So, yeah ... I'd say you were "just as likely" to catch both species, while specifically fishing for one or the other And that's especially true if using a bait that imitates something either/both would normally eat.

... cp