Where is the strike zone?

Friends, learning a lot in this forum. Thanks. When live scoping where is the strike zone for the crappie? Right above them, or right in front of their face? Experimenting and curious what others do.


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According to an In-Fisherman mag article : " The forward and upward position of the eyes on a crappie indicate that crappies see best and strike most accurately when positioned slightly below their targets. Crappies orient themselves to prospective forage much as bluegills do, turning and aligning themselves with the target, and approaching it until it's just above their snout."

The "strike zone" can be a few inches or several feet, but depends mainly on water conditions & the mood of the fish. I've seen Crappie on cover come up 2-3ft off the top of that cover, just to inspect or intercept my jig. Crappie do tend to "look over" their prey before deciding on eating it or just swimming away. The exception to that is when a jig or crankbait is being dragged thru the water at 1-2mph, and then it's mostly a "reaction" bite or they're actively following & feeding on baitfish schools and your bait comes into that "zone".

In agreement with Pappy's post I have also read that they will very rarely go down to bite. I think it said because they don't see the bait when it's below them.

I am certainly not an expert but I have seen crappie go down, sideways, up, chase bait for 10 feet or ignore it at 2 inches. I think you just have to try different approaches as well as different jigs, colors, and sizes. I also find the fish act differently in each of the three lakes I fish. Being able to watch their behavior is why I like LS so much. Almost like when I took up bow hunting and was forced to get significantly closer and quieter.


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Sometimes, there ain't no strike zone!

It's hard for me to leave fish when I can plainly see them. It's like I feel challenged to "make" them bite, and waste time fooling around with many bait/color/size changes, when I should just move on and find some active fish. I'm getting better at it, though. Now I give them 5 minutes, 10 minutes tops, then I move on to another spot.

This video shows exactly what the guys above are explaining ...

Watch the fish actually re-orient up slightly toward the bait presentation before the fish actually bites ...

https://youtu.be/DyeA93QVjw4

Rickie