Favorite crappie lure or method

It appears the weather will not be fit for man or beast the next few weeks and perhaps months. The last few years did not see solid ice for ice fishing in my part of the state as well as most parts for any length of time. So lets have a discussion on your favorite crappie lure-jig fly and so on. Also some details on how and when you utilize them.
I am sure I will not be the only one getting a little bored with the winter blues.

It appears most of the fishing-outdoor show are being canceled but lets hope for better days in 2021.

Perhaps I should start. Cold water such as ice fishing or first ice out requires very slow jigging. I like either a cast master with a mousy or very small mill worm when fishing through a hole in the ice. A close second would be a 1/16 ounce jig with the same bait to sweeten it. I usually jig it a few times then stop. When stopped I get most of my bites. I sometimes use a small bobber when jigging so when I stop jigging it will move just slightly, set the hook! Problem with the bobber is you need to reset the depth if you reel your line in.
Early season cold open water I usually use a bobber with a 1/8 or 1/16 ounce jig but no bait added. I adjust the depth until I find where many of the crappie are located at. After a while I may re- adjust the depth when the bite slows down. I really like a silver- Nickle plated head with some white calf tail. At times depending on water clarity i do change colors such as yellow or even some greens. I have fished the Chickahominy river in Va and found that a orange head and calf tail works best in high off colored water.
As water warms a few degrees I usually cast 2 jigs and sometimes using a 3/16 ounce for one for a little more weight and casting distance. The fish will start to be a little more aggressive so the medium slow retrieve works well for me. When water temperatures warm a few more degrees a faster retrieve can put more fish in your creel at a quicker pace. Also some larger lakes will have streams large enough to pull spring crappie to the warmer water when sunlight can penetrate and this can be a magnet for a spring run and spring prespawnd fish. I am sure some have other ideas and perhaps they work well for you so lets give each other some ideas.

My favorite ice fishing lure is a Hali jigging lure with a wax worm. I will run dead stick rods with 1/32 or a 1/16 jigs baited with wax worms or minnows also while I'm jigging the hali's.
In spring ,I like to drift in the boat running 1/8oz jigs with minnows ,wax worms and nibbles(thanks Chaunc). I also will use crappie/perch rigs using the same bait. I love fishing brush piles with jigs with plastics and nibbles. We caught quite a few crappies while we were trolling for walleye on worm harnesses and they were all dandys. If we get any ice this year,I'm going to use nibbles for bait to see if crappies bite on them in winter as well as they do in spring and summer.

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Originally Posted by patrapper

My favorite ice fishing lure is a Hali jigging lure with a wax worm. I will run dead stick rods with 1/32 or a 1/16 jigs baited with wax worms or minnows also while I'm jigging the hali's.
In spring ,I like to drift in the boat running 1/8oz jigs with minnows ,wax worms and nibbles(thanks Chaunc). I also will use crappie/perch rigs using the same bait. I love fishing brush piles with jigs with plastics and nibbles. We caught quite a few crappies while we were trolling for walleye on worm harnesses and they were all dandys. If we get any ice this year,I'm going to use nibbles for bait to see if crappies bite on them in winter as well as they do in spring and summer.

Sent from my LML212VL using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

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The nibbles don’t dissolve in the colder water like the do in above freezing temperatures. I use an oil based attractive on the ice. Gonna try slab and g sauce this year. Been using gulp or Berkeley sauce over the years. My best baits are 4mm tungsten tipped with waxworms for crappies and gills and small spoons tipped with maggots for perch.

Back when Hector was a pup my best crappie jig (thru the ice) was a hot pink rocker. Tipped with a couple maggies it accounted for 90% of my crappie. Didn't matter if I was fishing Conneaut Lake or Horseshoe Pond in Erie. As soon as ice out 1/16 oz. white marabou jig or if using a fly rod #4 white marabou streamer were my best bets. I think the rocker jigs were made by Dot Lure Co. and looked like the attached pic but more of a hot pink color.

Attachment 392010

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Originally Posted by mchech

Back when Hector was a pup my best crappie jig (thru the ice) was a hot pink rocker. Tipped with a couple maggies it accounted for 90% of my crappie. Didn't matter if I was fishing Conneaut Lake or Horseshoe Pond in Erie. As soon as ice out 1/16 oz. white marabou jig or if using a fly rod #4 white marabou streamer were my best bets. I think the rocker jigs were made by Dot Lure Co. and looked like the attached pic but more of a hot pink color.

Attachment 392010

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I still have a few of those jigs somewhere. Do you fish horseshoe pong in the open water also?

Only thru the ice on Horseshoe & Misery Bay. Right off the corner of one of the houses was really a hot spot for crappie back then. I often wandered what it would be like in the spring for crappie. I have done some open water fishing for steelhead off the docks in the marina. Boat fishing for perch or walleye out in the main lake till medical problems ended that.

I never found the nibbles or any attractant to work as sell as mousies and very small mill worms ( tipping a jig with natural bait).
The other thing I have notice I seem to catch more bluegills on dark color jigs then white or yellow. Both for open water and on the ice. Perhaps it is just me?

My favorite is a 4 mm gold tungsten tipped with a waxworm, fished on three pound test ice line. Black, purple, and pink are others I’ll give a try too.

This is an excellent discussion, especially for the inexperienced group. Does weather pattern impact your choice of lure or method?

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Originally Posted by gdengr

This is an excellent discussion, especially for the inexperienced group. Does weather pattern impact your choice of lure or method?

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I am a trout fly fishing guide so I have a lot more experience with salmonid species however I am also a crappie fishermen.
Very cold water means very slow presentations. Minnows can work great. I also have found when ice fishing to put my split shot closer to the minnow. I have watched crappie swim and slowly chase a minnow when the shot is a foot or more from the minnow. Seems unreal but I have watched them do it down through the hole. Also I like to use a bobber and sweeten my gig with something such as a small mill worm, mousse or whatever you prefer. As water starts to warm fish your jig slow usually under a float. Many time crappie as well as other pan fish will search warmer water after the cold winter. At times you can find them up a creek in the back water from a lake.
Just a few few degrees change can make a difference in the aggressiveness of the fish also. In my area usually around mid to late March sunny days are prime times for crappie fishing. At that time I start to cast jigs and do slow retrieve. As the water continues to warm crappie get into pre and regular spawn. Usually I try to find cover such as down trees and or weed beds and so on. By summer time I have caught them on many lures and even fast retrieves. We have caught some really crappie on rapalas fishing for bass.