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Spooning for Crappie by Brad Wiegmann
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Thinking outside the box when going crappie fishing? It’s not a new technique and anglers have been using spoons to catch crappie, but this year at ICAST 2023 three new fishing spoons were introduced as spoons specifically designed for angler crappie fishing. Why the drive towards spoons for crappie?
The answer might be to find deeper crappie away from shallow single poling anglers. Whatever the reason, spooning for crappie seems to have become more popular.
About 20 years ago I traveled down to Lake Ouachita to go out fishing with a crappie guide. He told me not to bring any tackle as he was going to supply the rods, reels and bait. To my surprise when I got in the boat he didn’t have any minnows; in fact, the guide had baitcasting rods and reels rigged up for fishing with small ½-ounce silver slab spoons.
This was a little disconcerting as most if not all my crappie fishing was with a minnow or hair jig. Remember this is Lake Ouachita in Arkansas that’s renowned for having crystal clear water and deep water. Plus this was long before forward facing sonar technology.
Once in the boat the guide drove to a deep brush pile around 20 foot down he had marked on his GPS fishfinder where he drove around it till he marked crappie on his traditional 2D sonar. At that point he handed me a rod and told me to start jigging the ½-ounce spoon around the top of the brush pile. His theory to fishing a brush pile was to catch the crappie suspended near the top then work down into the pile until catching the suspending crappie. To my surprise we caught a limit of crappie going from one brush pile to another.
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Cody Huff is not a professional crappie angler; in fact Cody is a Bassmaster Elite Series pro renowned for his ability to catch fish on spoons. Normally, Cody is fishing big flutter spoons for bass around structure or boat docks, however, when bass get finicky he switches over to the new Dixie Jet Lures Crappie Slab Spoon. “I feel a small spoon is overlooked when anglers are fishing for crappie,” Cody went on, “I wish I had a dollar for every slab crappie I have caught on a small slab spoon.”
“It’s the perfect little baitfish imitator,” Cody continued, “You get around docks or brush piles and drop your slab spoon to them and they just can’t help, but bite it. Cody likes fishing in the stalls with or without boats as he is looking for the sweet spot where fish would be hiding. The smaller spoon allows for precise casting around the docks.
Typically, Cody will drop the spoon to where the crappie are suspended or around cover. Once there he will pop the rod tip upward quickly than allow it to flutter back down. Most of the strikes happen when the spoon is falling. Spoons come in several different color patterns. Cody noted he would fish chartreuse, whites or silver almost anywhere, however, he prefers white or chartreuse in dirty water conditions.
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Strike King Mr. Crappie also released the new Strike King Mr. Crappie Jack Knife 1 ½-inch flutter spoon and Mr. Crappie Chicken Spoon. “The Mr. Crappie Jack Knife spoon doesn’t have a fast fall to it and you can work it back slowly,’’ Wally continued, “While feeling it vibrate your rod tip when you retrieve it. Anglers that like to vertically fish a spoon the Mr. Crappie Chicken Spoon is perfect with a short chain to a straight hook that you can tip with a wax worm or minnow.”
Only time will tell if the small spoon’s popularity will continue to grow. As forward facing sonar crappie anglers continue to search for lures to entice crappie to bite and traditional brush pile anglers now have more options when fishing.
