Arizona Crappie Fishing Tips from Tai Au

[OneBlade]

This was posted Tai Au on his fishing Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TaiAuFishing) and thought it was good info to share.  From Tai Au:

Over the past couple of months, I've been getting quite a few messages about crappie fishing.  I figured I do a little write up for those who are interested.

Right now, depending on which lake you're at, most of the crappie are going to be wintering in deeper trees (deep is relative to the lake).  I've been having better luck on main lake stuff, including mouths of coves, secondary points that aren't too far back into the coves, channel bends, etc.  As we approach February, they'll move off their wintering holes.  

During pre-spawn, the bigger females will suspend in the middle of the lake.  I'm not sure why they suspend like they do, I've just known this for the past 25 years of fishing for them.  My best guess would be they're getting acclimated from their deep wintering holes or sunning themselves.  Also, during this time, you'll find schools of male crappie roaming around as well.

Prior to forward facing sonar, we would simply troll a split shot minnow or grub varying the depth to see which depth gave us the best luck.  With forward facing sonar, I just put the trolling motor down and go until I find one to cast at.  In my case, a Lowrance Active Target 2.

**Settings: Noise cancellation off, stable view on, transducer up one click (to see lure splash in water), contrast low to high 80s, distance 60-100ft.  (If you use an aftermarket mount, you may need to click on pages, sonar, Active Target Installation, adjust offset and play with the settings there).

A few tips using FFS.  

When I'm looking for crappie on my Lowrance Active Target, I look for a return that is round and staying still.  I've seen them suspending 2-30ft under the surface over 50ft of water.  The goal is to find one staying still between 10-15ft.  The ones up too high or the ones down too deep are really hard to catch.  Also, pay attention to how the fish is acting.  Crappie don't move much.  

For winter- I mostly use a straight tail bait.  Bait color and size of jig head depends on conditions.  I simply cycle out different colors and let the fish tell me what they want.  For jig heads, I just want to pick one that will allow me to cast at a fish, keep the bait above their head without having to work/reel it too fast.  

As March rolls around, they'll make their way towards the bank to spawn.  The cool thing about crappie is that they'll spawn as a school.  If you find one, there will be many more to catch.  I have better luck finding early spawners in back of coves.  Mid-season spawners, mid-coves.  By the late season, most of the ones I find are towards the front of the coves.  

Following this general rule, I simply go down the bank, cast a grub and slowly reel it back.  I'll cover a ton of water until I find a few areas that they're spawning in.  Once I locate a few, I'll keep cycling those areas.  During the spawn, I mostly use a grub.  Vary colors until you find one that works and choose a jig head that isn't too heavy.  Remember, crappie like to feed up.

If you're looking to start crappie fishing, you don't need to invest in a ton of money.  Big Bite Baits Fishing Lures (https://www.facebook.com/BigBiteBaits) is having a sale on their Minnr and Grub kit.  Buy both and you're set.[/quote]