Crappie experts

[eyehi]

Is there any tricks to get the larger fish to strike ?  .... I have been to a spot that is producing a lot of small fish , we do get some nice ones in the mix but average 10 dinks to 1 keeper .... I have been using a teardrop jig tipped with spikes ...

[hardwater diehard]

Fish higher ...doesn't always work..but tends to pick up the more aggressive fish...and sometimes that's the bigger ones...also the night bite is always good for the larger ones .

[Gills-only]

Bigger baits!!

[SHaRPS]

If they are mixed in than you are doing pretty much all you can. Which ever fish is most aggressive will strike first. You can definitely up the size of your bait but my bet is you will get the same results. Fish faster and move around the school a bit.

[DR.SPECKLER]

try a night time bite maybe.i get smaller specks on waxies during daylight.id try the night time bite with emerald shiners.or plastics.slender spoon with a drop chain treble and a minnow head works for larger fish too.

[Iceshanty]

Using your flasher look for what I call "the big boss crappies" in the school and try to tease up them out of the bunch. If you see a small mark coming I just yank it out of sight and approach the school again looking for the largest marks to make a move towards me.

[Bucket Rump]

I like to use lures such as Flutter Spoons, Slender Spoons, and even Beaded Russian spoons.  Using minnows will usually draw in the larger fish as well.

[hardwater diehard]

Good tip in general but also when your screen is cluttered with fish...taking it up and waiting a spell can be most helpful especially at night .

[perch chacer]

We use white plastics on small tungsten right angle jigs and tip the hook with a spike.  Constantly jig while raising your pole tip about 2-3 feet and then drop it back down.  Continue to do this and you will get the more aggressive fish (larger ones) to hit either while raising or at the bottom of the drop.  But white plastics work better for us then plain bait on the jig.

[rdhammah]

crappie magnets with 1/16 to 1/8 oz jig head

[Light liner]

Im a retired plumber, seen some crappie!

[eyehi]

Thanks for the ideas lots of good advice here .... I have tried this spot at night a couple times with no luck ..... Think I will try minnows next time ...

[Fontona19]

Use bigger fatheads or the like. Whether jigging, dead stick, tip up or tip down. I have successfully picked the bigger fish out using larger cup bait.

[WARRIOR_ON_ICE]

Use bigger fatheads or the like. Whether jigging, dead stick, tip up or tip down. I have successfully picked the bigger fish out using larger cup bait.

IO second the minnows, larger fatheads or even Hunt baits. I got my PB 17 inch crappie on a 4" Hunt bait on a tipup.

[hays47]

I use the same method to help get the bigger ones in the school. If too many dinks on live bait. I switch to vertical jigging slab , raps,ripping raps and sebile flatt shads. In the smallest sizes they make. Make no mistake the catch rate of numbers will slow. The quality of the catch will improve though.

I use when ice and boat fishing seems to work year round.

[hays47]

Like these. I don't hit the lake without them.

[eriksat1]

Lately the bigger Crappie have been very finicky. 2 Lb. Test micro ice mono line, #18 treble hook and a big crappie minnow on a tip down. Jigging seems to be only catching  the smaller ones. The bigger ones on tip downs are also higher maybe 3 ft. above the rest. You won’t really see them on the flasher until they just appear out of nowhere.

[hardwater diehard]

Thanks for the ideas lots of good advice here .... I have tried this spot at night a couple times with no luck ..... Think I will try minnows next time ...

Some BOW don't have a night bite ...one place I fish shuts down right after dark ...prime time is around 2 o'clock to dusk....tried several times after dark with NOOOO results...so now when I fish that BOW I pack up at dark ...I believe it is because the water is heavily stained....have you tried glow lures ...tip downs are great for locating school movement...and if you fish the baits high in the water column you can use them as decoy strategy .

[eyehi]

This is clear water just no night action .... Have not tried the glow jigs yet ... Will try again this weekend ...

[eyehi]

I use the same method to help get the bigger ones in the school. If too many dinks on live bait. I switch to vertical jigging slab , raps,ripping raps and sebile flatt shads. In the smallest sizes they make. Make no mistake the catch rate of numbers will slow. The quality of the catch will improve though.

I use when ice and boat fishing seems to work year round.

Interesting ideas here I have a perfect size jigging rapala for this ..... Do u tip the lure with a minnow head or just use a bare jig ?

[830king]

Good topic and some good ideas!

[Iceshanty]

I'll use #5 or even #7's jigging rapalas if they are on the bite. I have great luck unbaited with the green glow pattern fishing craps.

[hays47]

Almost never tip as this brings the small ones into play again.

[hardwater diehard]

This is clear water just no night action .... Have not tried the glow jigs yet ... Will try again this weekend ...

White tends to work for me and go all in with a UV light .

https://www.walmart.com/ip/3Aaa-9Led-Pet-Stn-Light-Vbuv-Bd/22086108

[eyehi]

Interesting replies ... I never would have thought to use a lure that big for crappie .... Thanks again ...

[hardwater diehard]

Good reads

http://www.in-fisherman.com/panfish/fishing-for-panfish/2/

http://www.in-fisherman.com/ice-fishing/ice-fishing-crappie/

[panfishman13]

whenever i'm catching small crappie after small crappie, i try a few different things to upgrade size:

1. if you've been fishing the top of the school, try fishing the bottom of the school; and vise-versa. this works when the big fish are nearby, but they're not being aggressive enough to shoulder small fish out of the way.

2. fish plastics rather than bait. a small fish is generally less interested in a soft plastic, while a large fish has likely seen a lot of bait in its lifetime, plastics allow you to present a different shape or even scent, which can turn on bigger fish.

3. fish larger lures/baits. small fish can't wrap their mouth around/are intimidated by larger baits. big fish see it as a larger meal (as long as you're fishing it in a way they like)

4. fish hard lures like jigging rapalas, slab raps, rippin raps, etc. fish these more subtly than you think. if you think you ARE fishing subtly, i guarantee you're not fishing subtly enough. almost all of my success with hard lures has come from being very very careful with any movement i make, and paying close attention to how the fish react.

5. change color to something harder to see. small fish are always attracted to bright, flashy stuff that's easy to see. big fish will pay closer attention and hunt down stuff the small fish don't notice, rather than trying to fight a dozen fish half their size vying for a tiny scrap of food. so, if you're fishing a silver spoon on a bright day, and only catching dinks, switch to a gold spoon, or a copper spoon, and see what happens. sometimes that's all it takes.

[eriksat1]

I was in a similar situation yesterday dink fish after dink fish. Sometimes you just need to move to find a school of bigger fish, upsizing only mean lookers no biters at all. I mean if you want sit there all day and watch small fish come look but not hit, go for it. If not move and try and locate bigger fish.

[Tye]

I have got into some crazy schools of crappie this winter and while the jig catches the numbers, I have caught the biggest ones on #3 Rippin Raps and VMC Tingler Spoons.

[vanhln]

Tye,
It looks like #3 only comes in the Ultra Light Rippin Rap.  Was that what you had?