Ice Fishing Tips -Check your local regulations! > Crappies

Frustrating

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missoulafish:
I have never paid attention to the part of IS as there has never been and real population of crappies in Western MT but thanks to bucket biologist they are becoming prevalent in parts of the state. With the live scope, I have finally found a decent concentration of what I believe are crappies. They are shaped like crappies and from what I am reading they are acting like crappies do. I see them, dozens if not hundreds of them, suspended a couple feet off the bottom, some come look but never even a nibble. So frustrating. Lots to read here and hoping to find something posted that works help get a couple bites here and there.

zcm_82:
They like small minnows, but they also aren't adverse to snarfing most anything they can get in thier mouth, either.

I don't specifically target them in the winter, but I get a few here and there when I'm after bluegills. Waxies, imitation fry/micro plastics, real small spoons will catch them. Occasionally one will cruise in and whack a rap if I'm trying to entice a bass or catfish.

They tend to hit more on the drop or a pull up than they do a suspended bait, in my experience. I caught a couple yesterday when pulling my jig up to check the bait after missing bottom hugging gill bites. A lot of times they'll hover just above the schools of gills.

DR.SPECKLER:
Crappies around here are suspended off the bottom quite a bit.sometimes more than 10ft off bottom in 20 to 30ft.they seem to rarely be close to bottom where i fish.pretty easy to target and find.early morning or night bites are best but they will bite all day on some of the stained lakes i fish.night fishing i like to run a lantern to bring them in and use minnows.morning and daytimes i use jigs with plastics.

hammerhandle315:
Tip a small spoon w minnow or small horizontal with waxwork. Crappies will almost never go dow to a bait always up..try slowly pulling it up and see if that works…also a lot better at dusk or early am

missoulafish:
Appreciate all the tips. I have picked up 3-4 crappies all by accident while jigging with small spoons. Their behavior definitely changed as the day faded into evening. They appeared to move down to the bottom and they looked like they were more aggressively foraging. I also got their earlier one morning and they had moved well into shallower water and appeared to be way more mobile. could see them actively moving on the scope. I cant use live minnows in this part of the state and the jigging spoons and raps did not appear to interest them at all. From what I have read they are looking for invertebrates and i need to go to even smaller jigs....

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