Fishing Cave.com-Winter Crappie

Winter Crappie Fishing

It's the really hardy anglers who just love the days, when they can go out on a Winter Crappie fishing trip!

Before you go winter Crappie fishing, you must first think just how you are going to stay as warm as possible.

You are going to maybe spend several hours out on the ice when you go out winter Crappie fishing and it is going to be damn cold.

The thing about fishing in cold weather is, if you are catching fish, or just getting bites, you feel OK. If on the other hand, you can't 'buy a bite', then you soon feel damn cold and sorry for yourself.

So just make sure you are well prepared for any type of bad weather and you are sure to enjoy any winter Crappie fishing you do.

For winter Crappie fishing you are usually going to have to fish light tackle and if you are into jig fishing, then use a small ice fishing pattern of jig.

When winter Crappie fishing there are several baits you can use. You can get different baits from your local store, such as maggots (also known as 'spikes'), wax worms and of course 'mousies'. Mousies can be a 'killer' bait at times, but they are not always easy to get.

They are like a maggot but with a tail through which they extract oxygen from the water. To keep your 'mousies' in good condition for your winter Crappie fishing, keep them in damp leaves or sawdust and they will keep in good condition for quite some time. Like most species of fish Crappies often take the smaller baits when the temperatures are low.

When you are winter Crappie fishing, it is more likely that you will find your quarry in the warmer layers of water in the lake.

If you find that the fish are feeding at a particular depth, it is very likely that this is the warm layer of water, on that particular day.

When winter Crappie fishing, it is really important to make sure you get a fix on the exact depth at which the fish are feeding, once you find it, make sure you mark the depth so that you can hit the mark every time.

Over in the UK they use a lot of blue bottle maggots (spikes) for catching all types of fish.

One thing they do with the maggot is turn them into what they call over there, 'castors' and I have been told that at times they can be a deadly fishing bait, so why not give them a try over here for our winter Crappie fishing?

The Crappie Fishing Secret Weapon

Now as we all know maggots turn into pupae before turning into flies, the 'castor' as used a lot in the UK is a controlled turning of the blue bottle fly pupae. The anglers over there pick them off just as they are 'turning' into the pupae stage of their life cycle, some will still be white as they start to 'turn' and some will have color in them, from pale orange through to a red.

At this stage they will be 'sinkers', ie, none of them will float on water!

We want to keep them like that, all sinkers, so as soon as you pick them off, put them into a plastic bag slide your hand down the bag to push out as much air as possible and tie a knot in the bag and keep in the fridge, not a freezer as this will split them and they are then no good to use.

As you keep getting more each day, don't put them into separate bags, rather open a bag and add to it until there is about a pint of castors in the bag.

Castors will keep in the fridge for a few days before the start to go off, although I am sure when you are winter crappie fishing, they will still catch fish, even if they do smell a bit. Give them a wash in water and this will freshen them up, ready for your winter Crappie fishing trip.

The picking off of the turning pupae needs to be done twice a day in warm weather, as they turn into 'floaters' in no time at all, test them in water and remove any floaters before storing the sinkers.

Most times, floaters are no good to us, they catch plenty of fish but in moving water or if there is a wind on a still water, floaters will be carried away from us and take the fish with them. This is where the sinkers (castors) do the business, they sink so hold the fish in your swim.

Loose feed the castors regularly throughout the day, a little and often is the preferred method and should get the winter Crappie into a feeding mood.

When out winter Crappie fishing, if it is not too cold, put the castors into a tub and cover them with water. This s#tops them from becoming floaters while you are fishing.

If it is cold enough on the day you are fishing, to freeze the water, they should be OK without having to use any water.

Using blue bottle fly pupae as in the UK in the form of 'castors', is well worth a try for winter Crappie fishing and probably even better in the warmer months of the year.

If you give castors a try, one thing to remember is, that some times the fish can be slow to start feeding on them! Another day and the fish go mad for them, right from the off!

Jon Planner

Copywright 2007

Good luck with your winter Crappie Fishing.

Back to Top..

Back to Home Page