Hunting for big Spring Crappie
By Brian Koshenina

If you’re like me you can’t wait for opener. This is just simply “the best time of year”, But what to do in the mean time? There’s open water, the suns out, the lakes are slowly warming and you are all ready to go? Personally, I like catching big Crappie and here’s how I do it…..

First of all, not every lake in your area has a healthy population of Crappie let alone big Crappie. I suggest you do your homework first before you head out. I have a lake that is fairly close to me that has been producing larger size Crappie year after year and you will often find me there come spring. If you are not as fortunate as I, the first place I would head is your local bait shop. They hear where Crappie are biting every day and they often over hear stories of big Crappie caught. You can always stop in or give them a call, they’re always glad to help. If you want even more information, your state wildlife agency should have information that can be useful. I use the Minnesota DNR “Lake finder”. You can get information on just about any lake in your state. From lake maps, fish populations, lake access to gill net numbers, it’s on the site.  They have recently come out with a mobile app for your phone that allows you to get the same information from the site, anywhere, as long as you have a good signal. This comes in very handy.

Once you have picked out the lake it’s time to be efficient. You need to eliminate the areas of the lake you know won’t hold fish this time of year. Crappies seek warm water in the spring to spawn, so look for the section of the lake that gets the most sun. Bays, shallow humps, shallow flats with structure and anywhere you find shallow water next to drop offs. This will eliminate about half of the lake. Watch for temperature changes on your electronics and also pay attention to structure variations in shallow water. A couple of seasons ago I was having a hard time finding a good spot that held Crappie. I was watching my Humminbird and noticed a depression from 4 feet to 6 feet back to 4ft, surrounded by cabage on a big shallow flat. I marked this spot and waited a few minutes, just encase they were spooky. On my first cast I landed a 17” and after several cast had a limit of Crappie in no time. What this taught me was that, any variation on the bottom, any standing structure, or areas between weeds were spots to target in shallow water.

Boat control is critical in the spring. Most Crappie will be schooled up in small areas so you need to be as stealthy as possible. I usually set my trolling motor no further than 2 on the foot control. I literally “Creep” up to my marked spots often circling them as I cast. I recommend that you stay at least twenty feet away and make long cast to your spot. Keeping your distance will allow them to stay in a school rather than have them scatter and become less likely to bite.

I go against the rule of using long, light weight rods when I fish for Crappies. I use a medium 7 foot rod with a fast tip. I know it gets intense when you catch a large Crappie on a light weight rod but in the spring but larger fish bite also. When I am slow trolling, searching for Crappies, I will often catch very large Bass and I do not need to snap a light weight rod fighting a 6 pound Large Mouth. I also go against the grain and use 6 pound mono. I know about the sensitivity factor, light weight rod and line equals more sensitivity and more fish caught but I’m not after the small ones. When I catch large Crappie, I often find that they hit the presentation with authority and not with a light pull. This is when you need to count on your rod and line and there is no room for a chance of losing a potential trophy to a rod snap or a line break.

My lure selection is simple. I use a Snyder’s Lures “Crappie Spinner” or a “Froggit” usually works best tipped with either a Berkley Gulp 3” Black shad or a 1.5” Mister Twister. I use the Gulp when they are “Up Biting” and a Mister twister when they are chasing the lure. Throwing a small split shot on your line helps get the bait to them faster and makes it less likely that a Blue Gill will bite it first. The presentation I use is what I call “Aggressive” bobber fishing. It sounds “Old Fashioned” but it works! I cast out to the desired spot where I know the Crappie’s are holding. If I do not get a bite within 5-7 seconds I reel in and cast out again. Most of the time you are casting into shallow water(Less than 10 feet) so the action can be fast and furious. Using plastics saves time when you fish this way. There is no time to waste losing bait off your hook. You can catch multiple fish on one plastic which keeps you casting when you’re on a hot bite.

Take advantage of the time you have before the fishing opener and use these tips. It can make your spring Crappie fishing more successful and the spring much more enjoyable.

We are pleased to announce our newest addition to the Snyders Lures family, Mitchell Kettner. Mitchell is from Glencoe Minnesota but currently attends South Dakota State University. Mitchell lives and breathes fishing and loves to share his passion with others. We are excited to see what the future brings for Mitchell.

o share his passion

Ice Bluegills Deep
By: Dave Duwe

After first ice, the bluegills will migrate from the shallow water of early season ice and suspend over the main lake basin. The best time to catch deepwater bluegills is usually late January through February.

I consider deepwater any water depth over 15 feet of water. Deep water bluegills are roaming and don’t concentrate in any area for a long period of time. When they move they are usually in small schools of 5 or 6 fish. I will always catch the upper fish in the school first not to spook the fish that are lower in the water column. I find that the upper fish in the water column seem to bite better the fish that remain tight to the bottom. The greatest asset to the deepwater gill bite is a fish locator; my choice is a Vexilar FL-12.

The equipment needed is a medium action jigging rod with ultra-light spinning reel spooled the 1 or 2lb test monofilament line. The most important part of the rod and reel combo is a sensitive spring bobber. Frabill’s tungsten spring bobber is a great choice. The better the spring bobber the easier the angler can detect the shy biters.

I will use two approaches for the deepwater bluegills. My favorite is a double jig dropper rig and for the real shy biters a small ice jig without a sinker using light line. The double jig dropper rig is a simple rig; it’s putting two jigs on one line. I tie a flying gold ant approximately 10 inches to a foot above a waxie rig made by Synders Lure’s. To attach the ant I will tie it on the line using a Palomar knot leaving the tag end about a foot long to tie on the waxie rig. The ant works best if it hangs horizontal, also making it easy to detect on the Vexilar. By using the two jig rig, it allows the angler to add extra weight to the line getting the lures into the strike zone faster. The two jigs allow you two opportunities to get bit. Using a sinker also works; however, it doesn’t give you two chances for a bluegill. I will always use two different baits on the double jig rig. The flying ant will get a waxworm or wiggler, the waxie rig gets one or two spikes. This gives you a subtle presentation. Getting a small jig down to 20-30 feet of water can take some time but some days that is the only way to get bit. Patience and fresh line is the only way that it can work. I bait the jig with two spikes which can help you pick the jig up on the fish locator.

This year I have been catching most of my bluegills on Turtle Lake and Pleasant Lake in Walworth County and Little Cedar in Washington County all lakes are in Southern Wisconsin.

The lake determines the depth I will start fishing. I usually start deep 30 to 32 feet of water searching for fish. If I can’t locate them I will move shallower, I will seldom go any shallower then 20 feet of water. A lot of times you will need to fish an area before ruling out that there are no fish. Sometimes the fish are so tight to the bottom you can’t pick them up on the locator. A lot of time you send a jig down the hole and the fish will fly off the bottom coming up 10 or 15 feet to inhale the falling jig. The deep water bluegills bite will last through February and this year most likely into March. The deepwater bluegills have a tendency to be a larger size then there shallow water counter parts. Ice depths can vary and ice heaves can create a dangerous situation, so be careful venturing out in the main lake basin.

The froggit is a lethal lure for panfish. I like to set the froggit up on a bobber. I tip the lure with twister tails or froggit tails. I am always keeping the lure moving to keep the tails twisting.

The froggit has been getting more fish in my boat this spring/summer! The froggit quality is out standing, Snyder’s use the best products to make this outstanding lure!

Myles Longfellow

 I use the Lil Rascal as a search bait as well as my confidence lure. My  favorite color is any with gold. When I see Fish on the locator I drop down to them making sure to keep the lure at minimum 1 foot above. I basically “vibrate” the lure with a light steady jigging motion. As the fish rise up through the column I start to bring the lure higher all the while still jigging or vibrating it.  Occasionally as they’re coming up I’ll stall it. Then return to my vibrating or fast jigging technique. I almost always have the lure jigging or dancing on the line. Occasionally I’ll rip the lure up two or three times to use the blades on it as a call lure. I’ve caught a lot of little fish on it and big fish. I use the Lil Rascal on an ice blue series light rod combo with two pound test line.