How big is to big???

I don't know. I keep trying bigger and they keep hitting them.
Currently killing them on a 3" Bass Assassin. 1/4 oz head on a #2 hook.



Strangely enough I'm still catching a lot of little ones as well as a lot of big ones.

Probably why you are who you are Mr. Paty...you know how to adapt to what they want! I wouldn't have thought to go that big, but that's why you catch more fish than me! I have established a pattern on LBJ post spawn...they want a giant chartreuse Rapala trolled pretty quickly. Was just messing around dragging it behind my kayak one day and stumbled across it and now every year in April I can catch gooderns doing the same thing. Sometimes we forget they have that big mouth for a reason!

I don't think TOO BIG is TOO BIG....at least that's what she said.....LOL



Get your head out of the gutter, I'm talkn bout that BIG female crappie.....LOL

With the size shad these fish have in there belly and in there mouth the 3" bait seems to make since. I am a believer after Ernest tossed one at me and I tied it on and Bam, Bam and Bam and I was having a struggling morning standing next to Guy getting it handed to me fishing small jigs.

I haven't had that problem..

Fle-Fly makes a 4" plastic body and I have caught many crappie on one with a 1/4 oz head. Some even nearly as small as the bait.

That`s funny David. I was catching mine on a Thermocline lil fry "firecracker"when Ernest gave you that big ol bait.

The crappie I'm catching have a mix of both small young bluegill (1-2 inch), and 3-4.5 inch minnows.

Eric

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying they won't hit small jigs too. Just reporting what I have been doing.
I'm sure I could have caught some on small baits but the bigger fish hit the bigger bait for me.

Interesting and good to hear this... I was having trouble getting bit over the weekend until I went to a 1/16oz pink head w/ a 1.5" jig. Used it all weekend with success. Friends were switching all over the place but I stayed with this one setup eventually sized up to a 1/8oz head. Caught some nice keepers, but more throw backs..

Gotta love the theory: big baits, big fish.

*EDIT* Forgot to add, they wouldn't touch a minner for some reason.. was catching them on my teaser and said to hell with minners all together.

Ive been using 3.5" baits all of 2016 with some pretty good results small fish included. I usually start off with big bait and downsize if needed.

I don`t think I even have a 3" bait in my tackle sack! Maybe it`s time for ol Fishbonz to upgrade

I know a lot of professional crappie fisherman suggest you use big baits for big fish. They fish tournaments so big fish is what they are targeting. This eliminates catching dinks for them. The largest baits I use for crappie are the Zoom tiny flukes. I used them for sand bass fishing and found that crappie like them also.

Its not the jig its the jigger.

Yep, this one!

But, I also subscribe to the the "bigger baits - bigger fish"!

Ernest: There's not going to be many small shad this time of year. Been a long time since a spawn. Crappie gotta eat something.

I think you missed the boat today. A video of you crappie fishing on Lake Lewisville in these snow flurries would have been a classic.

Any fishing I do in snow will be in the marina under cover. In the past maybe I would but not anymore.

Going in the morning. See how long I can stand it.

I would be out there if it wasn't for the 20 mph North wind. I've has some tremendous catches in the snow in past years.

I chickened out today. Maybe tomorrow.

Me too! Got the grandkids today!

Hats off to you Ernest for just thinking about it. I moaned about having to just go to a wedding today in a monkey suit and freezing.

Well it warmed up a little bit this afternoon so I just had to go.



Only caught a few but they were nice ones. This wasn't the biggest, just the first.

Going again early tomorrow.

We have been catching crappie all winter with an ounce and a half white/silver slab from rsr.

Ive caught crappie on 5in flukes while striper fishing and the crappie im cleaning had 4-5in shad in their bellies.

Yep...the wierd thing is , is when a 50lb. flathead takes your 1/16th oz. jig....what's up with that?

Today was pretty cold but electric heater did the trick. Stayed about two hours and landed 11 nice keepers. Guy, Rick and Pat were doing about the same. (But I had the heater)

Monday: Another good early bite. Left at 9 to get a haircut.

It's still working. I rarely fish with anything smaller than 2.5" now. May have to change when the shad fry start to schooling around the cover.

When casting the shore for scattered spawner's I was using 1/16 oz road runners. Changed to 1/4 oz and caught more fish and they handle the wind better.

ttt