1. The biggest fish are going to be on the top of the school. This is the reverse of most schooling fish.
2. Use small minnows to locate the schools, then switch to 1 to 2 inch grubs.
3. In the spring, look in the backs of coves and creeks. If impoundment fishing, look for gully washes from runoffs. As the water warms, you can move out to the coves and more open water.
4. Crappie are very line shy. So, use the lightest line you can get away with. Once, when catching fish from a school they stopped biting. A quick switch from 8-pound to 6-pound test got ’em going again. A good bet is 4-pound test.
5. Follow crappie through their seasonal changes. There are three major fishing seasons. In spring, they are in shallow water. In summer, they use shade as cover, usually around deep bridges, trees, docks or pilings. In the fall, they hang around shallow docks, pilings and submerged trees.
6. Small jigging spoons are excellent for crappie holding in deeper water. Let your spoon fall to the bottom, then move it up, several inches at a time, until you find the fish.
7. Slip bobbers will help keep your jigs at the right depth.
8. Fishing will be best a few hours before a front rolls through.
9. Take along some cornmeal and use it as chum to attract minnows and baitfish that, in turn, will attract crappies.
10. An obvious place often overlooked is around docks and boat ramps. That’s where anglers dump unused bait.
