Huffman, of Poplar Bluff, MO is the author of several books on crappie fishing as well as being an editor and columnist for a number of crappie related magazines.

Neporadny, of Lake Ozark, MO is a free-lance outdoor writer on subjects such as tournament fishing, bass and crappie angling.

“The average angler is facing some great changes in fishing during the past 10 years,” says Neporadny.  “In rods you have the long poles and the short ultralights.  There are small reels, even small bait cast reels.”  He points out that one can match any kind of bait to the type of rod and reel combination desired.  John also points out that fishing lines have changed to meet the demands of the crappie anglers who compete in tournaments.

Huffman agrees and points to the changes in techniques used by anglers.  Tournament anglers have moved to trolling crankbaits in an attempt to catch scattered fish.  “The numbers might be less,” says Tim, “But the quality of fish they catch is so much better.”

So what do these angling experts recommend one put in a crappie fishing tackle box?

For a beginner the experts recommend extra light good hooks.  They are good for allowing minnows to have maximum movement and live longer.  The light hooks can get unhung when they are caught on vegetation and rocks.  Split shot, sinkers and basic crappie jigs in the 1/16th ounce head are next.

Next they recommend some two inch tube jigs in light, medium and dark shades.  Huffman maintains that fish see shades rather than actual colors.  For light colors, he recommends chartreuse or pearl.  For medium shades he likes orange/chartreuse or red/chartreuse.  The dark shades are the basics of purple, black, and dark blue/black.

Neporadny also likes colored jig heads.  But, he uses just four basic colors: chartreuse, black, orange and a bright pink for the spring spawn.

Huffman and Neporadny are strong believers in “scents.”  They particularly like the Berkely crappie nibbles but add that there are a number of scent impregnated baits available on the market.

As one wants to move to more advanced crappie fishing, the experts recommend getting into a whole variety of jig bodies.  A variety of jigs in different weights also come in handy.  “They allow you to fish different depth ranges more accurately,” explains Tim.  He further explains that curly tailed jigs are handy for those anglers wanting to troll or cast in situations where one wants to keep the bait moving.  “Tube jigs are more normally used in the vertical jigging presentation.”

Basically the advanced box is more of the same only it is a lot more fun because you get to play with colors.  It also costs more and takes up more room in the boat.

In the advanced box one could also include feather and hair jigs.  Feather jigs in the water collapse to almost nothing if they are pulled in the direction the feather is headed.  But, as soon as they are stopped they flare out giving an excellent breathing action.

Hair jigs are kind of in between a feather and a plastic.  They have a little more body to them with less movement.  They give a good visual effect that attracts fish.

“Something else for the tackle box is bobbers,” offers Neporadny.  He likes using bobbers in the spring when the fish are in the shallows.  “I just use the little clip on type,” says John.  He limits them to about 3/4 inches in diameter as they do not seem to spook fish.  “Even better,” Neporadny continues, “are the clear one that I see clear water fishermen using.”

The basic tackle box for crappie anglers can include a few items or many depending upon the sophistication of the angler.  Both of these men recommend that anglers begin with just a few of each item until they have a chance to see what is needed.

In my mind, there’s no such thing as the ‘midwinter blues’ when it comes to ice fishing. Waiting it out until late winter isn’t an option, nor is the thought of lowering my expectations – a willingness to accept a mere few fish to show for a day’s efforts on the lake. This is especially true with crappies. They, perhaps more than any other species, can be located and convinced to bite when winter’s odds are stacked against you. Here are a few ice fishing tips for crappie.

Finding fish is the obvious first order of business. On natural lakes, even reservoirs for that matter, there are principal physical features to seek out. Topping the chart are holes pocketing the basin – deep divots smack dab in the middle of flatness and nothingness. Time on the water has proven out that half acre to acre sized depressions present the greatest promise, too. Smaller ones simply can’t support a significant volume of fish; larger ones are too obvious and get pulverized by other anglers.

Within these isolated holes, I first find the sharpest break. Crappies collect there. Add a tight corner and it draws a crowd of food – baitfish to zooplankton – as well as snacking crappies. Pinpointing these key features is made simpler through GPS mapping. The Lowrance Elite 5 Ice Machine, for example, carries onboard mapping along with submarine grade sonar. Probable hotspots are identified before drilling a single hole. Ice fishing gear efficiency at its finest…

Once you’ve identified these choice congregating areas, pre-drill a fistful of holes, settle in, and plan to stay put. Crappies will appear like a slow moving parade, making stops on sharp breaks and in dark corners. Pick off a few fish while the slow wave washes through, and then stick it out even if the screen goes blank for awhile. Good chance there’s another pod coming to sweep up behind the parade.

Holes are common across main lake basins, but don’t limit yourself by getting suckered into thinking more is necessarily merrier. Many of my top producing holes are isolated and located inside bays. They tend to get overlooked, not setting-up in easily fished bunches where you can move from depression to depression on foot. Oftentimes, it’s that loaner in a bay that maintains the most crappies.

By midwinter, as crappies do touch the brakes on feeding activity, their diet consists almost entirely of zooplankton. And the semi-microscopic organisms are common residents of soft-bottomed holes. The trick then is to fish as small of baits as possible in an effort to replicate the looks and locomotion of zooplankton.

Horizontal jigs, like Northland’s Bro Bug and Mud Bug are fantastic imitators. Without fail, I open with the orange/chartreuse Lady Bug pattern – Fire Ant, a glow red, sits on the bench as backup. With either pattern, slip on two maggots or spikes pierced through their noses. Another option is threading on one of Northland’s new Impulse Waxies. The soft plastic is fortified with baked-in Micro-Plankton™ formula, a powerful fish attractant.

Selecting the right rod and reel combo is equally as important. So significant that my brother Marty and I were asked to co-concept the perfect crappie combo for Frabill. Our energies came to life with the 22-inch, Quick-Tip Ice Hunter. Its super sensitive blank is unified with a cork handle and an ice fishing specific reel. It truly is ideal ice fishing gear for claiming midwinter crappies.

To make Ice Hunter an even more effective crappie catcher, add a Frabill Spring Bobber. The simple device is the best instructional device to visualize the jig’s action below the ice, and produce the subtle swim required for light biting crappies. I affix the finely coiled Spring Bobber to my 22-inch Ice Hunter. As a strike indicator, it reveals even the slightest bites. If the spring straightens out, a crappie is likely mouthing the jig and swimming up. If the bead suddenly stays stationary while you’re jigging, there’s a taker as well. It doesn’t take more than a couple of hours of studying the micro motions of the Spring Bobber to become a proficient jigger and bite interpreter.

On the reel, spool hair-like 1- or 2-lb. test Bionic Ice. The fine and supple line is surprisingly strong for its weight rating – plenty enough for horsing up even thick-backed crappies. Another option is Northland’s new Flourosilk ice fishing line. The heavier sinking line has a co-polymer nylon core with an “invisible to fish” ultra-slick fluorocarbon coating. It’s the bomb for fishing deepwater crappies.

With the assortment of carefully chosen equipment in hand, it’s time to nail the presentation. Again, crappies are feasting on small and slow moving eats. So any notions of aggressive jigging are off the table. Literally, action imparted by a good case of the caffeine shakes yields an effective action. It’s as close as you can get to deadsticking while still interacting with the rod and reel.

Eyes glued to the Lowrance, I spy for crappies passing throughout the entire water column. Once detected, I gently raise or lower the bait to just above the crappies’ noggins. Crappies are up-feeders. Just look at the composition of their jaws and it’s evident. They tip upwards and filter-feed zooplankton. Your task is making the jig look and behave like a pleasantly plump, easily nabbed aquatic invertebrate. Start jigging, cut the action in half, and you’re probably right on. Over-jigging is a common mistake when dealing with midwinter crappies.

Moral of the story is not getting down and out when winter is at its worst. Surely, the bite slows in January and February, but it doesn’t mean you have to spend your spare time playing cribbage and futzing with the boat. On the contrary, by playing the micro game with crappies, midwinter can be just as product as early and late ice. You just need to adapt to the conditions at hand and follow these simple ice fishing tips for crappie.

Have you ever watched the way minnows move? When I was in Grand Forks, N.D. attending “The School that Shall Not Be Named” I had multiple chances to jump the Red River into East Grand Forks, Minn., and watch as trout, bass and pike preyed upon minnows that the staff had dumped in the large central aquarium at the Cabela’s store. My observation of these baitfish, and others in the wild, revealed a distinctive behavior of most minnows that changed the way I fish.

Rarely, if ever, do baitfish swim in a vertical direction. Horizontal hovering and quick darting make up about 99 percent of a minnow’s movements. Sure, they might angle up or swim downward from time to time, but never is it a straight turn of 90-degrees. It is more like 10 to 15 degrees, tops. Most of the time baitfish are belly-down, back-up and holding horizontal, balanced by their flitting pectoral fins and tails. From these observations, I adapted many of my angling presentations to trigger fish like walleye and crappie, which feed predominantly on baitfish. These adjustments have been made across presentations, using jigs, soft baits and stick baits alike.

Twelve O’Clock High
To get the most horizontal presentation when using a standard ball head jig, or a specialty jig like a banana head jig, the key is to make sure the knot is placed at the 12 o’clock position. Whether tied with a Palomar or an Improved Clinch knot, the connection point should be made and repositioned as needed at the top of the jig eye. This distributes the weight evenly from a balancing point. When dressing a jig with a curlytail grub, or other plastic which might weigh the back end of the lure down, consider adjusting the knot to the 11 o’clock position. This repositioning counteracts the added weight, and depending on how the jig is worked through the water column, keeps it more horizontal.

When casting a jig to a known school of fish, like white bass or crappie, it is best to cast beyond them and allow the jig to sink almost to the level of the school. Start the retrieve just before the lure reaches the level of the fish. The vertical fall of the lure will level out with just a few turns of the reel handle, and the lure takes on a more natural horizontal presentation as it approaches the school. Keep the bait moving just fast enough to remain horizontal with the rod tip high as the bait goes just over or through the waiting fish. Slight twitches will mimic the darting movements of minnows as the lure glides through the feeding zone. Swimming a jig horizontally often out-produces a jig that just hangs vertically and is twitched occasionally. It’s crappie fishing tips such as these that will put fish in the net.

Low weight Soft baits
Horizontally presented soft baits have been all the rage in recent seasons – Berkley Swim Baits, Case Plastics Sinkin Salty Shads, even going way back to the Lunker City Slug-Go which started it all; these baits that fall horizontally with a tantalizingly subtle wiggle are proven fish-catchers. For most of them, it is as simple as Texas-rigging on a 3/0 worm hook with little or no weight. These baits can also be darted along like a jig and given a slow horizontal glide, like a dying minnow. Even tubes can be rigged with a tiny bullet sinker of 1/64 ounce to give them a little bit of sink without compromising a horizontal presentation, or try using wide-gap worm hooks with lead affixed to the belly portion of the hook. Silver and pearl tubes worked in this fashion can be very effective on smallmouth bass from late spring through fall.

Find Some Balance
Rarely does a stick bait like the Smithwick Rogue or Rapala’s Husky Jerk and Original Minnow come perfectly balanced out of the box; the nose might ride high or low on a suspending bait, or the rear rises just slightly faster than the front on floating models. Affixing some lead tape, like Storm’s SuspenDots, helps balance these lures out, attaining a more horizontal profile which triggers largemouth, smallmouth, pike and walleye. Jerk, twitch and pause your balanced stick bait through likely haunts to find fish, or troll it over a school of bait-chasing predators like summer walleyes. The horizontal presentation will look much more natural and entice more bites. If you do find a true-running stick bait that holds horizontal straight out of the box, mark the lip with permanent marker so you know it’s your go-to lure in the future.

If your favorite game fish are keying in on minnows or young-of-the-year perch, keeping your presentation horizontal will give you an edge and look much more like the real thing. Experiment with knot positioning, presentation methods and lure tuning this openwater season and expand your horizons…in our outdoors.