Crappie Fishing Basics: Details Here, Simple Steps To Crappies Catching Success!
P&S Fishing Tackle, Inc. - fishing tackle store for avid anglers. More that 7,000 items in fishing tackle catalog.
Old School Crappie Fishing Family Secrets
The Basics of crappie Fishing
Crappie are found all over the United States From the east cost all the way to California, from southern Canada, To Florida and just about any other place there is a lake river or stream. if you are a beginning fisherman, this species of fish is ideal to target because of the in expense of fishing equipment you will need and of course the abundance of this fish at so many local locations. If you have young children who are interested in trying the sport of fishing than taking them crappie fishing would be the best way to perk their interest.
Fishing for crappies is really a very in-expensive way to get into the sport of fishing and even beginners will catch fish. Here’s a small list of fishing equipment you will need. Get yourself a cane pole that is over 10ft long, some 3 to 4 lb test line, some crappie hooks, and a small bobber. All these items can be found at most bait shops and at any department store. Many times when you purchase the cane pole these items will already bee rigged up for you. All these items can be purchased for under 25$ . Now you can spend a lot more and you will if you really get interested in the sport, but if you just want to try crappie fishing the cane pole option is the way to go.
No mater if you spend just 25$ or if you go out and buy a more elaborate fishing outfit you still need to know some basic facts about the crappie species of fish to catch them. You need to do a little bit of reading so you know what their typical habitat is so you know where to find them. I would suggest while you are getting your crappies live bait at the local bait shop that you ask a few questions as to where the fish are biting.
You also need to know what they look like. For instance, if you are new to fishing for this species you need to know that the there are two types of crappie. Both species of crappie are from the sunfish family (Pomoxis annularis) and are located in North America and can live in harmony together. There is the black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) and the white crappie (Pomoxis annularis). Both these fish are found only in North America, and they belong to the sunfish family (Centrarchidae).The sunfish family also includes such fish as the largemouth bass, bluegills, and other warm water game fish. These fish have been stocked very heavily for the East Coast to the West Coast and from southern Ontario into Mexico and Now Panama and they can be found anywhere there is a lake a stream or rivers. Crappie fishing basics will work for both the white and the black crappies. Here’s a few identification tips: As a rule of thumb, black crappie are darker as the name indicates, with a irregular pattern of spots on there bodies. White crappie are lighter in color and have a defined vertical pattern of spots. Here’s another way of identifying the two crappies. Count the number of splines on the dorsal fin. If the count is between 7 and 8 the fish is a black crappie, if the count is between 5 and 6 then you have a white crappie. Black crappie thrive better in colder, clear water and can be found as far north as I said in the first paragraph in southern Canada. White crappie seem to like large lakes, and slow moving rivers of the south. Both these fish can be found any where in the lower 48 states and many time are found living together and yes they do cross breed.
The crappie’s size will depend totally on it’s local environment, and there size will cycle over time, but on the average you can expect to catch fish from 1/2lb to 1lb each. If you stick to some simple crappie fishing basic tips you may catch some fish in the 2lb plus range. A record white crappie was caught in Enid Lake Mississippi and weighed in at 5lb 2 onces. There is a tie for the record black crappie, a 4lb 8once black was caught at both Kerr Lake Virginia and Otoe Lake Nebraska.
Crappies feed on small fish, like your typical crappie fishing minnow and small aquatic insects and tiny crustaceans. The young fish will feed primarily on the small crustaceans and insects while the larger adults diet consists mainly on small fish. There have been some biology studies that support the fact that black adult crappie tend to eat more insects in the spring and crappie minnows throughout other seasons of the year.
Well that concluded my article on crappie fishing basics, Just have fun and relax, that what fishing is all about! Good Luck On your next outing!
Mark Fleagle is an Expert Author At Ezinearticles.com. and has over 30 years of fishing experience who has written 100’s of useful fishing articles. Would you like to max out your catch on your next fishing trip? Blow your fishing buddies out of the water and get your bragging rights today! Also don’t forget to get your free copy of “78 Fishing Discoveries Unleashed” http://www.oldfishinghole.com
Click Here For More Information About white crappies
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!