Minnows work well - stick with lively fish that are small to
medium sized. I like to hook these minnows right behind the dorsal
fin just below the bone. When hooked just right and hung below
a bobber you will find your bobber moves around a lot, so much
so that you really have to keep an eye on it to keep it out of
cover or you’ll never get your hook back. I find that a two inch,
a health two inch, minnow will work very well for most crappie.
When you get your bait be sure to ask what they are biting on
recently and if they don’t know be sure to get varying sizes of
minnows.
With all live baits I use them on a bobber, dragging your live
bait through the water just kills them quicker. Do not use a bobber
that is a gallon jug, those are for catfish, pick one that will
just support your bait or just give you an idea of what your line
is doing. With many baits I’ll use a small stick style bobber
or a small one inch or less round bobber. As for depth you need
to know the cover that they are hiding in and fish six to twelve
inches above that.
Also if you are not going to catch your own bait use a bait supplier
that is close to where you are fishing. Avoid some of the larger
outfitters for live bait as they might import many of their baits
or if you use their baits make sure the bait is healthy and allowed
where you are fishing. I like the small mom and pop bait shops
because chances are their kids or some local school kids caught
the bait right where you will be fishing. Local bait means that
you have what the crappies are already eating so you now have
the simple task of making it easy for them to eat.
To get the full "Live Bait for Crappie " article you'll need to download it here.
