What are the best artificial lures to use when fishing for Crappie?

For spin, or spin-casting gear, the ultimate artificial bait for crappie is the ubiquitous Marabou jig, in small sizes. No other lure comes close.

The jig is probably the oldest fishing lure known. Bone jigs have been found in very old excavations the world over. Any fish that can conceivably be caught on a line can be caught on some type of jig. If you could only have one lure, this is the one to have. There are many different shapes, such as flat-head jigs for walleye, Horse-Head ‘Road Runner’ shaped jigs for crappie and bass, and bullet-head jigs, mostly for marine fish. But the best all-around shape is a simple ball-head jig, painted or unpainted. It easily slips over rocks and through weeds and usually does not hang up on the bottom. For crappie, it can be tipped with a minnow, a plastic minnow-type body, tube-type bodies, a grub-type body, or the best of all, marabou in chartreuse, yellow, white or any combination of the three.

Marabou is a soft, delicate feather that moves enticingly in the water.  The feathers used to come from the Marabou Stork, largest member of the stork family, but since they are becoming more and more protected, nowadays the soft under-feathers of young turkeys are used instead.

Other lures that are successful at times are small sized French and Inline spinners, such as those made by Mepps, Panther-Martin, Blue Fox and Rooster-Tail, again in white, yellow and chartreuse.

If you are into fly-fishing, many great fly patterns are successful for taking crappies. One of my favorites is called Crappie Candy. It can be purchased at most fishing tackle shops that carry fly fishing gear, or if you prefer to tie your own, the pattern is available on many fly-tying websites.

While dunking minnows may be the most successful method of filling a stringer, artificials can provide their own rewards.

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