by Robert W. Benjamin
Crappies are one of the best tasting fish I have ever eaten, I like
them better then trout.
The meat is pure white
and is firm and full of
good mellow flavour.
Crappies are a panfish,
similar to bluegill and
sunfish. When I was a
young man, a lot of
local fishermen called
crappie, ' calico bass
'. Luckily for us
fishermen they are
considered a panfish and
are not restricted in
most areas, like other
bass are when it comes
to fishing laws. Here in
Pennsylvania we are
allowed to catch 50
crappies a day with no
size limitations.
Crappies are ' little
hellions ', they are
full of energy and
despite their small size
they can make a normal
fishing rod bend to the
breaking point and cause
a reels drag to become
active, the energy and
taste are two reasons
why crappies are such a
great fish to catch.
Crappies come in two
types or varieties,
there are black crappies
and white crappies.
Crappies live throughout
the U.S in many ponds,
lakes and streams, I
guess if other panfish
or even bass can thrive
in the water, then
crappie can also.
Crappie look similar in
size and shape to other
panfish, except they are
a lot more silver
colored, with black
spots, and they have
upturned noses. They are
actually a very nice
looking fish, and the
silver or shiny color
shimmers in the
sunlight. Crappies
can be caught year
around. In the spring
and fall months they
move near the shore
areas, and in the summer
they move out in more
deeper and cooler water.
They are probably the
most active in the early
spring months when they
move towards the shores
to spawn, they become
very aggressive and tend
to bite and attack
anything that is cast or
moves near them or the
nest, making it pretty
easy to get a stringer
full of crappies in a
short time in the spring
season. The nests look
like hollowed out
depressions or dishes in
the mud or gravel on the
bottoms of the ponds and
lakes. If you walk
slowly around the edges
of the water, you can
see these nests and
often see the crappie in
and near them. Once you
spot one of the nests,
casting your bait near
it will usually produce
a quick strike. In
the summer or warmer
months, they often hang
around stumps, trees,
and other debris areas
and underwater
structures for shading
and protection. Casting
near these areas in the
summer and warmer months
will often be very
productive for catching
a mess of crappie. In
the fall time of the
year, they move towards
the shores and become
more aggressive again in
their feeding and
biting. This aggressive
feeding and biting
continues throughout the
cold winter months,
which makes crappie a
great fish to catch
while ice fishing in the
winter. The best time
to catch crappies is
during the daylight
hours, with early
morning after sunrise
and in the late
afternoon towards early
evening hours being the
best times. Crappies
love minnows with a
passion, and when it
comes to live baits
there is no better
choice than a small
minnow. If you don't
have or cannot get live
minnows, then use jigs
or any such lure that
looks as realistic as
possible to a live
minnow. But when you use
an artificial minnow
make sure you keep the
lure pretty active, so
it simulates a live
minnow as much as
possible, if the fake
minnow just sits still,
crappie have been known
to look and then just
pass by, they seem to
prefer live minnows and
bait instead of dead
ones. Crappies have a
abnormally soft mouth,
so be aware that if you
jerk your rod too hard,
to set the hook, you can
rip it right out of the
crappies mouth,
resulting in losing the
fish. There is
Computer Software that
is made for crappie
fishing as well as
catching any type of
fish. After keeping a
few past records of
fishing trips, this
software will help you
to easily calculate what
days will be a great
fishing day ! The
software is called: '
Fishing Buddy ', you can
download and try the
software for free from
this website address:
http://www.rb59.com/fishingb
By Robert W. Benjamin
Copyright © 2006 You
may publish this article
in your ezine,
newsletter or on your
website as long as it is
reprinted in its
entirety and without
modification except for
formatting needs or
grammar corrections.
About the Author
Robert W. Benjamin has been in the software business on the internet for over
5 years, and has been producing low-cost software for the past 25+ years. He
first released software on the AMIGA and C64 computer systems in the late
1970's-80's. RB59 Software
http://www.rb59.com/software
|
