| One of the most important things to remember | | | | one of the biggest mistakes that people make |
| when choosing a lure is that what worked | | | | so do not choose a lure based on how it looks |
| yesterday may not work today. Next up | | | | in your box, that is just too metro-sexual |
| remember that what worked in one location | | | | and this is a man's sport so get over it. |
| most likely will not work in another. There | | | | |
| are reasons that crappie move around one of | | | | Starting with plastics the main goal here is |
| which is that they want some variety in their | | | | to resemble the shape, color and size of a |
| diet. If you find that they like a silver | | | | potential target food. Of course trying to |
| minnow in one spot they may not like it in | | | | capture the behavior of live bait is also |
| another. This can be disheartening at times | | | | included but that relies on you knowing what |
| especially when you are fishing outside of | | | | to do when it comes to presentation. |
| spawning season. | | | | Plastics can look so very much like the |
| | | | object of the crappies affection that it can |
| Don't forget you have a bigger brain, | | | | be scary but the real question is how does it |
| although it may not seem like it sometimes, | | | | behave and look in the water. Often times |
| it is your job to know what the crappie is | | | | these lures are stiff in the water and do not |
| looking for. So start by knowing what bait | | | | present well. They do have their advantages |
| fish are in the area. Do not make the same | | | | because they look so much like live food so |
| mistake that so many do and assume that the | | | | when using these be sure to use lighting to |
| crappie is looking for minnows. There are | | | | your advantage. These absorb scents or can |
| lots of other foods out there. Throughout | | | | be called 'scentless'. I have never had |
| the year crappie will eat everything | | | | success with using scents on any type of |
| including worms, minnows, crawdads, snakes, | | | | lure. |
| frogs, tadpoles and every type of bug it can | | | | |
| catch. I've even known them to chase after a | | | | Next up cloth or feather type lures, I'm |
| bare hook and a finger dangling in the water. | | | | ignoring the plastic lures that try to behave |
| | | | like cloth. These have an advantage over |
| There so many varieties and categories for | | | | plastics because of the presentation. These |
| lures that it's hard to find a spot to start. | | | | lures do not look much like real crappie food |
| So let us begin by defining three categories | | | | but when they are wet they do look a lot |
| of lures: plastics, cloth or feather and | | | | better. When the cloth or feather lure is |
| live. Of course there are mixes of those but | | | | wet it adheres more to the fluid dynamics and |
| let's start at the basics. | | | | when pulled correctly buy a line and a quick |
| | | | wrist it will swim just like a bait fish does |
| With every type of lure we have to consider | | | | when swimming. These are hard to visualize |
| how it behaves in the water not just how | | | | because they change shape so much when they |
| flashy it looks in your tackle box. This is | | | | are in the water. |