Crappies can be challenging to find given their nomadic nature, but advancements in fish finder technology have made finding fish much faster and easier (product listing below). Wired2Fish’s Ryan DeChaine and contributor Dan Quinn demonstrate how to locate cold water crappies spread across featureless natural lake basins using a combination of side and MEGA 360 Imaging.
Once fish are located, they take to the bow for a lesson in making spot-on-the-spot casts to an isolated tree using upsized baits to target the biggest crappies. Lipless crankbaits and jigs with curly tail grubs get the job done. DeChaine expands with an in-depth walk-through on some additional top-performing baits for fall and winter crappies in Northern-Tier states.
FEATURED TACKLE
DAN’S SETUP
- Rapala Slab Rap, Pink Clown (2″ SLR05)
- Sufix 832 Advanced Superline, 6lb Lo-Vis Green
RYAN’S SETUP
- VMC Curl Tail Spinnerbait
- VMC Boot Tail Spinnerbait
- Rapala Ultralight Rippin’ Rap
- VMC Rolling Swivel
ELECTRONICS
- Humminbird MEGA 360 Imaging @ Tackle Warehouse
- Humminbird SOLIX 10 CHIRP MEGA SI+ G3 (bow stack) @ Tackle Warehouse
- Humminbird SOLIX 12 CHIRP MEGA SI+ G3 (bow stack) @ Tackle Warehouse
- Humminbird SOLIX 15 CHIRP MEGA SI+ G3 (console) @ Tackle Warehouse
BOAT & EQUIPMENT
- Lund Boats 2075 Pro-V Bass XS (extra seating)
- Mercury 250hp Pro XS FourStroke
- Minn Kota Raptor Shallow Water Anchor, 8 ft with Active Anchoring @ Tackle Warehouse
