Minnesota Crappie Fishing Strategies
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by: fishinghelper
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Minnesota Crappie presents different challenges that catching Crappie in the Southern United States where they are much more common.
You are fishing primarily for Black Crappie in Minnesota, these fish have adapted to their environment well. You will find Crappie in Minnesota do not grow as large as those in states with a longer period of warm weather. Fish are cold blooded and dormant in the long cold winter months of Minnesota.
Different strategies need to be employed as the fishing conditions change. In the spring Crappie will relate to shallow water shoreline areas. One of the key things to look for is fallen timber.
Most lakes in Minnesota will not have many areas like this. This can be a good thing, when you do locate a good area you can really put many nice slab Crappies in your live well. Just one fallen tree on the right shoreline can hold a decent sized school of slab Crappie.
Let us start by discussing equipment. You should use a light action rod that is very sensitive to small strikes as Crappie arte not a very aggressive fish. A small spinning reel spooled with four pound test monofilament or fluorocarbon line is your next requirement.
Crappie are a very wary fish that spooks easily, this setup will increase your catch rate. Keep your hooks small and thin. Crappie have thin mouths and thicker hooks can easily become dislodged.
I have fished Crappie in Minnesota for over thirty years. It is definitely a different experience than fishing for Crappie in other areas of the country. Nothing beats a pink jig tipped with a minnow in Minnesota for catching slab Crappie. You can fish this bait many ways.
In the spring situation we talked about above it can be suspended under a bobber and cast near the shoreline. If you see some fallen timber in the water you should quietly position your boat as close to the structure as possible. A silent trolling motor or set of oars is best used for this purpose.
Once in position you must be concerned with not spooking the fish in the area.
Soft casts to a spot near the fallen tree are a must. I like to suspend a pink jig with a crappie minnow three feet below a small bobber.
If for some reason you miss your target area and become hooked up you need to cut and retie instead of disrupted the area trying to dislodge the hook. If the water has current you should cast the bobber out in a manner that allows the current to cause it to drift into the target area.
As summer hits the Crappie moved to deeper water, this is when they are most difficult to catch. The problem is that lakes in Minnesota do not have deep water trees and brush piles like southern lakes do. Crappie here relate more to water temperature and the direction of the wind. In summer you generally find Crappie in somewhat deeper water with close ready access to shallow water.
About the Author
Dan Eggertsen is a fishing researcher and enthusiast who is committed to providing the best crappie fishing information possible. Get more information on Minnesota Crappie Fishing here: http://www.askcrappiefishing.com/
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