One of my favorite holiday traditions over Thanksgiving and Christmas is fishing with my family. There is nothing like throwing in a line on your family pond or going out on the lake to catch dinner. One of the best fish to catch is monster crappie. They are the perfect pan fish and a one of the best tasting. I want to help you catch these monsters so you can impress your friends and family. 

Where to Find Crappie

In my experience some of the best places to catch large crappie are on fallen trees. When you see a tree laying off the bank of a pond or lake fish it! These make some of the best crappie holes in the world. The ultimate crappie-fishing dream is finding a tree that has fallen in about 20 feet of water. Any where from 15 to 20 feet of water is perfect for large crappie to sit. After every Christmas we would take our Christmas trees and sink them in about 20 foot of water making artificial crappie holes. Several other good areas to look for crappie are docks and piers.  

What to fish with?

I always use my Penn reels no matter if I am fishing saltwater or fresh. My Penn’s are on uglystick which are a medium action rod. On my small Penn’s I keep 10lb test for crappie and bass fishing.

I like to use a C & B Custom crappie jigs 1/8oz with round heads. On the back of the jig I place a Gulp Minnow. The Crappie will tear these up like they are candy. I have also used small rooster tails that work good and have also caught my personal best on plastic pumpkin seed lizard while bass fishing. If you are the type that doesn’t like to use artificial you can always visit your local bait shop and get live small minnows. This is almost cheatingbut guaranteed to be a full day of catching fish. With the minnow technique I would recommend a Size 4 hook with a small split shot weight about 3 feet off of the hook. I only fish for the largest crappies so these are my secrets. If need be you can always use 1/16oz jig heads or smaller hooks than a size 4.

NOW GO CATCH FISH!!!!

Now that you know all of my secrets get out there and fill the livewell and enjoy you fall fishing with friends and family.