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Choosing Hook And Lure Size For Crappies

When fishing a plain hook with a minnow a #2 light wire Aberdeen hook will work best in most situations. It is important that the hook selected does not kill the minnow and that the hook allows the minnow some freedom of movement. When fishing brush piles downsizing the hook size to a #4 or #6 can help reduce snags when fishing minnows in brush piles. Smaller hooks are also a good idea if you plan on releasing the fish you catch as a smaller hook does less damage to the fish’s mouth. Hook size can also be downsized when using wide gap hooks. Using a gold colored hook can help in dirty water conditions while a bronze colored hook would be a better choice in clear waters.

When fishing with jigs with a minnows a 1/16 or 1/8 oz. jig will be needed to get the minnow down to the crappies. When fishing jigs with plastics a 1/32 or 1/16 oz jig is best. To maintain an adequate hook gap a #2 hook is still recommended.

In-line spinners such as a Roostertail or Mepps can work quite well for catching cpappies. Spinner sizes to use include a 00 to 0, with size 1 working for aggressive large sized crappies.

Crankbaits can also be very effective for warmer water crappies. A size 5 or up to size 7 Rapala will work along with the smaller 1/8 size Lazy Ike.