The Big Crappie Spinner and similar baits on the market weigh 1/16 ounce or less and have size #0 to size #1 blades. Even though the bait is light, the blade offers little resistance, suggesting monofilament line testing at about 8 pounds. Accuracy around overhanging branches requires a fairly short, medium-light rod of 5 1⁄2 to 6 feet -- just right for skipping spinnerbaits under docks and tree trunks. The heavier line also allows you to work these baits free without losing them as often, and crappies are rarely line-shy around spinnerbaits.
Doug Stange, In-Fisherman Editor In Chief, has been carrying spinnerbaits with him on his television filming journeys across the South the last two springs. “I keep trying to get on a good spinnerbait bite for TV, but conditions have to be ideal,” he says. “The water has to be fairly clear and the fish have to be pushed up shallow and feeding aggressively. It's a late Prespawn Period into Spawn Period thing. I know from past experience that when you get it right the fishing's spectacular, but most days the fish just aren't that hot and you end up fishing more precisely, with jigs or jigs under floats. In those lakes where crappies stay shallow, spinnerbaits tend to become increasingly productive past spawning into summer, too.”
Another overlooked option around shallow brushpiles and fallen trees is the suspending minnowbait. Ultralight versions like the Excalibur Ghost Minnow (2 inches long) only dive about 2 feet at the most, which is perfect in many cases because crappies tend to enjoy feeling the sun on their backs and find a lot of their minnow forage close to the surface during spring. Replace the trebles with small single hooks and these baits become amazingly effective even around relatively thick cover, especially when working them very slowly with long pauses -- the best way to work them for crappies in cool water.
Crappies find it hard to resist a realistic minnow imitation that simply hangs there in the water column as they approach within close proximity. Braided lines like Power Pro testing 4 to 6 pounds will take these baits deeper, and monofilaments testing 6 pounds or so keep them higher, so you can tailor the presentation to some degree to the depth or extent of the wood cover. Often the object with suspending baits is covering water with a premium on distance over accuracy, and a 7-foot light or ultralight rod delivers them farther than shorter rods.
Jig-plastic combos can be very effective in both horizontal and vertical venues. When crappies are most active, suspended just above or outside wood cover, use small auger-tail grubs like the Berkley 2-inch Power Grub or Bobby Garland Custom Softbaits grub on a 1/32-ounce jig. Tiny shad-style plastics, like the Stanley Wedge Tail and the Berkley Micro Power Minnow, can be highly effective, too. The combination of the plastic body, the action tail, and the light jig keeps these baits up high when worked at a very slow pace on 4-pound monofilament. Casting this light package any distance requires a 7-foot ultralight rod. If the wood cover is dense, try a small jig with a thin wire weedguard.
