flyfishing for crappie

Hi Folks,
I am going to Clear Lake (California) next week and would like to try flyfishing for crappie. Problem is,,, I don't know anything about it. Please help with the "HOW TO'S" Thanks in advance, Mike

You could try this fly rod rig on your floating line for suspended Specks before going to a sinking line:

[url=http://www.eflytyer.com/patterns/cypert_minnow.html:99e08]Cypert's Minnow[/url:99e08]
I tie this fly with pearl braid body rather than the chenille and also use pearl mylar tubing. I use a 90 degree jig hook for use with the VOSI.

[url=http://laflyfish.com/flies/vosi.php:99e08]VOSI[/url:99e08]


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Robert B. McCorquodale
Sebring, FL

"Flip a fly"

I have been flyfishing for Crappie for several years and in fact had an excellent day yesterday with 15 nice fish in about 1 1/2 hours fishing from the bank in a local pond. The flies that consistently produce for me are the Carter's Sculpin in chartruese over white or other bright colors, the Crappie Candy (very similar to Carter's Sculpin, and the Jansen's minnow. I use a 9 ft leader with about 2-3 feet of tippet. Both the Carter's Sculpin and Crappie Candy have weighted eyes, so I let them sink for about 5-10 seconds and then retreive in sharp 6 inch strips with a 2 second pause between strips. The Jansen's minnow is not typically weighted so it sinks rather slowly. Let it sink , then make short medium speed strips with a 1-5 second pause between strips. Send me an email if you need recipes for any of these flies. Good luck and good eating! Sorry, but this is one fish I don't always C&R.

Jim Smith

I lived for three years on a six acre lake in NW suburban Chicago that had crappie in it. Lots of experimenting showed you could catch them on all manner of flies. Cypert Minnows worked, as did silver beadhead woolly buggers of white marabou and chenille, wrapped with grizzly hackle. The most fun, though,was to catch them on dry flies at the end of the day. They were suckers for a #12 March Brown comparadun or a Crackleback, either sitting on top or fished as an emerger with short strips.

I remember one summer evening when I took my canoe out into the lake, anchored at one of my favorite spots, tied on a double fly rig (small olive woolly bugger and crackleback trailer fly) and had a half dozen casts in 90 minutes when I DIDN'T get a strike or a fish.

stonefly,
When we were there two weeks ago, the fish were 12'-18' deep and wanting an ALMOST stationary bug. [url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v315/leesoares/CIMG0457.jpg:ffc3d]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v315/leesoares/CIMG0457.jpg[/url:ffc3d]
We use all of these (and a few others http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/wink.gif ) but the top and left bugs were working well that day. An indicator was handy for the "stationary" presentation needed.
Water should be several degrees warmer now (about 5*?) so they may be higher in the column and wanting a more lively retrieve.
Watch the people at Kenocti harbor for a bit and adjust your presentation to match theirs......depth and speed. Maybe you can poop-can the indy. http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/wink.gif
You have a boat or doing a shore thing?
....lee s.

Another site you may find of interest... [url=http://www.crappie.com/gr8vb3/forumdisplay.php?f=6:ffc3d]http://www.crappie.com/gr8vb3/forumdisplay.php?f=6[/url:ffc3d]
[This message has been edited by lee s (edited 01 April 2006).]

[This message has been edited by lee s (edited 01 April 2006).]

When I saw this post I almost fell out of my chair. Why? As it happens, yesterday I went fishing on a small river and after having the fish refuse several nymphs, two wolly buggers and a small streamer I finally decided to put a #4 size bass popper out there, and to my amazement caught a nice white crappie.

Goes to show you never know what you might catch until you do.

I run into crappie on Ruth Lake in norcal every year, while bluegill fishing. The hard part is finiding the darn things (or ones big enough to catch, anyway), and then following the schools as they wander around. I use an olive bugger, #10, with a little sparkle. Drop it in the school and let it sink, set the hook if the line twitches. Not exactly rocket science, but it works well for me.

I live in Minnesota, and we fish for Crappies and Sunfish. Sunfish perfer Nymphs, Crappies perfer small minnows.

~Parnelli