I have been doing quite well on a #beadhead Crackleback with a metalic red floss body
I have been doing quite well on a #beadhead Crackleback with a metalic red floss body
I've caught a lot of crappie on this simple fly. Marabou tail, Polar Chenille body, and a bead-head.
Steve
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went"
Will Rogers
Small clousers in chartreuse and white are deadly on crappie. Another pattern that works well for me is a small Woolly Bugger with a chartreuse body and white hackle. I have also done well with the Black-Nosed Dace, Crappie Candy, any small minnow patterns. For bluegills, it's hard to beat a cricket pattern on the surface, and sinking spiders, and chromatids for subsurface. They are also very partial to Pheasant Tail and Hare's Ear nymphs in wintertime. My all time best fly for bluegills near the bottom are small sized Gotcha's, in brown and chartreuse. Another of my best topwater patterns are Mini-Crease Flies.
Mormon Cricket + Quarter.jpg
Mormon Cricket
Crappie Gotcha.jpg
Mini Gotcha
Mini Crease Flies.jpg
Mini Crease Flies
Last edited by Gigmaster; 11-18-2011 at 11:56 PM.
Tie all black Clousers on size 6-8 hooks. No need for any other flies...
My Favorite Crappie Fly
I would add size 10 to that list.Originally Posted by bluegill
My favorite Crappie fly is the 'Reaper Damsel Nymph' size 10 in Black. (But I also like Olive or Rust/Brown)
It's a little bit like a Clouser.
It's a killer on Crappie, but Bluegills love them too.
I have taken other species with it, like the occasional Walleye, and more than a few Largemouth bass.
(One 15 inch white bass from a creek in town, and a couple of carp too)
I have a black reaper on display in my office that once landed a 15 inch Largemouth, then a 20 inch Walleye both within 15 to 20 minutes one evening after dark. I wasn't using it for those fish, but they wanted it anyways.
On another occasion, It brought in a dozen LM Bass between 12 and 16 inches, and a single bluegill that was 9 1/2 inches. It happened in a sandpit in central Nebraska (in March! It was cold, but the water was open, and there was a huge pile of logs & brush in the water at one end. I think every bass in the lake was in it that day)
I've caught quite a few channel catfish with it, no 'monsters' but a handful of them were 20 to 22 inches.
There's been a few big 'mystery fish' that broke my tippet because I (foolishly) didn't play them long enough
But it takes more Crappie & Bluegill than anything else.
I've been fishing this fly for years, and I can't go anywhere without it.
If I know there's crappie around, it's the first thing I tie on.
NEVER sneeze into your fly box!
.
Got a pattern, or recipe for one? I can't seem to find any online. Just places selling the flies.
I would add size 10 to that list.
My favorite Crappie fly is the 'Reaper Damsel Nymph' size 10 in Black. (But I also like Olive or Rust/Brown)
It's a little bit like a Clouser.
It's a killer on Crappie, but Bluegills love them too.
I have taken other species with it, like the occasional Walleye, and more than a few Largemouth bass.
(One 15 inch white bass from a creek in town, and a couple of carp too)
I have a black reaper on display in my office that once landed a 15 inch Largemouth, then a 20 inch Walleye both within 15 to 20 minutes one evening after dark. I wasn't using it for those fish, but they wanted it anyways.
On another occasion, It brought in a dozen LM Bass between 12 and 16 inches, and a single bluegill that was 9 1/2 inches. It happened in a sandpit in central Nebraska (in March! It was cold, but the water was open, and there was a huge pile of logs & brush in the water at one end. I think every bass in the lake was in it that day)
I've caught quite a few channel catfish with it, no 'monsters' but a handful of them were 20 to 22 inches.
There's been a few big 'mystery fish' that broke my tippet because I (foolishly) didn't play them long enough
But it takes more Crappie & Bluegill than anything else.
I've been fishing this fly for years, and I can't go anywhere without it.
If I know there's crappie around, it's the first thing I tie on.
It's basically a simplified version of a damsel nymph.
Marabou tail, shaggy dubbing and bead chain eyes.
For the hook, I like the MFC 7000, but you could use something similar, or heavier.
No hackle, no wire rib, no shell back, no legs, unless you want them.
Quick and dirty. You won't cry if you lose it either, so you can fish it in riskier places than you would with a masterpiece. Like logs and rocks.
Let me know how you do.
Bill
NEVER sneeze into your fly box!
.
The BS Fly
Crappie feed heavily on the young of the year ( YOY) minnows. The BS fly imitates the spawn of Bluegills and Sunfish (BS) Tie it on a 2X long, size 8 or 10 hook, with a substantial bead head ranging from Copper (my favorite) through gold to silver depending on water clarity and color of the YOY. Tie in a maribou tail ranging from near white to dark olive (my favorite) and then add Estaz wound on as a body and again dark peacock is my favorite. Tie in a maribou wing a shade or two darker than the tail and a maribou throat ranging from white to yellow and finally on to a bright orange (my favorite). ( for the throat I usally use the bits of fluff found at the base of bigger streamer feathers.) Fish almost motionless under a strike indicator and this fly will often outfish jigs, minnows or both.
Good Fishing,
Chuck S (der Aulte Jaeger)
"I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved"
http://fishing-folks.blogspot.com/
I love crappie on the fly. Slew them last year on Clouser types in 4 and 6. I'm twisting up a bunch now for the spring. I go with larger sizes because of the bass, cats, and saugeyes that get mixed in. Throw them with a 7 wt in the sticks and usually manage to get some good 12-14" fish. These are just a few of the few dozen that will hit the water in a couple months. My fish pics are too large to post, but we did have some good fish fries. These ties may be ugly, but they get the job done and I don't cry when I break them off.
IMG_0013.jpg
fr8dog...nothing wrong with your Clousers...they look FINE.
I've done well with craft fur Clousers and microjigs, for crappies up to 14".
In the Spring at a local reservoir, we've done well over the years with larger jigs (with spinning gear)...like 3" Kalin's twister tails on 1/8 oz jigheads. I've been thinking similarly-sized Clousers would be a good pattern to try for these 12"-14" crappies, but the last several years have seen the reservoir flooded during the spawning period, and I haven't been able to access our usual spots from shore....so I haven't been able to try it.
Here's a picture of one of the 14" crappies, you can sort of see the jig through the side of its mouth:
David Merical
St. Louis, MO
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