Crappie Flies

[fr8dog]

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

[FishnDave]

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:

[stevehaun]

Nice crappie! Makes me hungry...