Several years ago I was fishing with a buddy on a nearby lake shortly after ice out. He was bent on catching crappies and had a pale of minnows. I was fine with sunnies (bluegill). I was doing the overhand retrieve and doing well, and he was fidgety with hardly any action. I was using a very small and weighted wooly bugger tied with peacock herl. To give my hand a rest I did a standard strip and bang! a very nice crappie. Our first of the day. Using that little fly, which looked nothing like a minnow, I creamed them. Since I've used a Hare 'N Copper in the spring and done equally as well with crappie. Before that accidental hookup I would have never guessed it was possible to catch crappie on a fly. Since they've become a "destination" fish. With those flinty mouths they're even more game, and put up a whale of a fight. I've done pretty well with small (size 10) Clousers yellow over white, but nothing even comes close to the Hare 'N Copper. I've been asked this before ? it's a fly I picked up in New Zealand, a nymph I suppose, although I don't know much about trout fishing. I wrap a 10, 12 or 14 with a few wraps of lead wire, tie in a copper wire ribbing, then dub with natural zonker hair or brownish dubbing, then bring the ribbing over the top. You can also palmer in a hackle wing but I don't. JGW

[This message has been edited by white43 (edited 16 February 2005).]