I have a chance to go crappie fishing on a private lake this weekend and am not sure which pattern use. I am open for any suggestions, since I have a few days to put something together.
Thanks,
Nymph_Lash
The only Crappie I have caught on a fly, were at Owyhee Reservoir, in eastern OR, and this is what I caught them on: White Zonker (pearl or silver body) http://www.flyfishusa.com/newsletter/102404/zonker-white.jpg (no eye necessary)
Doug
Tie up a bunch of wooly buggers in various colors. They catch crappie in Agate Lake & Emigrant Reservoir which ain’t too far from Grants Pass. I like them with bead heads.
Tim
I am going to incense fly fishing purists here, but using a fly rod for crappie is like hunting for quail with a crossbow. I have caught many crappie (white/black perch, sacalait) on flies, but almost always by accident.
To specifically answer your question, they will hit almost any bass/bream fly pattern from a large popper (caught a very large crappie on a yellow popper tied on a #1 hook) to a tiny nymph (last week I took several on a coffee colored Boudreaux). Something shiny in yellow or chartreuse is probably best.
BUT
Most fishermen who use a fly rod for crappie fishing use it like a jig pole. Casting toward a thicket of underwater bushes where crappie hide is going to get you hung up more often than not and crappie very rarely take anything on top.
SO
You are going to go sacalait fishing for food, not sport (since they don’t fight particularly well but taste great) which means you might as well use what works best. In this case, spinning tackle or a jig pole.
Try a yellow foam Gurgler, various color chenille body, with yellow legs; small and largemouth bass hit it too. See: The Gartside Gurgler "Fly of the Week #90 - FAOL
For a nymph try Whitlock?s Red Squirrel Tail with gold bead head and pumpkin legs or my favorite go to fly the Minibugger, see: http://www.nvatu.org/2008_Feb_TLine.pdf works for trout too.
Good luck,
John
Sorry CoachBob but I’ve taken many a fine crappie with various minnow imitations in the beginning of summer, fished down deep(ish) with a sink tip line.
My fav. fly was a Jansens Minnow (minner :mrgreen:) and my son and I took over 50 inside of 1 1/2 hrs. We tossed them over the side but behind the boat.
As it turned out, a DNR off. was watching with binocs. and came over to get a fish count. As he was approaching I says “Hang on a tad” and stripped in another…it was like that!
He peered inside the livewell to see it dry! He thought we were nuts not to keep 'em…
I’ll take a burger!
Jeremy.
I have a friend who is an ardent crappie angler (on the fly) and always tells me the same thing~size #6 flies, in olive. So, I tie olive buggers/muddlers with and w/o flash and bead heads…they work well.
I did see some rubber tube jigs (for spinning gear) called “Crappie Thunder” at the local tackle shop last spring…they were red-bodied jobs with chartreuse skirts. I tied size #6 silver bead headed buggers with red chenille bodies/chartreuse-colored marabou tails and cleaned-up with them! The pattern had no hackle, and 2 strands of pearl-colored krystal flash on each side of the tail.
Hope this helps,
TZB
Coach Bob, RW here,
I’m not incensed at all, but please explain one thing. Why would you come to a fly fishing website and suggest to us that you find it unusual that fly fishers would fish for crappies with a fly rod? I have caught hundreds of crappies with a fly rod (on purpose, not accidentaly) and find it not only easy, but in many instances easier than with other methods. Fly Fishermen fly fish. It’s just as simple as that.
rw
Yeah, that. ^^^^^^
Woolly bugger are what I like to use for crappie with olive and chartreuse being my favorite colors. But I’ve also been successful with mickey finn’s and I watched my brother hammer them with a white streamer with a strand of chartreuse chenille in the body.
I have caught a ton of Crappie on my fly rod, most of the time when I target them. The two most productive patterns for me are the Carter’s SEM Sculpin tied in the same colors as shown in this link http://www.warmwaterflytyer.com/patterns6.asp or tied in bright red/white or purple/white colors. The second patterns is a polar fiber minnow tied like a baby bunker on a size 6 hook in olive over chartruese over white. Using this minnow pattern I got into a school of crappie that all ranged between 15 and 16 inches long. Even someone who cleans fish as poorly as I do can get meat off of Crappie that big. Crappie are the only fish I will target to eat since they are so prolific and grow so fast that they can ruin a good fishery if not thinned out and the fact that they taste so gooood.
Jim Smith
I’m a big fan of fishing for crappie with the fly.
Here in North Carolina my buddy and I use a small handful of patterns.
Black and olive wooly buggers, Shenk’s Minnow, White Marabou Streamer, and
a few bucktail streamers. Crappie aren’t real picky when it comes to forage.
Prime time here right now.
Battered filets, deep fried, with sides of oven roasted new potatoes and jalapeno cole slaw…good godawmighty which way do I steer! Got a Bud?
Bob 
Royal Wulff,
Because there are so many fish that are more of a challenge and more fun to catch than crappie – unless you are after lots of good eating.
Here in the deep south the sacalait (crappie’s name in Cajun French) stack up deep and by cover. I have made a gallant effort with flies I know are attractive to sacalait while in the same boat with a jig fisherman. I get outfished 10 to 1.
If crappie were fun to catch it might be different, having the fun of bringing in a big slab on a 3 wt. But, you know, crappie give up after a few seconds. What fun is that?
Yes, using commie tackle is about the same as dropping in a stick of dynamite…but…meat fishing is just that. The goal is lots of fillets, not the art of fly fishing.
I’m about to leave for the Keys where I could catch permit just as well with spinning tackle as a fly rod, but I will only use the fly rod because it is a beautiful experience. I even argue with Keys guides about the size of tackle (they insist 11 or 12 weight) because big fish on lighter fly tackle are fun.
Crappie are not fun. It’s like hunting for cows.
I respectfully disagree. Crappie fishing is fun for me. I have no problem with others who do not enjoy fishing for them. I can see your point. They are certainly not technically difficult fish, but for a day of lighthearted sport they are hard to beat.
I will most certainly agree with you that a jig fisherman will outfish a fly fisherman for this species every time, just as a good live bait fisherman will for most other species.
I will agree they are not the most game of fishes, certainly not in the same league with permits! My choice would always be for trout or smallmouth, both of which I would never harvest. But for some less technical fishing and a great meal, they are fun for me.
Bob
Yer jes plain “spoilt” down 'ere, you know that?!
That ain’t a question… 
Me.
bobbyg wrote
I will most certainly agree with you that a jig fisherman will outfish a fly fisherman for this species every time, just as a good live bait fisherman will for most other species.
Just hold on a sec. Jig fishermen can outfish a fly fisherman just most of the time. My brother was out one time and caught a nice mess of crappies when jig fishermen couldn’t get a nibble. When one of them asked him how he did it he went back to his spot and caught about 10 more one right after the other with the jig fisherman looking on. The other fisherman was so impressed he started thinking about taking up the fly rod himself.
I get Crappie on Puke flies.
3399 (or what ever the new one is) 6-10 (I use #8 the most)
EYES: Beadchain
TAIL: White rabbit fur, BODY: white rabbit dubbed bushy.
Ruff it up with some velcro.
In the lakes by me the crappie are suspended and I can catch them easily with a crappiecandy on a floating line with a 8-9 foot leader retrieved very slowly. Crappie are easy to catch if you can find them. I can’t imagine catching any more with minnow than I do on my flyrod.
-Jeff
Go to the warm water forum and look at the articles by Rick Z, he fish’s alot of ponds for crappie and tells about alot of flys that really work well.
Fatman