I fly fish for crappie all the time. I catch as many as the jig and bait people do, sometimes even more. And I have about as much fun catching crappie as I do most any other fish. I guess I don’t understand the objections.
It’s hard to beat a #6 Crappie Candy for consistent performance. Other good patterns for me are #6 Olive and White/Chartruese Clouser Minnows, smallish shad patterns and #6-#8 classic streamers, like the Black-Nosed Dace.
Here is a pattern I tie that works great in the spring, fall and winter (summer suspended crappie are moody, and hard to catch on anything). It also works great for LG and SM Bass, and White (sand) Bass. I don’t know if it has a name, or if anyone has tied one like it before. I just call it a Generic Minnow Streamer, because it closely represents the colors, and features of most species of minnows around here. I sometimes fish it in tandem with a Crappie Candy on the bottom, or with another type of streamer.
Generic Minnow Streamer
Hook: Cabelas Model 40 Streamer 4X long #6
Thread: Black 6/0 Uni-Thread
Tail: Black Bucktail
Body: Pearl White Floss
Rib: Flat Silver Tinsel
Wings: Bucktail with a bit of Krystal Flash added for pizzazz. White on bottom, very sparse Black in the middle (to represent a lateral line), and OD Green on top.
Throat: Bright Red Renegade Craft Fur
Eyes: Imitation Junglecock
The Head was finished with 3 coats of black Sally Hansen’s Lacquer Shine.
