# What are you using this fall for crappies



## chaunc

Ive been using baby shads all season but yesterday I decided to give the garland crappie shooters a try. They outfished the shads 5 to 1. They did the same thing last year at this time too. Something about the way they glide thru the water drives the fish crazy. And they last a lot longer than the shads. Casted, drifted, or hang glided, these baits put fish in the boat.


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## Salamander

Thanks for the info chaunc. I just got some and will give them a try.


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## Workingman

These 2 are doing well for me... I'll have to try the shooters, don't even know what they are but I'm gonna check? Any favorite color chaunc?


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## chaunc

Get your favorite color that you’re using now. Blue ice. Black /chartreuse. Monkey milk. All are working for me.


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## Shed Hunter 365

I've done well on these this time of year


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## matticito

chaunc said:


> Get your favorite color that you’re using now. Blue ice. Black /chartreuse. Monkey milk. All are working for me.


Thanks, those are interesting. Only question I have is what style of jig do they work?


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## chaunc

matticito said:


> Thanks, those are interesting. Only question I have is what style of jig do they work?


I’m using 1/16 oz sickle hook heads with #4 hooks. Rig them flat so they glide. Headed out this morning to see if the lake is turning over. It’s that time up here. Hope to put some nice ones in the box. I’ll post pics if I do.


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## matticito

Thanks for the info


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## Workingman

I stopped at both cabelas and field and stream on my way home,,, lots of Bobby Garland stuff, but no crappie shooters!!
Guess I need to order online. I'm gonna order some this weekend.


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## 9Left

The same staple that I use every spring and fall… A 1/16 ounce or a 1/32 ounce chartreuse twister tail.


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## Shed Hunter 365

chaunc said:


> I’m using 1/16 oz sickle hook heads with #4 hooks. Rig them flat so they glide. Headed out this morning to see if the lake is turning over. It’s that time up here. Hope to put some nice ones in the box. I’ll post pics if I do.


What do you mean rig them flat.


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## RMK

flat sides up and down as opposed to left and right.


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## chaunc

RMK said:


> flat sides up and down as opposed to left and right.


Exactly. It lets them glide thru the water.


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## chaunc

Forgot to post the catch.


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## Salamander

chaunc said:


> Forgot to post the catch.
> View attachment 326275


Awesome job chaunc! Did your lake turn over yet? Won’t be long here.


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## chaunc

No it hasn’t. Has anyone tried crappie magnets from Leland baits? They make the trout magnets for bluegills and trout. I picked up a few packs of them while I was down at Kentucky lake last spring and just found them in my tackle pack. Not sure if the fish up this way have seen them so I’ll give them a try next time out. These baits look very similar to some baits I got from Jerry Blinzly over at Pine lake back in the 70’s. They were fantastic on that lake back then. Looking forward to seeing what they’ll do now. I’ll post a report after I give them a go. I’ve got three colors to try. Black/chartreuse, white/chartreuse, and green/chartreuse. Gonna tip em with nibbles.


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## Saugeyefisher

chaunc said:


> No it hasn’t. Has anyone tried crappie magnets from Leland baits? They make the trout magnets for bluegills and trout. I picked up a few packs of them while I was down at Kentucky lake last spring and just found them in my tackle pack. Not sure if the fish up this way have seen them so I’ll give them a try next time out. These baits look very similar to some baits I got from Jerry Blinzly over at Pine lake back in the 70’s. They were fantastic on that lake back then. Looking forward to seeing what they’ll do now. I’ll post a report after I give them a go. I’ve got three colors to try. Black/chartreuse, white/chartreuse, and green/chartreuse. Gonna tip em with nibbles.


I've used them a couple times.. they worked well for me... I'm especially fond of there jig heads,both the bladed and round ball. For both crappie and saugeyes.
I'm gonna add some of the B.G. shooters to my arsenal asap!


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## crappiedude

I've been using twister tails (white, white/chart, blue/chart, red/chart) and baby shad (key lime, monkey milk) since back in July. They been killing the crappie all year for me.
Road runners with tubes has been working well too.
One thing I have noticed is the fish have moved deeper in a couple of my spots. I had a few big schools located in 10-15 fow and they were there for several months but the last few weeks it seems they've moved out into 18-25 fow. I switched from a 1/16 oz head to a 3/32 oz head and it's been producing well. Not all the fish have made this switch to deeper water but they sure did.
So just in case you aren't finding your fish in they're usual spots and they didn't go shallow...you may want to check a little deeper.
I have not tried the BG shooters, they look like a good bait but for some reason I never seem to do good on beaver tails. I think it's just me though, I have friends who like them.


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## polebender

I’ve used Crappie Magnets the last several years. Mostly in the spring under a float. Will add a crappie nibble to spread the legs at times to add color and scent in murky water. They have worked great!


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## chaunc

Hope to give em a try tomorrow morning.


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## Salamander

Good luck tomorrow chaunc. I got my BG shooters ready to try Sunday. Those do look great!!


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## chaunc

Didn’t do as well with the magnets but those shooters were dynamite. Loving these baits.


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## crappiedude

This past weekend I hooked up and fished with a friend that I usually only get to fish with during the fall/winter months. For the most part it's rare that we get together when the weather is nice but when the nice days start to turn cold and rainy we're out there.
My normal arsenal is Bobby Garlands, BPS tubes and Southern Pro Grubs (twisters)
My friend asked me if I'd ever tried Bonehead tackle and I said no. He was using a Bonehead 
2 3/8" Slim Stick and I was using a BGBS. During the time we fished, I was constantly adjusting my bait on the hook, the short strikers kept "pulling my jigs pants down" (pulling the jig body down on the hook). My friend pointed out that his lure was staying in place and he was on his 1st bait while I was on my 3rd or 4th bait.
My friend mentioned that it's normal to only use 1 or 2 of these baits a day and these bodies stays put on the hook longer. He threw me a bait to check out and the body was much firmer but the tail was lively. I started using that bait and the body sliding down the jig stopped. I fished that same bait until I finally popped the jig off on a hook set, maybe an hour later.
I told myself earlier this year I wasn't buying anymore baits until I worked through some of my extensive stash of baits I usually carry around.
Well, I liked those baits enough I ordered 16 packs of the 2 3/8" Slim Sticks and 4 packs of the
1 3/4" Stump Bugs.
From now until the ice forces me off the lake is my favorite time of the year to fish so I plan on really giving these new baits a workout.


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## Boogilly34

I have been using Bobby Garland Slab Slay'r in the white and Chart! They wont leave it alone!


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## matticito

crappiedude said:


> My friend asked me if I'd ever tried Bonehead tackle and I said no. He was using a Bonehead
> 2 3/8" Slim Stick.


I got some bonehead plastics. Not sure which ones. I take them out of all their bags and throw into divided snap case and my tackle bag.

Most my plastic is southern pro, bonehead or maybe cabelas. Few Ebay buys of tri color tubes.


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## crappiedude

matticito said:


> I got some bonehead plastics. Not sure which ones. I take them out of all their bags and throw into divided snap case and my tackle bag.
> 
> Most my plastic is southern pro, bonehead or maybe cabelas. Few Ebay buys of tri color tubes.


So I've been using those Bonehead Slim Sticks and Stump Bugs off and on for 6 months now. So far I do like them because they are so tough and I may only use 1 or 2 baits per day vs 5-10 Bobby Garlands or tubes. I've caught a bunch of fish on them.
Now to be completely fair I can say I don't always do better on the boneheads. I usually have 4 or 5 rods pre-rigged when I head to the lake with various baits or set ups. I tend to then stick with what's working.
I have no idea what a fish finds so attractive or appetizing about a 1 1/2" tube bait but at certain times (especially cold weather) they seem to out produce for me.

Another friend who Reps for "The Crappie Psychic" gave me some packs of the Petit Minnow baits back in the winter to try. I wanted to hold off until the water cleared up some before trying them and just started to mess with them last week. They're a slim mini swim bait I guess and I will say that so far I like them. I did notice that while putting them on the jig head, the barbed collar would have a tendency to rip the body's slim design. I'm not really a fan of those collar barbs anyway as I think they do more harm to the plastic bodies by creating a bigger hole than needed. My fix is to trim off that collar barb with a pair of nail clippers. Problem solved and no more tearing of the Petit Minnow body. They slid up on the collar and really didn't move much at all.
I used 2 different setups, a black/chart bait on 1/16 oz weedless jig head on one rod for fishing laydowns or any timber I came across and then a blue/white bait on a 3/32 oz light wire jig head for fishing the deeper more open areas on the other rod. Both baits were really effective and even after the little flappy part of the tail got tore off of one of the baits it continued to catch fish. Longevity of the bait seemed pretty good too.
Over the last 4 or 5 years I have really become a fan of using those 3/32 oz jig heads for fishing deeper depths. Especially when crappie are sitting in water over 8' deep it's become my go to.


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