By: Mark Romanack
The author spends more time every year targeting crappie. Fish like this black crappie are abundant, they grow to excellent size and are outstanding table fare.
There are two species of crappie in North America including the black crappie and the white crappie. The black crappie gets it’s name from the dominate black spots or blotches that are especially dominate during spawning season. The white crappie is more silver in color with lighter dark bars marking the flanks of the fish.
Both black and white crappie are excellent table fare fish. In the south, crappie are the number one species sought out by anglers who are looking for a fish dinner. Up north, crappie are commonly targeted for the table, but other species like bluegill and yellow perch are also very popular table fare.
The author’s life long fishing buddy, Dale Voice is a big fan of crappie. Crappie can be caught in so many bodies of water and using so many different tactics, it’s a fish that appeals to just about everyone.
Crappie were really the first species of fish to be largely targeted with modern forward facing sonar. Products like Garmin’s LiveScope have the ability to create an interactive or real time sonar experience second to none. With LiveScope the angler can see the bottom, cover such as weeds or submerged wood, baitfish, game fish and even the angler’s lure show up distinctly on the sonar screen. As fish react to the lure, the real time advantage is that the angler can actually see if the fish is responding positively or negatively to whatever presentation is being used. Of course the benefit to this is if one presentation isn’t working, another one can quickly be tried in an effort to figure out what the fish want on any given day.
LiveScope has three different views available to anglers including down imaging, forward imaging and perspective mode. Down imaging looks at fish directly below the angler and is commonly used in ice fishing applications. Forward imaging views a wide are out in front of the transducer and is commonly used in open water casting applications. Perspective mode is a useful tool for hunting down schools of fish, as it increases the area in which the transducer can mark fish.
Crappie are a fish for the ages. More anglers target crappie than walleye, trout and salmon anglers combined.
While some might argue that “live” sonar is so good it is unsportsmanlike, that’s a stretch. The fact is, “live” sonar does make it easier to find and catch fish, but ultimately catching those fish still requires a commitment to time and also learning angling skills. It should also be noted that just because fish are being caught doesn’t mean they are being kept. Credible anglers are not going to exceed their creel limit regardless of the technology used to catch them. Catch and release is always an option and in the case of crappie it’s an option that allows anglers to enjoy catching a lot of fish, while only harvesting a modest number for the table.
If you enjoy fishing, like to catch lots of fish and also like to eat fish, it’s hard to imagine a better species than the black and white crappie. No matter where you live, chances are there is a great crappie fishery nearby.