Fish Triggers

[TubeDude]

About 5 years ago I put together one of my PDF files on "Fish Triggers".  We recently had a discussion on the board of what makes fish bite...or not.  And I had a request to repost my writeup.  But first I wanted to update it a bit.  So here is the new expanded version...26 pages with about 90 pictures of fish porn.  Hope it helps somebody.

[lovetofish]

Thanks for the file.
Question, what 3 lures would you pick for crappie.

[TubeDude]

Thanks for the file.
Question, what 3 lures would you pick for crappie.

First would be small tube jigs or curly tails...1 1/2" to 2"...white or chartreuse depending on the water and water temp and clarity.  Blue and clear sparkle is also a great color combo.  See pics.

Second would be small marabou jigs...same colors.  Ditto for Gulp Minnows...2" - 3"

Third would be small crankbaits...2"...trolled or cast and retrieved.  Black and silver or blue and silver.

But crappies also are good candidates for the flyrod...with a sinktip or slow sink line...fished about mid depth in 12 to 15 feet of water.  Except when they are in close to cover for spawning.  Then go shallower.

[lovetofish]

Thank you for your generous information it's appreciated. I believe I have everything needed. One of these days I'm FINALLY going to catch one. They are on my bucket list. I wish Utah had lakes with some big slabs like I watch on TV or YouTube. Thanks again.

[TubeDude]

Thank you for your generous information it's appreciated. I believe I have everything needed. One of these days I'm FINALLY going to catch one. They are on my bucket list. I wish Utah had lakes with some big slabs like I watch on TV or YouTube. Thanks again.

Utah has quite a few ponds with crappies.  But in the northern part of the state our best bets are Willard Bay and Pineview.  I have caught lots of crappies from both...up to about 15 inches in Willard and maybe an inch smaller in Pineview.  There are also some surprisingly good crappies taken from Utah Lake.  Some of the largest in Utah come out of Powell or Quail Creek...down south. 


It takes a couple of things to produce good numbers and good sizes of crappies...abundant food and good spawning conditions.  Both are hard to find...consistently...in Utah.  Most crappie ponds are man made reservoirs...subject to great fluctuations in water levels...often providing no suitable flooded brush or aquatic vegetation for spawning.  So in some lakes...like Willard...good spawning conditions only occur every few years...with resulting up and down cycles in crappie populations.  And, most crappie ponds have no year round source of protein...minnows.  So the predators have to feed on their own young...or baby perch or whatever.  Only Willard and Powell have shad, and shad are the big factor in producing abundant crappies of good sizes.

I have fished for crappies all over the country.  I have observed firsthand that good populations of shad in a lake will usually translate to more and bigger crappies.  When they have a good food supply they grow faster and bigger.  Some of my best crappies came from a little lake in southern Arizona...Patagonia.  It is just above the Mexico border and is one of the few lakes in Arizona that receives constant natural stream flow and maintains a year round high water level.  A great deal of the shoreline is ringed with cattails and other vegetation...for good spawning.  And there are tons of threadfin shad for them to dine on...year round.  A "footlong" crappie from Patagonia is a small one.  Lots of 15 inchers.  And I caught grundles of 18 and 19 inchers weighing up to 3#.


Here is a segment from my CD/book on Willard...on crappies.  Should be some helpful info for you.

[Cowboypirate]

I have seen a lot of photos this year of some big crappie in the Snake River impoundments in Idaho. Like CJ and such down stream from there. Also some great cat catching. What is the primary forage in that drainage?

[TubeDude]

I have seen a lot of photos this year of some big crappie in the Snake River impoundments in Idaho. Like CJ and such down stream from there. Also some great cat catching. What is the primary forage in that drainage?

The predators along the Snake River have a year round buffet of munchables.  In addition to baby trout, perch, crappies, suckers and others, there are chubs and other minnows throughout the drainage.