Simple Fly Fishing Techniques And Patterns That Catch Crappie Like Crazy

Crappies are "tailor made" (in my opinion) for fly fishing. It's actually pretty simple for the better part of the year. If you find 'em, you can catch 'em with flies... just put to work some of the tips below.

First, you'll need a 6 1/2 - 8 1/2 foot fly rod. (Or a 3 weight fly rod.) Also, pick up a decent single action reel... low-end or mid-range will do. Next, you'll need some fly line. I recommend WF2F, WF3F, or ST.

I also recommend a 5' leader (tapered) and a tippet... 4X or 5X.

Make sure to get a decent depth finder, if you're fishing from a boat and like to catch crappie year round.

Now for the fun part... picking your flies.

You can either buy them...or do what I do and make them yourself. Yep...tyin' flies.

First off, crappie aren't too picky about what patterns you use...though some do work better than others. Start with a small streamer or a bucktail pattern...anything that somewhat resembles local bait.

Some specific patterns to try: Bailou Special, Black-Nosed Dace, Nine-Three, Iris #2, Creek Chub, Muddler Minnow. Basically almost any streamer pattern on a #8 or #10 streamer hook...and try to get them in white, yellow, or chartreuse colors.

These all work great...but there are 2 that seem to work better than anything else in most situations.

1. The Clouser Minnow (Bob Clouser's design...)

This will catch anything that feeds on minnows... and it almost always catches some. Get a few in different sizes and colors. An added benefit is that when you're fishing the hook is "up"...so you can fish in cover without too many hang-up problems.

It's the ultimate fly for crappie. Get it in a size 10.

2. Crappie Candy (By Al Cambell)

Even when faced with sluggish crappie who aren't hitting live bait...toss this out there and more often than not, you'll start getting some hook-ups.

The best colors for this are flourescent green and chartreuse. Yellow in the summer. Get a little white in there as well...I've noticed a little white usually helps things.

Toss any of the crappie flies above around structure in about 8-10 feet of water...a little deeper during the summer.

There you have it... some great flies to try for crappie fly fishing. Enjoy!