Cam Fishing - America's premium pan sized sportsfish

by Brian Brennan & Cam Jones

A member of the sunfish family, the Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) Pomoxis, from the Greek, "sharp opercle (cheek)" nigromaculatus, from the Latin, "black spotted" is found throughout the USA except for the Florida Keys. It has many common names through out the United States that include bream crawpie, grass bass, mason perch, moonfish, papermouth, slab, specks and strawberry bass.
The black crappie is a silvery-green to yellowish fish with large dorsal and anal fins of almost identical shape and size. The sides are marked with black blotches, which become more intense towards the back. The dorsal, anal, and caudal fins also are marked with rows of dark spots. Crappies have compressed bodies, small heads and arched backs. It has a large mouth with an upper jaw extending under the eye. This mouth is the key to the crappies diet. In their juvenile state there diet comprises of zooplankton, which is also supplemented with insects toward the end of first year. Insects and their larvae remains an important food item throughout their life, but as they increase in size their preference for small fish and minnows grows. Large adults are mostly piscivorous and efficient predators of small fish making them an excellent game fish when taken on light tackle.

The Crappie is a schooling fish that roams large deep-water flats also like hiding inside snags and around bridge pilings. They are happy tucked into cover or suspended in 12 feet of water. They bite year round and when you catch one you catch a few. In the winter months they suspend out over deep water and slowly follow the schools of bait around. But as the days get longer and the power of the Sunlight warms the water they begin to follow their instinct and head for shallow dark bottomed bays. Crappies are easiest to catch in the spring for most anglers. The fish feed very heavily before the spawn. Crappie spawn on clean sandy or gravel bottoms where the males will fan out a small disk shaped nest on the bottom. Females will move into the spawning nests once the temperature has reached their preferred temp of 16 degrees C to 18 degrees C. They thrive in clear, natural lakes and reservoirs with moderate vegetation. They are also found in large slow moving less turbid rivers, provided the water is not too murky.

EATING QUALITIES

One of the key reasons that fish is also greatly sought after is that it is widely considered for its excellent eating qualities. The meat is prepared by rolling in cornmeal or dipping in pancake batter and deep frying, and can also be baked or broiled

TACKLE

Black crappies are excellent game fish and are highly regarded by bait fishermen and artificial-lure anglers alike. They are easily caught during pre spawning periods when the fish are congregated in large schools. Trolling with small, live minnows or a spinner-fly combination is very productive. They will also strike subsurface flies, small spinners, jigs, and tiny crankbaits. Crappies tend to suspend in midwater, so you may have to experiment to find the right depth.

The tackle that I use is very similar to what many Aussies use for luring bream. Berkley dropshot minnows, 2 inch curly tailed grubs, crappie sliders and small crankbaits like scorpions, micro mullets and ecogear SX40’s. Having read a lot of posts and articles on bream fishing I began to see a pattern emerge. Crappie can be targeted using bream type tackle with 2-3kg monofilament or 4lb braided lines with similar techniques and presentations being key triggers in catching this great little sports fish. Their willingness to strike small perfectly presented lures and flies is heaps of fun for kids and adults alike.