Are crankbaits any good for crappie?

They are a specialist tool, not a staple. The one place crankbaits clearly earn their keep is summer on large southern reservoirs, when crappie scatter and suspend over open water: long-line trolling 5 cm (2 in) crankbaits covers that water and tends to take bigger-than-average fish. Elsewhere — in cold water, around brush, under docks, through the ice — a hard bait is the last choice, because a crappie samples and spits hard plastic faster than anything soft or alive. Small suspending jerkbaits take the occasional big fish in cold, clear water. Keep them small, within the 2–8 cm (1–3 in) prey window, keep rattles quiet in clear water, play fish gently on the trebles — and check how many lines you may legally troll.

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