What size minnows and shad do crappie prefer?
The sweet spot is small: mostly 2–8 cm (1–3 in) fish — fathead minnows, shiners, young-of-year shad and perch. The upward-sipping strike and modest mouth cavity favor prey the fish can inhale whole in one pulse, so crappie rarely tackle baitfish much beyond a third of their own length. This maps directly to lure choice: 2.5–5 cm (1–2 in) plastics for everyday work, stepping to 7–8 cm (3 in) profiles in fall when the young-of-year shad they are tracking have grown to exactly that size.
The full story
This answer is one piece of a longer lesson — setups, diagrams and the reasoning behind it.
More questions about Diet
Same topic, other species
- How big a bait can a largemouth take? — Largemouth Bass
- How big a prey fish can a muskie swallow? — Muskellunge (Muskie)
- Do perch really eat each other? — Yellow Perch
- How big a prey can a pike really swallow? — Northern Pike
- What is the round goby story in the Great Lakes? — Smallmouth Bass
- What does a stream rainbow actually eat day to day? — Trout (Rainbow · Brook · Lake)
- Why do cisco and smelt lakes grow the biggest walleye? — Walleye