Fishing For Crappie

Easy to catch & cook – the perfect fishery for kids.

Growing up in the 1970’s we were fortunate to still have a decent fishery with lots of room for young anglers to explore.  For me, trout was my quarry, and we had plenty.  Cuttthroat in the spring and dollies mixed in right through early summer and again in the fall.  Rainbows would hang around all year poking in and out of the tributaries of my beloved Pitt River providing lots of opportunity for me to fish the afternoon away.

Nowadays, things are a little different.  Success doesn’t come as readily as it once did.  We must rely on different fisheries to keep our youngsters interested in fishing.  For most people, time is the issue as things are much more fast-paced than in previous generations.  While we may not have much time to take our kids fishing, it’s nice to get in some action when we do.

When I have clients in the shop that are looking for a great experience for their children, my recommendation is fishing for black crappies.  They are aggressive takers and they provide non-stop action when the bite is on.  It is not unrealistic in productive places to reach your daily limit of 20 fish within an hour.  Now I’m not saying fishing is all about catching, but it sure is nice to see youngsters smiling faces, not to mention giving them an experience they will always remember.

Black crappies are a panfish and do not resemble trout at all.  They have soft paper mouths, so setting the hook requires a light hook set, by just lifting the rod tip to absorb the slack line and applying gentle pressure to bring them to hand.  Handling crappies is easily managed if you pinch them behind the head to subdue them.  The larger species can be lipped just like a big old bass.  Crappies are a schooling fish so when you find one there are usually plenty more.  They like to hide within the weeds, under sunken logs, or in rocky structures.

The preferred gear for crappie fishing is an ultra-light rod, roughly five to six – feet in length, a perfect size for young anglers to handle.  Don’t cheap out on your line selection either, 50 percent of your castability is in your line selection.  I recommend four pound Trilene XL or P Line FluoroClear.  These lines are limp and supple, which helps making casting easier for young anglers.  The tackle that is used is quite affordable.  You need a selection of small jig heads, preferably glow heads in pink, chartreuse or white.  Crappie prefer small grubs in chartreuse, yellow, pink and white. Small tubes in the same colours can be used as well.  To aid in casting, you can use a small float or adjusta-bubble to detect bites, as well a few split shots to get your presentation out to the fish.

If young anglers prefer to fly-fish, they might like to try one of my nieces favourite flies like the small Gardy’s Grunt, flashback pheasant tail nymphs or micro leeches in #12 and #14 size hooks.  Line choice for crappie fishing is based on water depth.  An intermediate sink line is a good standby because it can reach most depths.  Your leader should taper down to two pounds as most crappie do not break the one pound mark.  That said, in some lakes and sloughs I have seen a few around two pounds.

There are prime times during which crappies become very aggressive on the feed.  When the water warms up in the spring, crappies start to feed on the same insects as trout.  Chironomids, leeches, and all other trout staples are on the menu.  The best time to fish for these quarry is when the trout are off the bite, which is perfect because all the kids are out of school and ready to fish.  When the water temperature drops they become very lethargic, hardly moving except to intercept food.

The Fraser Valley offers many places to target black crappies.  Some good places to try are Whonnock, Silvermere, or Pitt Lake, or Sturgeon Slough.  My favourite is Whonnock Lake because it has healthy populations of rainbow trout and a wild strain of cuttthroat trout native to its waters.  This pretty little lake is nestled deep inside Whonnock, just off Lougheed Highway and 272nd.  When driving through this picturesque town, your thoughts go back to simpler times when people still waved and said hello.  There is no overnight camping at the lake, but there are picnic spots available with BBQ pits and tables.  The lake has two docks, an undercover sight for BBQ’s, a concession stand, boat rental, a swimming area and a great playground for kids with a short attention span.

In my experience, kids enjoy eating what they catch.  Cleaning a fish doesn’t have to be disgusting.  My nieces find it interesting to see the different organs – especially the stomach contents so that they can match their fly selection to what the fish are eating.  Who knew education could be so much fun?

Cooking crappie is simple too.  I fillet my fish and remove the skin with a sharp fillet knife.  Once this is done, I soak the sweet white flesh in a milk bath for one hour.  In that time I prepare an egg wash by beating two eggs and adding salt, pepper and two dashes of Worcestershire sauce.  Next, I take Premium Plus crackers and make a powder crust by crushing the crakers and adding salt, pepper, dried pepper flakes and two teaspoons of dry garlic powder.  Dip the fillets in the egg wash and coat with the cracker concoction, then heat a frying pan to medium heat with olive oil.  Brown both sides of the fillet and enjoy!

I hope this brings as much joy to you and your youngsters as it has me and mine.

Written By: Garry Elgear

Story featured in BC Outdoors Jan/Feb 2009 Magazine