Crappie Fishing Gear

Nothing is more frustrating than getting out on the lake and finding out you didn't bring your crappie fishing gear. Crappie fishing gear is the most important part of any fishing trip. Without your crappie fishing gear, life is much more difficult.

Slater's Crappie fishing gear is a must have for any serious anglers tackle box. Or truck! How many times have you walked around your truck and caught your knee on the trailer hitch? Our Knee Protector is perfect for you! It easily slips onto your ball and then you don't have to worry about aching knees! Without a doubt this is one of the most important pieces of crappie fishing gear your could ever own.

Another of our crappie fishing gear items is the Jig Eye Cleaner. The Slater's Jig Eye Cleaner make quick work of any new jig heads you may want to try out. Once again another must have for any angler.

The most important crappie fishing gear items are Kwik Clips. These little beauties will make quick work of changing lures. Another great feature of this crappie fishing gear item is that it hold your jig in the perfect position! Clearly you can see how your crappie fishing gear collection could benifit from these.

There are some crappie fishing gear items that every crappie fisher needs: pole, reel (although truly optional I think you will want one), fishing line and some crappie jigs. I hope those are somewhat obvious but let us look at the crappie fishing gear basics first. Crappie poles are generally long, slender poles reaching lengths of 18 feet or longer. I do not recommend a super long pole for someone that is just getting started or not ready for them. Longer poles have their advantages such as reaching into tight areas and also extending your reach from a central point. This is an advantage when employing a technique called spider fishing, using varying length poles you can create a blanket of hooks, often in a semicircular pattern.

The next item in your crappie fishing gear stash should be the line. I like monofilament line because it's usually clear and blends in with the water color. There are other advantages as well, many other lines are not compatible with most reels and will simply burn through the guides on your rod with ease. My suggestion is, if you are fishing for crappie or other pan fish, to stick with smooth very low friction line like a monofilament. When choosing a test for you line stick to the minimum. The lower test will allow you to tie better knots and give your bait better movement, but these are also more susceptible to nicks and breaking. Trust me in that you can reel in a five pound fish with three pound line if you are patient. So be sure to pick a line weight that suits your needs. Also if you have a large capacity barrel on your reel and are using a light line try filling the first half of the barrel with heavy weight line.

All that is left is the hook. The whole trick to catching a fish is in the hook without a hook your bait really won't do much. Regardless of how you dress your hook I still suggest a single barbed hook. When the hook is set properly it really does very little injury to the fish. Don't set the hook like you are trying to yank the lips off the fish but rather just get the hook through the bait and the lip of the fish; usually with pan fish a simple flick of the wrist is good. Don't choose a hook that is too large for your target but be sure to get one small enough they will take a bite. With the basics out of the way you should be able to start fishing for the perfect crappie.