Fluttering bait, not dropping it like a rock, is the secret for catching cold-water crappie.
We're talking early spring here. And when I'm searching out crappies in chilly water-perhaps months before they spawn-I'll take a "flutterbait" every time. A flutterbait can be anything from a light spoon or gliding softbait to a freelined live minnow. Early on-might be mere days after ice-out-crappies are often doing what they do best, hovering. Whether they're stationed above a bed of elodea in 18-feet of water, suspended twenty feet down over deeper water just outside a shallow bay, or roaming the edge of a rocky point carpeted with fresh green pondweed, crappies will be hovering somewhere above bottom, and looking "up" for food. This can be a tricky time to find fish, but it's also my favorite period to catch crappie-kong. Really, though, it's only tricky if you use stuff that's too heavy. I've seen lots of anglers who were on fish, but continually failed to connect because their lures simply flew right past sets of deep lippy mandibles-crappies frowning at baits as they shot on by. It's the acorn versus the leaf. And it makes a huge difference in terms of bait choice.
About Flutterbaits

Hovering Livebait

Of course, the minnow's the thing. Open a crappie's jaws once-yeah, these wide-mouthed critters aren't exactly afraid of eating big baitfish. And neither should you be of fishing them. If I can put up a stock of healthy 2 to 3-inch golden or spottail shiners early in spring, I'll be solid for weeks.
Freelining means no weight-just the power of livebait working its magic, tail kicking and calling slabs from afar. Slide the hook gently through each of the minnow's nares (nasal openings), into one and out the other. Done right, this is the least damaging way to fish a lively baitfish, and it'll reward you with a nice lively (and long) swim. Make a soft pitch, raise your rodtip, and let the wind or a trolling motor carry you along, releasing up to 50-feet of line as you drift. Hold your rod tip at 11-o'clock, keeping tabs on the bait's activity and position with a finger feathering your line. In water under 20-feet deep, it's not unusual to attract crappies right to the surface with a lively, high-riding shiner. On calm days, I've even been treated to surface bites-watching crappies pop my minnows right on top.
Flapping and fluttering big crappies is a Roach trick from way back. My uncle Gary doesn't know I'm telling you about it. So if you see him out there, just sidle up nice and close beside his boat. Tell him all about this new technique you just read about that's been cleaning up on big crappies-right from this very lake, in fact! Ever seen a famous fisherman cry?