Livebait Probably accounts for more panfish than any other presentation. And among artificials, jigs sweetened with softbaits are king. But at certain times and places other methods rule, including hardbaits. Over the years, I’ve found that fat-bodied cranks and slim-profile minnowbaits produce more and larger bluegills and crappies than livebait or jigs.

Prespawn Performers

One of hardbaits’ biggest advantages is in covering water, making them a solid choice when fish are scattered, or when schools of panfish—most often crappies—roam offshore. In the northern waters I fish most often, this pattern starts shortly after ice-out, when crappies are drawn to fast-warming, forage-rich shallows. They can be skittish, and long casts with dainty minnowbaits like Rebel’s 2½-inch Holographic Minnow help me connect with slabs roaming over relatively featureless, dark-bottomed bays.

Watch for swirls, ripples, and wakes from cruising fish and fire casts well beyond, at an angle to intercept them. I prefer a fairly slow, steady retrieve, but it pays to vary the speed, feathering in a subtle twitch here and there to trigger followers. A lack of surface activity doesn’t necessarily mean crappies are absent, however. As with many skinny water situations, a good pair of polarized sunglasses are worthy investments, because on calm days you can often spot fish.

The shallow hardbait blitz begins earlier in southern climes. In-Fisherman contributor Mitch Looper of Arkansas casts cranks for prespawn crappies in late January and February. Like the spring feeding binge up north, it hinges on food, in this the case near-shore migrations of juvenile gizzard shad. “When water temperatures are in the high-30°F to low-40°F range, schools of young shad move into shallow pockets along shore, and predators follow,” he explains, while adding a cautionary note, “Crappies are the first to follow the shad shallow. But once bass move in, crappies move out.”

Bays off the main channel are key, and the best ones have feeder creeks. Crappies often gather on points near channel bends. Depths vary, but Looper favors 4 to 8 feet of water on the point, and 12 feet in the channel. With his boat over the channel, he casts over deep water first, then focuses on the point itself.

Unlike the small stickbaits I favor for ultra-clear natural lakes, Looper ties on beefier weapons. “Full-size lures can tear ’em up,” he says. His favorite: a 4½-inch Smithwick Suspending Rattlin’ Rogue with chrome sides, black back, and orange belly, followed by a 2½-inch Rebel Tracdown Minnow in rainbow trout. Both are suspenders, or close to it, a characteristic Looper demands. “The Rogue suspends,” he says. “And the Tracdown is a slow sinker, but with 8-pound-test line, the sink rate is virtually nil in such cold water.”

Looper experiments with retrieves. “Cast out, jerk the bait a couple of times and pause, then try a pull-pause-pull retrieve, using the rod tip—not the reel handle—to move the lure 6 to 12 inches,” he advises.

Bedtime Bonanza

Crankin’ isn’t just for crappies. Bluegills, pumpkinseeds, hybrids, and other members of the sunfish clan hit hardbaits, too. One of my favorite times to cast for ’gills is during the spawn. Bedding fish gather on firm bottoms, often in large colonies. A major challenge of fishing the beds is keeping small fish from inhaling your bait before the bulls can get it. That’s where crankbaits help.

At one favorite lake, for example, shoreline substrate is mostly soft and mucky, unsuitable for spawning. As a result, hordes of sunfish assemble at the few patches of hard bottom. There are quality-size fish among throngs of small ones.