By the time I met Colonel White—an old friend of my father’s who had served along the DMZ in Vietnam, next to the likes of General Norman Schwarzkopf—his focus had shifted from the Army to catching colossal crappies. In hindsight, I’d have been wise to listen even closer to what the old sage chose to share—which was darn little, with most of the world.

When we’d go ice fishing, he’d pick the spot—I drilled the holes. He always selected the location based on cloud density and barometric pressure. Most times we set up near the outside of some sort of shallower bay—whether we were poised close to a point intersecting the bay or in the adjacent 30- to 40-foot basin.

The Colonel had a knack for catching slab crappies, which he termed ’mudflaps’. He also caught them using nontraditional sizes and types of baits. His favorite was a silver-black Rapala #5 Jigging Rap. I’d never before (or since) witnessed anyone catch crappies with the lure

the way he did. He also never tipped the lure with livebait. And he scoffed at technology—such as using a flasher for ice fishing.

Meanwhile, I’d typically set a livebait line in one hole and use a small jig, like a glow Custom Jigs & Spins Rat Finkee, tipped with a waxworm on my other line. I also loved the concept of electronics on the ice and relied on my old Humminbird Super Sixty flasher for assistance. While I caught lots of crappies, Colonel White always caught the monster crappies that didn’t look as though they belonged in the lakes we fished. His ability to catch big fish seemed like a magic trick. But today Colonel White’s big-bait lesson makes perfect sense.

Modern Day Knowledge

We now know that a crappie’s diet throughout most of its life is microscopic. According to legendary ice angler Dave Genz, “Crappies feed almost exclusively on zooplankton in the winter.They’re not feeding on minnows like we think. Anglers tend to believe that in winter crappies are eating minnows, because that’s what we’re catching fish on—but I rarely find minnows in the crappies I clean. I also rarely mark baitfish on electronics in the areas I fish.”

Studies show that a wintertime crappie diet consists of up to 95 percent Daphnia, usually Daphnia pulex, a relatively large zooplankton species common to most crappie lakes. Science also reveals that black crappies select for the largest individual Daphnia, meaning they bypass small offerings but eat the first bigger critters they encounter. Predation on zooplankton in some lakes can be so extreme that water clarity itself is affected. Zooplankton grazes heavily on phytoplankton (microscopic plants such as algae); so, as zooplankton numbers fade due to predation, phytoplankton explodes, putting additional color into the water.

Colonel White was right—big crappies are attracted to and can select for bigger baits. And although minnows may not be their main source of food, utilizing bigger baits can be the key to catching more and bigger fish.

According to Genz, “If I’m trying to selectively catch big crappies only, not numbers—or to attract them into my fishing area—I’ll tie on a rattling spoon, like a Lindy Rattl’r. The rattles seem to call big crappies, but you’ve got to keep the bait shaking, keep the rattles clacking. Even at rest, keep the spoon dancing. You want to make the crappies commit to eating, and staying aggressive is a good method. If you leave it set, the rattles don’t do you any good, and you give crappies too much time to visually inspect the spoon up close.”

Decoy Tactics: Bait and Switch

I’ve discovered that a big lure’s real value is attracting crappies into the area. My ice-fishing friends have made similar discoveries using #4 and #5 Salmo Chubby Darters to attract large schools of them. In some cases, it took less than 5 minutes of jigging a fishless area to attract fish.

The concept of decoying big crappies—getting fish to come to you—might feel contrary to what’s been taught over the past two decades. But we’ve learned there’s a time and place to use big baits and lures for crappies.