Hot little numbers lately….

These little vibe baits have been putting crappies in the pail this late fall. Nice fish too.

At the top is a EuroTackle Z-Viber. To the right a Scheels branded Big Eye. On the bottom is a Kendra’s K-Rip and to the left is a #3 Ultra Lite Rapala. All are about 1/16 ounce. All have taken nice crappies. All have been fished on 6 pound Clam Frost smoke colored braid.

With first ice right on the doorstep, these little gems will put fish on this ice. All of these are fun to fish and with crappies on a tear right now, something like this is a dandy first ice option over small jigs and lacy little plastics.

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JJ I have good luck on the T-Rip also.

They’re all cool baits and there’s never any doubt about hits. With the brain a hit feels like an electric shock almost.

The largest crappie we’ve put in the boat or on the docks this fall came off that Big Eye Scheels bait.

My goal is to play with more of these baits this year. Is there a reason other than “it’s what the fish want” you pick one over the other?

Clam is a favorite

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I played with various ones of these last winter. To be honest I did not have much luck the few times I tried them. I did catch some fish on them but not near as many as I did with a 4MM tungsten Jig tipped with a larva. I waited thill I found a real active bite to try them. I may have to give them a few more try’s this winter. I might just not have tried them enough or in the right conditions.

Early ice is perhaps the best time to use them. Again at immediate ice out.

Rodwork, if the question refers to the 4 baits shown, I think on any given day or time period fish will show a preference to size, action and/or color. Of the four shown, three have a strong purple influence and I have done best with those three baits. All 3 will have its own slight difference in action when jigged. Two of those three are roughly the same size. The only common point is the purple.

The bait Don shows is another example of a circular swimming bait that will offer almost the same type of action except its a metal bait with the floppy, flashing blade.

These are the only commercial baits I have played with, but in more colors and sizes than shown in the picture. I know these work and the only thing I have to do is switch colors or sizes or another of the four baits. Since I don’t ice fish any longer, I can’t say what they’ll do under the ice but in the two periods of ice cold water I have mentioned, these guys are almost a must have for me.

These types of lipless crankbaits have been my go-to baits for a few years now. Walleyes smash them. I’ll fish one next to a dead stick for crappies thru the ice. It’s remarkable the number of fish that come in to investigate. Even if they don’t take it, they’ll hit the dead stick.
This crappie was caught this fall. 16.3″

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