Mike with a crappie caught on a Crappie Kicker |
Crappie Kicker |
Sometimes crappie lures can fool an angler. What looks good in a package doesn't always mean it will catch crappie. A great example of this is the Crappie Kicker with its straight tail doesn't look like it would have any action, however, once the lure is put in the water its tail has an irresistible, lifelike action.
For crappie anglers, the Crappie Kicker with its minnow shaped body is a perfect lure for catching keeper crappie. In fact, there is a science behind the reason why it's such a good lure. Small crappie will generally feed on small invertebrates like copepods and cladocerans until growing bigger when its diet changes over to fish.
Don't let the simple design of the minnow shape and straight tail fool you. "Three years ago we developed the Fle Fly Go Go Minnow with a big, heavy curl tail that's fantastic for fishing in open water or where you need a curl tail lure. We had an older gentleman come into our office and said you guys really need to take a look at the Fle Fly Go Go Minnow when you take the curling section off the tail it leaves a long, straight ribbon tail or flat tail; it makes the best straight tail lure I've ever used and I've used a lot of different ones over the years, but that little thin tail you have on that Go Go Minnow really does have a lot of action," said Jeff Williams with Outdoor BrandZ and Fle Fly Fishing Tackle.
Keeping the suggestion in mind, Williams went to work on building the perfect body and straight tail. "So we started trimming the tails of the Go Go Minnow and ended up with a product we call the Crappie Kicker. The Crappie Kicker has a minnow shaped body like the Fle Fly Go Go Minnow, but has a straight tail that can flop 180 degrees. It has the thinnest, floppiest tail of any crappie bait that's available out there for anglers," said Williams.
A straight tail on a soft plastic minnow shaped body lure can really be misleading. An angler would tend to believe a straight tail has little if any action. That's possible if the tail is not designed correctly or is too big and bulky.
"As soon as you put the Crappie Kicker in the water, the tail will float up and I promise you folks, you won't be able to hold the Crappie Kicker still under the water. Every time the wind moves it or your rod tip moves this tail is flipping all over the place," said Williams.
One way Williams likes to rig the Fle Fly Crappie Kicker (www.flefly.com) is on a 1/16-ounce Blakemore Road Runner jig head when he is in open water and doing a lot of casting. "The blade on a Road Runner does a fantastic job with both our 2-inch and 2 1/2-inch Crappie Kicker for attracting and catching crappie," said Williams.
Jeff Williams with a nice crappie caught on a Crappie Kicker |
As for lure color, Williams bases his selection on water color. "You have three water clarity conditions when it comes to fishing; you have clear water, muddy water and stained water that's in between. In the springtime you will normally have stained or muddy water then clear water in the summer or wintertime. In really clear water conditions, you are looking for a natural presentation like Electric Blue not a bright presentation. While in muddy water or stained you want a bright color crappie can really key in on like Lemmon Pie, Pearl/Chartreuse or Electric Chicken," said Williams.
A color Williams likes to use in any water clarity is pearl. He believes its natural color makes it perfect no matter what color water he is fishing in on that day. His personal favorite is Lemmon Pie with a chartreuse back and white belly.
Don't let the straight tail fool you. Crappie can't resist the wagging temptation of the Crappie Kicker's straight tail. It's just too lifelike to resist.
Brad
Wiegmann just wants to fish, but his wife told him to get a job so he works as a freelance outdoor writer/photographer when not fishing. He has written for magazines, website and anyone else that will pay him cold hard cash. His award winning website blows away wannabes that re-post news feeds or non-original articles. When not posting links to his content you can probably find him with his camera taking photos of fish, anglers, lures, fish with anglers, anglers with fish or fish with lures hanging out of the mouth. Did you know he loves to fish? Seriously, if it has fins or hooks, you can count on him to write, photograph or market it. You can contact him at (479)756-5279, at bwiegmann@cox.net or
visit his website at www.bradwiegmann.com for
more information.
