New Strategies For Christmas Tree Crappie

Sparkling like fresh lit Christmas bulbs, they dance and glow among the evergreen branches. Dozens, maybe hundreds of big crappies encircle the sunken brushpile, lively little orbs doing their best impression of holiday cheer. You see it happening right on sonar, screen shimmering with star-like bogeys. One cast, and you’re already imagining full livewells–and soon, golden brown fillets decorating your dinner plate.

Late fall through winter, crappies really do enjoy the company of a good balsam fir, though some anglers claim planted hardwoods last longer underwater and ultimately attract a few more fish. Surely, they find solace in the columns and complexes of aquatic cover.

Crappies come here to chew, too. Yet whether you find them huddled around submerged shrubs, tucked into fields of green foliage or suspended in the abyss, catching Christmastime crappies isn’t a guarantee. Especially so as plummeting water temps and declining metabolic rates induce sluggish, unwilling-to-chase attitudes.

Watch Z-Man® pro David Walker talks Micro Finesse for winter panfish in this educational video.