You don't know what you are missing if you don’t eat crappy (pronounced croppy just to make us feel better about the name, I think). These fish are the premier pan fish.

How easy is it?

It is as easy as this: just hook one, reel it in, fillet it, throw it in a frying pan with butter, throw a dash of salt and pepper on it, and its done.

The downfall:

The only thing bad about them is that you need more than just a few to make a meal. They are typically 5-8 inches long and the fillets they produce aren’t very big. The one thing that I like about them is they tend to grow wider once they reach about eight inches, providing us with bigger fillets. This isn't entirely a bad thing, it is fun to catch them and their small size just gives you a reason to stay out on the lake longer.

How to Catch them:

The easiest way to catch them is the easiest way to catch anything. Worm, bobber, hook, and sinker . That is what makes this fish even more special is the fact that kids can outfish grownups and have a ton of fun fishing for them. Once you start catching a few of them anchor down because you will catch more. They tend to school up in big numbers. This forces them to be aggressive when it comes to mealtime making them more susceptible to worm, bobber, hook and sinker.

What you should bring:

Bring some kids and a pole for everyone. Bring a bucket along when you fish for them and if it is legal in your area, check with your state fish and game department, fill the bucket for a family sized meal. And oh yeah, get a sharp fillet knife because that is a lot of fillets.

Artificials only?

If you can't use live bait where you fish for them or you are against bait-fishing, and only use artificial lures, use plastic grubs with tiny hooks. Crappy have very small mouths and in order to catch them they have to be able to fit the hook into it. That makes sense, right? Use colorful grubs, I like yellow and pink, and white really works well when the bite is going slowly.

So the next time someone tells you to eat crapp, or crappy, take it as a compliment or suggestion because they want you to eat one of the tastiest fish of the water.






Recommended: Yes

Recommended Line/Rod Weight: 1 To 3 Wt
Recommended Lure/Bait/Fly: Live worms or small grubs
Region Where Found: In the Water.
Flavor: A delicacy
Recommended Tackle: Ultralight
Recommended Line/Leader Weight: 1 To 2 Lb Test