Best Crappie Jig Colors
Dr. John Woods 04.08.20
Now here is a topic sure to generate some debate on the boat dock or around the rows of jigs hanging at the local bait shop. I suppose in the final analysis it is the fish themselves that ultimately decide which jig color is the most preferred, but anglers still stick to their favorites season after season.
The magnitude and range of crappie jig colors can certainly be a little unsettling and confusing especially to the neophyte angler going after white perch or crappie for the first time. Going to a well-stocked fishing supply store makes the task no easier of course. Viewing row after row of crappie jigs in varying sizes and colors is daunting. After all, does it really matter that much?
Yeah, I am afraid it does. And there are other angling factors to consider as well. Chief among those is the clarity of the fishing waters the day you decide to cast forth, as it were. Seasoned anglers will tell you that all else being equal, fish can see better in clear water. Well that certainly makes sense, but lake waters are not always crystal clear and yet fish are caught regardless of the dinginess of the water.
In fact good numbers of crappie can be caught even on days when the water is very dark and churned up from the spring rains and winds. One would think dark colored jigs should be used in clear waters and bright colored jigs should be used when the water is muddy or dingy and generally that axiom bears true, but not always. It’s all part of the big game of the fishing challenge.
Having said all that, what are the most-favored crappie jig colors? First, foremost, and forever you must always maintain a good supply of chartreuse crappie jigs. That super bright florescent yellow-green jig color seems to work regardless of water clarity. Other colors work well, but maybe not quite as well.
Always have pure white, full yellow, and black jigs too, when water is super-clear.
What about combination colors? There are endless two-color jigs with the lead head as one color like red, black, white, yellow or orange with the “feather” skirts another contrasting color. Red and chartreuse and yellow with black work well. Buy a few of these to test out.
Finally, seasoned crappie angler and guide Steve Coleman from the B’N’M crappie poles company pro team told me once that no color of jig beats a live minnow. So, just in case, take along several dozen silver minnows, too.
