An epic fishing trip one March with my dad and younger son Jacob taught me a valuable lesson about sacalait (a.k.a, crappie, a.k.a, white perch). We were out in my dad’s boat on Henderson Lake. This idyllic cypress-laden backwater lake is a jewel of the Atchafalaya River basin; it’s stained waters teeming with bass, bream, crappie and more.
That said, many anglers had difficulty this day putting sacalait in the box. But living just a few miles away, my dad knew every secret spot and every tactic and lure guaranteed to catch fish. So when Jacob challenged him to a duel – my dad’s conventional tackle vs. Jacob’s flies and fly rod – I laughed and said, “I’m only here to watch”.
Sure enough, the wily veteran put three chunky perch in the box in succession, jigging a black/chartreuse beetle without the spinner. But Jacob, using a black/chartreuse Fluff Butt, quickly caught up using a technique one can only describe as the “Leisenring Lift”. That is, after stripping it in a few feet, he slowly lifted his rod. The strikes often came just as his fly rod was at the 10 o’clock position.
My dad switched to several of his favorite lures – tube jigs, roadrunners, swim tails – but Jacob stayed with the Fluff Butt, only once to change colors. The final tally was dead even. My dad was surprised, Jacob was his usual cocky self, and I was thinking, “Man, I have to clean all these fish!”.
Flies can be every bit as good for crappie as lures and even minnows. Of course, some of the best flies “match the commie hatch”. That is, they were borrowed from spinning lures. For example, the Fluff Butt = Marabou Jig, Silli Butt = Tube Jig, Coyote = Roadrunner.
Whether you tie your flies on jigheads or using standard hooks and beads is completely your choice. Don’t let the elitists tell you otherwise! Flies like Fluff Butts, Silli Butts, and even Crappie Candies work great with jighead hooks because they maintain a more horizontal position in the water. But if you wish to be more traditional, then try tying them with the newer barbless jig-style hooks that accept tungsten beads.
Elitists don’t care either for Coyote Flies, since they have a spinner blade on them. Again, if you want to be more traditional, use a small Clouser (no blade). Just realize there are times that the Coyote blade does make a difference.
A couple of traditional flies work great for sacalait too. The Pink Charlie has caught many out of the oxbows in Louisiana and Mississippi, and probably more that I’m not aware of. A weighted red/orange Seaducer, about 3 inches in size, is also a killer at times. It imitates a juvenile Golden Shiner, an invasive species now found in just about every lake around.
There are many other crappie flies we could discuss, and most work at times. But try the ones listed, they are my money flies. Look them up on the internet and learn to tie them. Then go fishing. Crappie season is in full swing here on the Gulf Coast!
