Are you looking for the best ice fishing lures for crappie, but not sure where to begin?
Or let’s rephrase that question, if you only had room to bring 3 of the best lures with you own on your next ice fishing excursion, which 3 would you bring?
Tough questions right?
In this post, we are going to give you 11 of our favorite crappie lures.
We will also take a closer look at why we think these are the best crappie ice fishing lures money can buy.
Lastly, we are going to talk about some tips how you can fish these lures to catch more fish.
Table of Contents
What are the best ice fishing lures for crappie?
Here is a quick preview of our top crappie lures:
- VMC Tumbler Spoon
- VMC Wax Tail Jig
- Reins 3″ Bubbling Shaker
- Swedish Pimple
- Rapala Slab Rap
- Rapala Ultra Light Rippin’ Rap
- VMC Tear Drop Jig
- VMC Hot Skirt Glow Jigs
- VMC Tungsten Chandelier Jig 1/16oz Glow Chartreuse
- VMC Waxy Jig
- VMC Tungsten Tubby
Let’s take a closer look at each one…
VMC Tumbler Spoon
The first on our list of the best ice fishing lures for crappie is the VMC Tumbler Spoon.
But this is just an ordinary spoon? What makes it so special? If you are thinking that please continue reading and check out the video below.
This is by no means an ordinary spoon.
Let’s take a look at some of the features that really set it apart.
The VMC Tumbler gets its name because it does one thing really well when underwater, it tumbles. What is it about this spoon that makes it tumble?
It is very difficult to tell in the picture, but this spoon has a knuckle bend near the hook. This bend helps it to flutter much more than you would see in a standard spoon.
The more flutter action, the more flash and the better the chances of catching a fish.
To make this lure even more appealing, they have added a blade near the hook. This helps to add even more flash, but what I like about it most, is the positioning of this blade.
By putting this blade right next to the hook, every time you jig it, you are going to create a rattle that will act like a dinner bell for crappie.
Lastly, this lure is available in many different colors including one that will glow in the dark for up to 15 minutes, making it possible to catch crappie in the dirtiest of ice fishing waters.
The best part about this spoon is you can catch a variety of different species such as walleye, trout, and perch.
Additional Reading: The Best Ice Fishing Lures For Perch
Learn more about the VMC Tumbler Spoon in the following video:
VMC Wax Tail Jig
Are you looking for something to catch crappie when the biting gets tough?
If so, I would definitely recommend you check out the VMC Wax Tail Jig or as we like to call it the ‘panfish slayer’.
Learn More: The Best Ice Fishing Lures For Panfish
This lure is basically a jighead with a small plastic tail. What I like most about this lure is the action of the tail. It may look small, but underwater this tail can put out some action.
This is exactly what you want when fishing above a school of crappie.
The 90-degree hook eye ensures that your lure will stay in the perfect horizontal position to maximize the action of this lure and it gives you the best strike angle to ensure a good hookset.
There are three ways to fish this lure.
The first way is to fish it as it comes out of the box. Simply drop it in the water and with the slightest movements of the rod, you can give this lure the action that crappie crave.
Watch the lure closely by means of your favorite ice fishing camera and if that technique isn’t producing results, you can cut off the tail and fish it like you would a small plastic.
Lastly, you can tip the hook with a wax worm or minnow to creating an even more enticing presentation.
The VMC Wax Tail is available in many different colors including a few glow in the dark options.
Learn more about this lure in the following video:
Reins 3″ Bubbling Shaker
Another great plastic when fishing for crappie is the Reins 3″ Bubbling Shaker.
This plastic worm has a unique bubble shaped tail. The shape of this tail helps to give it a lot of motion and vibration with the slighest twitch of the rod.
Combine it with a tungsten jig such as Zappu. Cocho Cocho Head, 1/13oz to get down to where the crappie are feeding.
There are a few ways you can fish it.
One is just a simple up and down motion or you can fish it closer to the bottom imitating a feeding baitfish.
No matter how you choose to fish it, with a tail like that you can be sure you will catch crappie on this worm.
It isn’t limited to catching crappie, it will also do a hurting on walleye and trout as well.
Additional Reading: The Best Ice Fishing Lures For Trout – My Top Picks
See how this lure looks underwater in the following video:
Swedish Pimple
The next one on our list is the Swedish Pimple.
If you do a lot of ice fishing you probably have heard a lot about this lure.
It is deadly on the ice.
However, with that being said, many anglers only think of it as a big fish lure. This is because it is very effective in catching walleye and trout.
What if I told you it is also very effective in catching crappie.
Yes, indeed.
Simply let it down the hole and start vertical jigging. The more flash and commotion you can create the better.
It particularly works well when trying to weed out those little fish.
Simply throw on a bigger Swedish Pimple and start catching those plant sized crappie.
Rapala Slab Rap
Have you ever been on top of a school of crappie, but are only catching what seems to be the smallest ones?
Well, one of the best ways to weed out the small crappie and start catching the bigger ones is to switch over to a more aggressive bait.
One such lure that I would suggest is the Rapala Slab Rap.
As you can see from the picture above, the slab rap is much like a crankbait, but the weight of the lure is in the front portion of the bait.
This weight-forward design helps to give this lure an amazing flutter both on the fall as well as on the retrieve. This flutter action perfectly imitates a baitfish and drives crappie wild.
The best part about this lure is that you aren’t limited to fishing it during the wintertime, it can be just as effective for fishing crappie in the summer months too.
So the next time you are fishing above a school of crappie. Dropdown a Slab Rap and start to work it in an up and down motion directly above the school and watch the crappie come up and get it.
Learn more about the Rapala Slab Rap in the following video:
Rapala Ultra Light Rippin’ Rap
Another great lure to target bigger crappie is the Rapala Ultra Light Rippin’ Rap.
This is a lipless crankbait that can be fished for crappie both during the summer months as well as the cold ice fishing months.
What we like most about fishing with this lure is the rattle. The rattle helps to draw fish to you. When ice fishing we are limited by the area we can fish.
Yes, fish are always moving around, but we want to bring the fish to us. We don’t want to have to drill a ton of ice fishing holes.
One to the best ways to draw fish to you is with a lipless crankbait rattle such as this one.
Another feature is that is has a little bit bigger profile and thus will help to catch those bigger crappie.
The next time you are out on the ice and you are tired of catching dinks try tying on a Ralapa Rippin’ Rap.
Let’s take a look at what it looks like underwater in the following video:
There is no doubt about it, crappie love live bait, especially minnows.
Ice fishing with live bait can prove to be effective because it is a more subtle approach than some of the other lures on this list.
However, when fishing with live bait it is important to choose your jig wisely. So in this section, we are going to talk about a few of our favorite jigs.
The best part about the following jigs is that they can be fished vertical jigging, dead stick or you can put them on your favorite ice fishing tip up.
VMC Tear Drop Jig
The first jig that we would recommend when fishing with livebait is the VMC Tear Drop Jig.
What we like about this particular jig is that it is an oversized jig head in the shape of a teardrop. This wide profile with the beautiful holographic eye is designed to get attention.
It is available in a number of different colors including a few glow in the dark options.
See this jig in action in the following video:
VMC Hot Skirt Glow Jigs
The next jig we are going to take a closer look at is the VMC Hot Skirt Glow Jigs.
What is unique about this jig is the glow in the dark skirt. As you can imagine, fishing under a foot of ice in dirty water can make it difficult for crappie to see your lure.
That is where the glow in the dark skirt comes into play.
Not only does it make it easy to see while underwater, but the skirt gives your live bait a little more action to help generate a bite.
VMC Tungsten Chandelier
Let’s face it, sometimes the crappie don’t want to take the larger profile baits such as the lipless crankbaits or slab rap.
In this situation, we need to give the fish something they have never seen before.
One such lure is the VMC Tungsten Chandelier Jig 1/16oz Glow Chartreuse.
As you can see from the picture, it basically is a tungsten weight with a treble hook. It may seem simple, but this lure will catch you fish.
The tungsten weight works especially well when fishing for those deep hard to reach crappie.
Tip it with your favorite bait such as larvae or waxy to make it even more appealing.
Let’s take a closer look in the following video:
VMC Waxy Jig
Besides minnows, crappie love feeding on bugs.
When fishing with live minnows isn’t getting a bite, we recommend you give the VMC Waxy Jig a try.
As you can see, it is a very unique looking jig. It has ridged edges which are designed to imitate a bug.
This particular one is available in a number of different colors including a few metal options that give off a lot of flash when underwater.
Simply attach a waxy on the hook and start jigging.
VMC Tungsten Tubby
Are you fishing above a school of crappie and looking for a jig that will bring your bait down quick?
If so, you need to check out the VMC Tungsten Tubby.
As the name implies this jig will bring down your bait to where the crappie are holding up quickly.
Why choose tungsten?
Simply because it is more dense than lead.
This means it will drop down more quickly, but it also means it will react better to twitches of your fishing rod. The added weight is going to help you to add life to your bait
See the Tungsten Tubby in action in the following video:
A quick note about tungsten jigs. Everyone nowadays is switching over to these types of jigs because overall they perform better.
However, there is something to keep in mind when choosing tungsten. First, we need to remember, that crappie feed very lightly.
Many times, while ice fishing if you aren’t looking directly at the rod tip you could miss the bite completely.
This is important because if you choose a jig that is too heavy for your ice fishing rod, you may find it difficult to distinguish between a bite and your jig making movements under the water.
When searching for the best jig always remember that just as important is the right jig for your presentation is to choose the right crappie rod.
Final Thoughts…
Let’s go back to the questions we asked at the beginning: What are the best ice fishing lures for crappie? If you could only choose 3 lures which ones would you choose?
In this post, we have discussed 11 great options. Choose any 3 and you will have much success while on the ice.
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