Most crappier anglers feel the best baits for catching the often finicky crappie are live baits, but there are many crappie fishermen who have clearly experienced the benefits of using crappie jigs when live baits are not convenient.

There are advantages to using lures rather than live bait, and most of them are obvious. Live bait has to be kept alive, it is harder to put on a hook, and you have to either catch it or go to a bait shop and buy it before you can fish.

Lures may be purchased ahead of time, and you can go fishing whenever you want without having to worry about a trip to a bait shop or stopping to catch bait before you can fish for your target fish. I hope this comprehensive guide to which colors of jigs work best under which conditions will help you maximize the use of jigs when catching crappie, should you decide that you wish to use jigs as opposed to live baits.

Minnows are generally recognized as being the most popular live bait for catching crappie. The thing is, everyone knows how finicky a crappie can be, and minnows come in one basic variety. If you are using artificial crappie lures, you can choose from almost any hue of combination of hues to maximize your potential no matter what the water conditions might be or how persnickity the crappie are set on being at the moment.

Sometimes it does not seem to matter one bit the color of the lure you use, and at other times, it seems like even subtle color variations make a huge difference when it comes to enticing crappie to take a bite!

Most people who fish for bass will tell you that you should fish dark lures in dark waters and dark days, and light lures in clear water on light days, but in the case of crappie it is just not always true. In fact, try fishing dark lures in clear water on clear days, and it appears the crappie have trouble distinguishing the lure from tasty bugs and other bait on which they normally feed.

Anytime you are having a tough time with getting the crappie to bite, consider using these reliable colors of jigs. Anything that is flashy or sparkly to catch the crappie's attention can make a real difference when they are particularly finicky. Consider yellows, oranges and chartreuse as well as anything with metalic flecks on such occasions, especially if the water is stained. Another option could be any lure with lots of contrast such as is the case in black and white lures.

These suggestions really are just that...suggestions, because one fact alone remains constant when it comes to choosing colors of fishing lures with which to fish for crappie. The colors on which crappie will bite changes, not just from day to day, but from hour to hour. The only sure fire way to determine what works best is trial and error. Consider putting different colors of jigs on different rods and line fishing.