Crappie fishing has long been considered a quiet sport. A good crappie fisherman doesn’t want to scare fish off. They don’t want to confuse them with an aggressive lure, they try to entice a strike from very school-oriented finicky fish.
That’s where the Mr. Crappie line was made for. Strike King didn’t take a generic minnow and slap it with a name. Instead they developed a dedicated bait based off the task.
The resulting lineup of baits will appeal to both tournament angler and novices alike. It comes down to what crappie eat more so than any advertising spin. Take a look at the mechanics of how crappie feed and you can see why these baits performs.
Why do people still buy the Mr. Crappie series? Because there are a lot of white minnows on the market. But these guys has paid attention to detail.
The Engineering Behind Strike King Lures
The Philosophy Behind the Mr. Crappie Line
The action and durability make them loyal. They’ve created a bait that look like a real live minnow. And it not only goes right, but it stays right.
It doesn’t come apart after several strike either. Most times you’re getting half the package with most baits; they lack action or they don’t last. With the Mr. Crappie you get both.
Action and Durability Features
Mr. This is Crappie Pro. This bait is their most iconic offering. It features a segmented body design which mean each segment of the bait bend and sways on its own.
That gives the bait an erratic action that trigger instinctive strikes. Crappie are visual hunters and they look for weakness. This lure twitches just like a fleeing minnow to provide an uneven movement.
The hook is in the belly, making the bait run straight. Straight running matter as a wandering lure looks suspicious. This is where the Mr. Crappie Magnum comes in.
It is larger and thicker than the Pro. It displaces more water and has more vibration. That makes a big difference when crappie is deep or not seeing well.
In dark water, crappie pick up on movement with their lateral line, and the larger size of the Magnum create a stronger signal. You sacrifice some finesse for presence. That’s a trade off dictated by depth and clarity.
A bigger bait generally cause a more aggressive response from fish, and you catch the bigger ones as a result. One thing I like about them is their durability. Soft plastic baits tend to tear up after several bites from crappies with their sharp teeth.
But the Mr. Crappie line is tougher then most due to its higher hardness rating that’s formulated to last longer. So it doesn’t rip off as easy. It will take a bit of abuse before tearing.
That’s good because you can catch multiple fish on each bait. That saves you time on the water. You will do less retying and more fishing, anglers are all about efficiency.
Mr. Crappie Pro Segmented Design
Select your colors. Strike King has colors for every condition of water. Stained: Chartreuse, because it pops.
Clear: Smoke patterns or natural whites. You want something subtle. And translucence: You can see through them.
They’re near-invisible from some angles. Big deal? When fish are pressured, they spook easily and won’t accept anything fake.
A matching color puts you on the other side of “I wonder” and over to “I’ll try this.” What makes the Mr. Crappie series work is that it’s an acknowledgment of crappie biology. It lasts long enough to catch several fish. It moves like food, it gives you options for various situations.
You don’t have to keep a separate box of each type of lure in your tackle box for each set of conditions. It’s all about the engineering of reality. If you throw one, you can throw it confidentely.
And you’ll be confident because when the fish bite, they already know what the lure is; they are simply deciding whether or not to eat it.
