Catching crappies that are suspended in less than 15 feet of water requires using a low-resistance float like the Thill Mini-Stealth. This is a fairly straightforward proposition on many waters. But this is Delavan. The crappies here can come through at any depth, at any time. They are so spooky that moving your bait to intercept the “blips” on the electronics will cause these electronic signatures to ghost away.

An unhealthy amount of time spent on the Delavan ice over the past few winters has led to a game in conversation with myself called “vertical roulette.” There are no blacks or reds in this game, just depths from 12 to 49 feet. As noted earlier, the most active crappies under my tent last winter tended to drift through at 12 to 20 feet over 45 to 50 feet of water.

This tendency was a strong argument for dropping a small minnow hooked under the dorsal fin down to about 15 feet under a float on a “dumb line” when arriving on the ice just before dark. Although small minnows are the ultimate natural crappie bait presentation, my experience is that maybe only 20 percent of bites came on this live bait last winter. However, the minnow is a great fish attractor -- and a benchmark for gambling on the magic depth that most interested crappies will come cruising through.

Here is a pearl to remember on all future fishing outings: One fish does not make a pattern! This is especially true on Delavan’s ice. The first fish to pass beneath the hole at, say, 17 feet is duly noted. Ditto the second swimming under the locator’s sonar cone. If a third crappie comes under the hole at 17 feet, the minnow on the dumb line and subsequent jigging efforts are moved to about 15 to 16 feet. Remember, crappies almost always feed from below. They can absorb a lot of sensory input through those big, black eyes. Anything less than the perception that they are invisible ninja predators will send your potential fish fry away to cower in fear.

This is why minnows are hooked under the dorsal fin. Hook the bait through the lips or tail and it usually struggles too much when crappies approach, intimidating even the biggest slab to shy away. Sometimes they back off about 18 inches to ponder the circumstances. With any luck, this will be in the direction you are fishing another line, doing your best to keep the lure perfectly still.

This endeavor is virtually impossible with one of the new soft plastics like the Lindy Munchie Teeny Tails. Plastic tails come in a number of colors. Crappies on Delavan seem to have an affinity for purple, white and pink, with the “nail tail” usually producing better results than the “spade tail” plastics.

Little ice jigs presented in a horizontal orientation are generally more effective on these fish. I’ve had good results with the smallest Genz Fat Boy jig available in gold or glow-in-the-dark, with either the red or blue eyes. Before dropping the glow baits down the hole, they get charged with a blast from a little strobe light. The glow capability enables night-bite crappies to locate your lure quicker. But there are times when the fish are really pensive that the gold Fat Boy or maybe a Russian hook gets the nod.