What Do Crappie Eat? A Complete Guide to Crappie Diet, Prey Types & Fishing Tactics

If you want to catch more crappie, there’s one question that should always be on your mind: What do crappie eat? Knowing what these popular panfish are feeding on, whether it's baitfish, bugs, or even tiny crustaceans, can make all the difference in how and where you fish.

Whether you're targeting black crappie in clear, weedy lakes or chasing white crappie suspended over open water, matching your bait to what they’re eating gives you the upper hand. In this guide, we’ll break down what crappie eat at different stages of their lives, how their diet changes with the seasons, and how you can use that knowledge to put more fish in the boat.

Two Species, One Goal… Feeding

There are two main species of crappie in North America: black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) and white crappie (Pomoxis annularis). While they’re similar in a lot of ways, they do have some subtle differences, especially when it comes to their diet.

Black crappie tend to favor clearer, vegetation-rich waters and lean more on insects and invertebrates, especially in smaller systems. White crappie are more tolerant of stained water and are more likely to feed heavily on baitfish as they grow.

But no matter the species, one thing’s consistent: crappie are opportunistic feeders. They’ll eat whatever they can fit in their mouth, and that menu changes as they grow.

What Crappie Eat at Different Life Stages

Crappie undergo significant dietary changes as they grow. Understanding the food shift can clue you in on the right bait or presentation to use based on the fish you're targeting.

Newly hatched crappie (fry) feed on tiny organisms like zooplankton and microscopic invertebrates. These are the building blocks of life for baby fish in any lake.

As they grow into juveniles, their diet expands to include things like:

• Insect larvae (especially midges and mayflies)

• Small aquatic crustaceans

• Midge pupae and other soft-bodied prey
  

Once they reach about 4 to 6 inches, crappie become more aggressive feeders and start picking off larger prey. This includes:

• Small minnows

• Shad

• Young-of-the-year bluegill

• Freshwater shrimp

• Small crayfish

By the time they’re adults (10+ inches), white crappie especially make a noticeable shift toward feeding on other fish. In reservoirs or lakes loaded with shad, you’ll find mature crappie gorging on them when they’re in season.

Diet Differences You Should Know

While both species eat many of the same things, studies and field reports show some key differences in their feeding preferences:

Black Crappie

• More insect and invertebrate-heavy diet

• Feed more around weed lines, submerged vegetation, and brush

• Commonly found in natural lakes or smaller, clearer systems

White Crappie

• Tend to eat more baitfish as adults

• Common in murkier, open water reservoirs and river systems

• Often suspended in schools near shad or baitfish clouds

That means if you’re fishing a stained reservoir loaded with threadfin shad, odds are high the white crappie are chasing them in open water. But if you're working a natural lake full of cabbage weeds, black crappie might be hugging the edge, feeding on bugs and shrimp.

If you have trouble identifying between the two species, check out our article on how to tell the difference between a black and white crappie. 

What Crappie Eat in Spring, Summer, Fall & Winter

Crappie don’t just change their diet as they grow; they also eat different things at different times of year. Let’s break it down:

Spring (Pre-Spawn & Spawn)

As water temps rise and crappie move shallow to spawn, their feeding activity spikes. They chow down on:

• Minnows and shad moving into the shallows

• Insect larvae and aquatic bugs

• Tiny crayfish hiding in the weeds

This is prime time for pitching jigs and minnows under a float near shallow cover.

Summer

In the heat of summer, crappie often move deeper, suspend off structure, and feed more at night or in low-light periods. They’ll target:

• Suspended schools of shad

• Mid-water minnows

• Small invertebrates around deep brush piles

Fishing deeper water with vertically jigged plastics or spider-rigging is a great play here.

Fall

Crappie get aggressive again in the fall, fattening up for winter. They school up and follow baitfish into mid-depths. Their diet during this time is often:

• Baitfish like shad and small bluegill

• Aquatic bugs and larvae along weedlines

This is a great time to cast small swimbaits (Jig + Plastic), Hair Jigs, or live minnows around bait schools.

Winter

Metabolism slows, but crappie still feed, just less often. They tend to hold in deeper water and eat:

• Small baitfish

• Soft-bodied insects

• Suspended micro-inverts near structure

Ice fishing jigs or vertical jigging deep brush with small plastics can still get bites from sluggish crappie.

For more information on how to catch crappie year round, check out how 1standard's jig system was designed to do just that!

How Habitat Affects What Crappie Eat

Not all lakes and rivers serve up the same menu. What crappie eat depends heavily on what’s available in their environment.

• Vegetation-rich lakes often support higher numbers of insects, shrimp, and microinvertebrates.

• Reservoirs with large shad populations tend to see crappie shift toward a baitfish diet.

• Rocky or brushy lakes give access to crayfish and other bottom-huggers.

The bottom line? If you want to know what crappie are eating, look at the food chain in your specific body of water.

Time of Day and Behavior Patterns

Crappie are known for feeding best during low-light periods, such as dawn, dusk, and even at night. This gives them an edge when hunting baitfish, especially in clearer water where they can see better than their prey.

In summer, especially, nighttime crappie bites can be hot when water temperatures soar and daytime feeding slows. Night fishing under lights attracts plankton, which attracts baitfish, which then attracts crappie.

Matching the Diet to Your Bait

Once you understand what crappie are feeding on, the “what bait should I use?” question gets a whole lot easier.

If they’re eating:

• Baitfish: Go minnow-imitating jigs, soft swimbaits, or small crankbaits.

• Insects or larvae: Tiny tube jigs, hair jigs, or soft plastics in bug colors work well.

• Crustaceans: Match the hatch with craw-imitating baits or grubs near the bottom.

Pay attention to what size of prey is in the system, too. If you’re seeing 2-inch shad, don’t throw a 4-inch swimbait and expect magic.

They are Opportunistic Feeders

So, what do crappie eat? Pretty much anything they can swallow, but the key is knowing what they’re eating right now based on their size, the season, and what your lake has to offer.

From tiny bugs in the spring shallows to shad suspended over deep summer structure, crappie are versatile predators. And if you can dial in on their current diet, your odds of catching a pile of slabs just went way up.

Next time you’re out, pay attention to the food chain in front of you, match your bait to what they’re feeding on, and watch your catch rate climb!