That’s what I call it, anyway. Others may
have another name, or many other names, or may just consider it
a variation or part of “vertical jigging”. Decide for
yourself.
What is “Vertical Casting” – simply put,
it’s letting out line until the bait hits bottom or is
obviously deeper than the Crappie are suspended … then slowly
reeling the bait back up. You are, in essence, “casting”
straight down (vertical) and reeling straight up. I don’t call
it vertical “jigging”, because I don’t impart any extra
movement to the bait. I don’t jerk, jiggle, shake, or cause
any added movement to the bait as I reel it back up. In fact, I
try and keep the rod & reel as still as possible.
How do you “Vertical Cast” – disengage
your reel and allow the bait to drop straight down to the
bottom, or deep enough that you are sure the bait has dropped
below the depth of the fish. Engage the reel and very slowly
start reeling back in. Hold the rod lightly in your hand
(don’t grip it tight, as that will wear your hand and arm out,
and it may effect your ability to detect a light strike). The
rod should be in a comfortable position, in relation to your
body, but your arm should not be resting on anything. The rod
tip should be pointing straight out from you and the rod should
be parallel to the water’s surface (what’s commonly known as
the 9 o:clock position). A good, smooth winding reel is
essential. Reeling “slowly” means taking 5-7 seconds to make
one full turn of the reel handle. The bigger the reel (or reel
spool) or the faster the reel’s line pickup speed – the
slower you’ll need to turn the handle. You want the bait to
take several seconds to rise a foot up thru the water column.
This will give fish, in the most neutral of moods, a chance to
ease over and sample your offering.
Where do you “Vertical Cast” – anywhere
… but, especially in places or under circumstances where
normal, horizontal casting isn’t possible, or when fish are
deeper than you can reach them with your normal casting
(distance) methods. Some situations that I use a “vertical
cast” are: blown down trees with branches that are too
numerous or thick to get a bait far enough down in them (with
normal casting methods)… deep brush piles … submerged
standing trees with multiple branches …bridge/boat dock pylons
… when there are overhead or overhanging obstacles that
won’t allow me to make a cast or accurate presentation … and
when it’s too windy to get a light bait on light line to sink
deep enough to get to the fish. I also use it on cover that
I’ve already cast to, to probe deeper into the cover, from the
vantage point of directly overhead.
What “bait” do you “Vertical Cast” –
normally I use jigs … tube jigs, grub/jighead, hair/feather
jigs, and even jig/minnow. Most of the time I use a weedless
jighead, but I do, on occasion, use a non-weedless one. The size
of the jighead, or actually the weight, ranges from 1/64oz to
3/16oz - but, you can use heavier or lighter ones – depending
on how receptive the fish are to them. Most of the time I’m
using a 1/16oz … and since I’m using a free spooling
“spinning” reel and light line – and I’m “casting”
straight down – it seems to be an all around good weight/size.
The “plastics” I put on my jigheads are from 1 inch long to
2.5 inches long … generally approximating the smaller sized
baitfish of the lake.
What is happening during “Vertical
Casting”, that causes a Crappie to bite? It is my belief that
the fish see the bait as a forage fish or aquatic creature,
rising slowly towards the surface. Possibly they see it as an
injured baitfish, or just one that is feeding on the plankton or
algae, and not paying attention to any predator threat. It’s
one of the reasons I don’t impart any extra action to the
bait. If you’ve noticed minnows around cover, they aren’t
usually zigging and zagging … but, seem to just be slowly
meandering among the branches and minding their own business.
Crappie are not “dash and slash” feeders. They are, for the
most part, “ambush” feeders that slip up from behind and
under their prey … slowly, so as not to alarm the prey, but
deliberately in a “stalking” manner. The slowly rising bait
gives them ample opportunity to realize that this “meal” is
an “easy target”, and they won’t have to expend much
energy to capture it. And don’t worry about coils in the line,
causing the bait to come to the surface in a circling motion.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing – minnows seldom rise to
the surface like a floating stick. They do tend to “circle”
around and around and back and forth as they feed and or come up
shallower.
How will you know when a Crappie has taken the
bait? A hit, or strike, on a rising jig can come in many forms.
You may get a yank, a “tic” (very light tap or yank), a
feeling of mushy “weight” (like dragging up a leaf or chunk
of moss), a sideways movement in the line, or your line may
suddenly go slack (and you know the bait isn’t on the bottom).
Any of these, and any other movement of the line or rod tip that
you don’t cause to happen – could be a “hit”, and you
should set the hook with a lifting of the arm and an upward
snapping of the wrist. Holding the rod/reel lightly in your hand
will telegraph even the lightest “bump”, so watch the line
in conjunction with feeling with the rod, and you’ll soon
figure out the difference between bumping a branch and getting a
bite.
I didn’t “invent” this method, and take
no credit for doing so. I just use it, with good results, and
just gave it a “name” to distinguish it from like methods
and variations of established methods – you call it what you
like, but give it a try. I hope you have as much success with it
as I do …Luck2ya … Crappiepappy