Tight Lining??

[Sailor Jerry]

What is tight lining? I hear people often refer to it on this board but I haven't a clue! Seems like most do it from a boat, which I'm a shore fisher...for now . Can someone shine some light on me?

[CrappiePappy]

What is tight lining? I hear people often refer to it on this board but I haven't a clue! Seems like most do it from a boat, which I'm a shore fisher...for now . Can someone shine some light on me?

... it is what it says it is :p --- fishing straight down, with a tight line (no float, no casting/retrieving, no boat movement) ... or what my grandparents used to call "still fishing" (ie - sitting still and fishing straight down over the side of the boat).
IMHO ... if you're boat is moving, or you're using a float, then you ain't tight lining.

... cp

[Sailor Jerry]

For some reason I figured you'd be stoppin' in with an opinion!

[deathb4disco]

Seems like most do it from a boat, which I'm a shore fisher...for now

You can tight line from shore, too. Lots of people do this for catfish, but it works for bluegill, as well. Just cast out your bait with enough weight so that it stays on bottom and holds your line tight. Elevate your rod tip, so if a fish hits, your rod tip will twitch.

[CrappiePappy]

You can tight line from shore, too. Lots of people do this for catfish, but it works for bluegill, as well. Just cast out your bait with enough weight so that it stays on bottom and holds your line tight. Elevate your rod tip, so if a fish hits, your rod tip will twitch.

.... more like "drop shotting" :D

But, yes, you can "tight line" from places other than a boat (like a shoreline, dock, pier, bridge, cliff, etc) ... as long as you can fish with the line straight down, and the pole not moving ... regardless of depth of water being fished.

OK, OK ... I'm pushing the semantics envelope here, I know ... but. I'm doing it in a lighthearted manner. :p No disrespect intended.

... cp

[deathb4disco]

No disrespect intended.

None taken.

The English call this method legering and have developed lots of tackle and technique for it. Since most of them don't fish from boats, almost all of their "tight lining" is from shore.

I have experimented with their methods, and they work very well.

[Sailor Jerry]

And what methods are those! And does anyone have a diagram of "tightlining" or "dropshotting"?

Is it a jig above a weight?

[deathb4disco]

And what methods are those!

The methods I use most often are the "swimfeeder" and the "float leger". PM me if you need more details.

does anyone have a diagram of "tightlining" or "dropshotting"? Is it a jig above a weight?

No, it's usually a weightless soft plastic bait above a weight. Here's a diagram I got from Bass Pro:





It's been a really hot bass rig for awhile now. It's really nothing new, though. The rig's been around forever. The bass guy's just renamed it.

There are lots of Youtube videos on how to rig/fish it.

[CrappiePappy]

And what methods are those! And does anyone have a diagram of "tightlining" or "dropshotting"?

Is it a jig above a weight?

Tightlining is when you have a rod/reel lying on the boat seat/floor or in a pole holder (or even hand held) ... with the line hanging straight down, and usually ending in a hook/sinker rig. (mostly a live bait setup technique)

Dropshoting is when you have the sinker on the end of the line, and a hook tied up the line .... usually it's cast out, and the rod is jigged to impart action to the hook/bait, while the sinker remains on the bottom (line is semi-taut). Specially designed hooks (Stand out hooks) or regular hooks tied on with a Palomar knot (to make them stand out 90deg from the line) are generally used ... live bait or artificial bait is used.

Again, I emphasize .. these are just my interpretation of those "terms".

When I think of tightlining, I think of the boat being tied or anchored in one spot and my lines are running straight down from the rodtip to the bait. Leave the rods alone, and untie the boat and let it move (either by wind or current) and you're "Drifting" (drift fishing) ... turn on the trolling motor, and you're "slow trolling/trolling". Drag your lines behind the boat, and you're "longline trolling" .... or spread your rods around the boat, and keep your lines (+/-) hanging straight down, and you're "Spider Rigging" :p

... cp

[LBM]

... it is what it says it is :p --- fishing straight down, with a tight line (no float, no casting/retrieving, no boat movement) ... or what my grandparents used to call "still fishing" (ie - sitting still and fishing straight down over the side of the boat).
IMHO ... if you're boat is moving, or you're using a float, then you ain't tight lining.

... cp

I guess any of my past references about tight lining will have to be discarded since I hardly ever fish anchored or tied up since my boat is usually moving about.

My preferred way of fishing is using tandem jigs and usually with a rod in each hand and hanging those jigs off of each side of the boat and slowly moving around. If I'm marking fish at 15 ft I will have 12 to 15 ft of line pulled off my rod tip plus the distance my rod tip holds above the water. Generally I like to have the line hanging straight down from the rod tip because I will know at which depth I'm running my jigs. While working open flats, channels or channel edges I use two rods but will use one rod when working closer to and tight into brush or bouncing jigs on the bottom and into the rock crevices in riprap.

I consider it trolling or maybe flat lining if I'm letting the baits trail at some variable distance way behind the boat as it moves through the water something I usually do trying to target walleyes and will catch some crappie while fishing for the eyes but have probably caught more legal eyes while actually targeting crappie.

At times when tight lining I have found that the crappie will prefer a faster moving bait and then I will move around fast enough that the line doesn't hang straight down from my rod tips. Fishing this away the line is still tight enough that a good thump can be felt when the jig is picked up.

Early on during my crappie fishing education I thought it would be nice to learn spider rigging or crank bait trolling with the rods placed into holders but discovered for me it was more important in feeling the thump than just getting fish into the boat. Now a competitive tournament type fisherman just would not be very successful with that kind of attitude about fishing.

So now I'm looking for a descriptive name for the type of fishing I am doing even though that method's results can usually best be described with the familiar phrase of 'sucking hind teat'. :D

Then again, I can't remember just which it was, either Jerry Blake or Daryl Morris coming up with the phrase 'hovering' which at time describes what I'm doing even though I don't use minnows except during the summer trying for the shallow summer slabs around standing timber.