FINALLY 12 OVER 12"

[ilbowhunter97]

Finally caught a boatload (and I was fishing from the bank) of crappie this morning! I kept 12 fish that were over 12 inches (biggest was 15) and tossed back at least 75 that were over 9! The total for the 4-5 hours I was there was about 100 and I had a blast! Never thought I would enjoy returning an 11" crappie back to the water but it was absolutely fantastic! I could have filled up the freezer but didnt and I loved it! Thanks To All Of You for your tips! I am learning....

Bo

[Pomoxis 2]

Illinois, huh? Maybe I'll warm up my car.
Yea, shorefishing can really take you by surprise. With 11 Billion dollars worth of boating gear, I still don't hesitate to walk up to the shore and cast, anywhere, anytime.
Letting go an 11 incher is a good feeling for me and anyone else who does it for a while. I have tossed back every Crappie I caught in the last 12 years. That includes at least 50 15 inchers. I just don't eat them. I eat Yellow Perch, shrimp fed Rainbow Trout and Fluke. Crappie are my FUN fish and there is a s-load of bigguns where I go! If you toss some back they will always be there for you too.

[crappie cowboy]

Wow You Don't Need A Boat That Would Be A Waste Of Money,
What Was You Bait ?. Hey Man You Are My New Hero.
Spider Rig Man

[Pomoxis 2]

Wow You Don't Need A Boat That Would Be A Waste Of Money,
What Was You Bait ?. Hey Man You Are My New Hero.
Spider Rig Man

Hey SpiderRigMan,
When I say 50 over 15, I mean in the last 8 years! And most of them from my 14' boat, not from shore!
Anyway, I'm happy to help anyone who is friendly and has at least a little humility.
I never spider rig, never use bait and almost never troll. All I do is cast a 1/16 oz regular jighead with a 2" twister tail. My favorite color: black. But that may change now that I am using Bass Pro "Spring Grubs" 2" in SMOKE color. No glitter, speckles or anything. Just plain smoke. They work so good I'm sure they will soon go away forever, just like the Mister Twister Smoke color went away. They now sell them with SALT. That is really great if you want all of your stuff to RUST! . I wash the entire bagfull with hot water before I even consider using them. Best conditions for them is clear water. HOLD ON TIGHT!

[Ranger375]

ilbowhunter
What lake wee you fishing or were you fishing a pond?

[ilbowhunter97]

ilbowhunter
What lake wee you fishing or were you fishing a pond?

Ranger,

I was fishing a private lake that is approximately 40-50 acres. It has great fish in it! Caught the crappie in 1.5 foot of water! near the bank. Lots and lots of short fish but was happy with the biguns!

Bo

[mighty]

Hey SpiderRigMan,
When I say 50 over 15, I mean in the last 8 years! And most of them from my 14' boat, not from shore!
Anyway, I'm happy to help anyone who is friendly and has at least a little humility.
I never spider rig, never use bait and almost never troll. All I do is cast a 1/16 oz regular jighead with a 2" twister tail. My favorite color: black. But that may change now that I am using Bass Pro "Spring Grubs" 2" in SMOKE color. No glitter, speckles or anything. Just plain smoke. They work so good I'm sure they will soon go away forever, just like the Mister Twister Smoke color went away. They now sell them with SALT. That is really great if you want all of your stuff to RUST! . I wash the entire bagfull with hot water before I even consider using them. Best conditions for them is clear water. HOLD ON TIGHT!

Well sir I am friendly and very humble and new to crappie fishing. I have been trying to learn jigs. I was using a 1/16 minnow head yesturday with a bass assasin 2in shad. I landed one the guy next to me about 15. I guess I am having problems feeling the bite. Any advice sjould I use 1/32?
Any advice much appreciated.
Thanx joe

[Pomoxis 2]

Well sir I am friendly and very humble and new to crappie fishing. I have been trying to learn jigs. I was using a 1/16 minnow head yesturday with a bass assasin 2in shad. I landed one the guy next to me about 15. I guess I am having problems feeling the bite. Any advice sjould I use 1/32?
Any advice much appreciated.
Thanx joe

New to Crappie fishing and trying to learn jigs? WOW, I wish I could have that much in front of me again, with some help from someone! I'm more than happy to help.
I'm sorry I can only offer advise on CASTING jigs. I never spider rig and almost never use bait on a jig, or troll or drift. I use 1/16 oz almost all of the time. I only use 1/32 oz when shore fishing in shallow water, up to 3 ft deep, or ice fishing. The slow fall of a 1/32 is nice, but I need 1/16 oz to cast.
As long as we are discussing weights I must say this: A couple years ago I was dismayed at my sudden inability to cast my 1/16 jigs far. I tried new line etc. Then I found one of my older jigs and realized the head was bigger than my newer ones! I weighed them on a scientific scale at work and found that my new ones were much lighter than the old one! Long story short: For 1/16 oz use Cabelas (?will post number when I can find it?).
I just spent 1 hour trying to find the Cabelas order number for those heads. I cut out and saved the display card thinking that the number was on it. The following numbers appear on the card, Round Jighead RGHDRH16-25-003 02E P293 2 S 8 27624 04767 5 10046-572 004 U 1/5 0003 0510 1640 18 00104 73-628-751 The UPC number is 27624 04767.
I can't confirm any of that as order info. On the flip side it says "Fisherman Series Jig Heads". But my 2005 catalog shows nothing that matches what I bought at the Cabelas in PA. This is a typical difficulty in my life. What should be no problem at all turns into an insurmountable problem!!!!!
Anyway, the catalog shows a "Fisherman series", 25 qty, black, 1/16 head, with no 4 hook as "CF-11-4503-116-003". The difference between that and what I have is: they are shown as "bronze hooks". My jigs have "red" hooks. And I can't confirm that they are the "heavier" ones!
SORRY ABOUT ALL THAT!
Anyway, feeling the hit just takes practice. Sometimes they hit so light that I can't feel it, even on ecstasy! I'm sure a graphite rod helps. I use a Bass Pro ~5' Micro Lite with 4lb mono on a Penn 420SS.
Bodies? I use 2" twister tails. My favorite is black, but you should try Bass Pro 2" Spring Grub 21-285-600-07 Smoke 25pk. Especially for clear water. If I was stuck in the wilderness with just one lure it would be a jig, 1/16oz black roundhead, no4 hook, with 2" black twister tail. Nevertheless, my friend sometimes kicks my a** with a pink head with chartreuse twister tail! I hear the US military uses 1/4 oz white jighead with white bucktail in their survival kits(?). That would be my second choice!
Be ready to change, and be ready to be victorious or admit defeat.
Here is another tip from years of... I have concluded that it doesn't matter if I give away my secrets. Almost nobody else will ever be able to make them work. I have seen people pull off superhuman fishing feats, using methods I have never been able to make work, at all. Eventually you will have a "confidence method" that nobody else can steal, even if they try.
Just try to learn, never be afraid to experiment and keep faith in what really works for YOU! Soon you will be reduced to a single thing that WORKS ALMOST ALL OF THE TIME.
They're there as long as you let some GO!

[Pomoxis 2]

OK. I finally got the Cabelas order number for the jigheads I mentioned. WHEW, I hate it when things get difficult.
11-8573-116-color code. I'm goint to paint that number on my ceiling so I don't lose it again. That jig does not appear in their catalog, but you can order it on their website.

[mighty]

Thanx Pomoxis,