Dropshotting for crappie?

[SEMOmike]

Guys, anyone out there do this? If you do what setup do you guys use. I know of a couple of guys that are doing something similar with 12' poles, just seems like it might be harder to feel the bite that with a nice small graphite 6' IM8 jig pole.

Thanks

[shipahoy41]

This is great for catching deep fish. Tie a hook or jig on your line with a palamore knot. Take the tag end and run it back through the hook eye. This makes the hook point ride up instead of down. Attach a sinker about three feet below the hook or jig.

[Lonestar Proud]

About the only time I "drop shot" is with a tandem rig fishin deep on bridge pilings. I'll use a 3/8 - 5/8 oz bass casting sinker on the bottom with a dropper loop about 15" up from that, and another dropper loop about 12-15" above the lower one.

Now, on to the long poles.
I am by no means an expert so this is just my opinion... I believe that a longer pole gives you "better" sensitivity than a short pole, not less, especially on a "soft bite", and here is why I think that............

The only contact you have with your jig is your line. The only thing the line touches is the tip on your jig pole, the line guides on your jig pole, and the fingertips of your free hand.

When a crappie takes a jig that motion transfers up the line to the tip of your jig pole, from the tip it continues along through the line across the line guides and into your fingertips.
What you are feeling is the vibration of the crappie sucking the jig into it's mouth.
More line guides on a "long" jig pole provides more vibration points which increases our ability to "feel" the bite in our fingertips.....that said, with the exception of about 8" of tip, the jig pole itself has nothing to do with sensitivity, it's all line, tip, guides, and your fingers.

A good long jig pole will have a very fast sensitive tip, line guides spaced proportionately along it's length to about 24-28" ahead of the reel seat, and a stiff backbone for jerkin slabs outta brush.
If you don't hold line in your fingertips while jig fishin you really should try it. I promise you that the line in the fingertips of your freehand is many many more times sensitive than the pole and the hand that is holding the handle of the pole. Even if you don't hold the line in your free hand, a longer pole with more line guides will transfer more vibration to your "pole hand" than a shorter pole will.

I will admit that I don't use 12' jig poles, they are just to long for me. I use 8 and 10 footers the majority of the time. I will say the difference in sensitivity between one of my 8' poles and my 6 1/2' or 5 1/2' poles is considerable IMO.


My two cents worth..............

-LP

[SEMOmike]

Well, I was doing some digging on some of my fishing stuff, and "found" a 10' Outlaw Crappie Jig Pole, IM7 graphite. Forgot I had it, (Don't tell my wife, she gives me crap every time she sees me bring home another fishing pole) Figure it might work, however don't know if it will work great using 1/2oz weight. Figure I might go with 3/8oz bass casting weight and use an 5' flouro leader with 10lb fireline crystal. What do you guys think? Anyone jig with a 10' Outlaw rod using 3/8 jigs, and did it have adequate backbone?

[BigMack]

From what I've heard, from friends, that the long poles (12 to 16ft) are best used
in spring when fish are very shallow.
they can reach into the shore without the boat getting in the way or spooking fish.

I posted a full layout of my system on drop shot rigs.
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/main-...ot-system.html

And shipahoy did one too talking about bank fishing with some nice graphics:
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/main-...does-work.html

[Lonestar Proud]

Those are some very good illustrations BigMack! I like that dropshot rig cause like you said, you can make them up ahead of time and not spend fishin time re-tying the whole rig.

-LP

[fished-out]

From what I've heard, from friends, that the long poles (12 to 16ft) are best used
in spring when fish are very shallow.
they can reach into the shore without the boat getting in the way or spooking fish.

I posted a full layout of my system on drop shot rigs.
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/main-...ot-system.html

And shipahoy did one too talking about bank fishing with some nice graphics:
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/main-...does-work.html

Basic question. Why do you prefer the Big Mack to the classic pre-rigged crappie/perch rig that has 2 hooks on 6" leaders attached to metal arms, with a sinker attached to a swivel on the bottom? Just wondering, as they seem similar and the pre-rigged versions are pretty cheap. Like these:

live bait rigs perch spreaders crappie rigs panfish crappie bluegill perch walleye ohio great lakes panfish minnows shiners

[FroggerZack]

I have fish this setup with both a 7 footer and a 10 footer and I prefer the 7 ft better.

[CrappieWhisperer]

We drop shot year round and we really feel like its the best method to fish brush piles. Drop shotting suits our style of anchoring close to a brush pile and casting to every portion of it. We'd rather fish than spend our time running our trolling motor to keep us on a spot. Seems like the fish are less spooked when you sit a few yards away and cast to them. Drop shotting takes a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of it you'll be hooked. We normally cast over the brush pile and drag it until we hit brush. The trick is to drag the hook and sinker up and over each branch in the brush pile and letting it drop back to the bottom. Seems to work well if you allow 15-30 seconds of the minnow sitting still at each new position. Sometimes the crappie will be next to bottom and other times they will be up in the branches of the brush pile. When your hook hangs on a branch you can jiggle it a little and the weight will free the hook. Sometimes it takes multiple pulls upward to get your hook and weight over a limb, but the crappie love to hang out in the thickest areas and a drop shot will get you there. The drop shot allows you to probe every inch of the brush pile. Most fishing techniques can't do this and that's why its such a productive method. We drop shot year around, but summer seems to be one of the best times. When the sun gets high the crappie will bury up in the brush for shade. We use 8ft Quantum Todd Huckabee rods, they are the best rods we've found for multiple techniques. Our set ups vary because of personal preference. I use a 1/4oz weight and vary the length the hook is from the weight from 16" to 3'. My buddies prefer 3/8oz to 1/2oz weights. We try different lengths to the hook until we find out where the crappie want the minnow. About 18" is a good starting point. Your gonna lose some hooks and sinkers but if you're not you're not where the crappie are. Hope this helps, try it you'll be hooked.

[Cray]

CW, are you using leader on hook or tying to line with Palomar?