getting into the jigs

[jolie]

I am interested in gearing up for the coming crappie season. bass pro and cabelas selection looks poor, the local box store doesn't stock anything that seems small enough to interest these finicky predators and I am looking for nirvana on the world wide web.

I'm a beginner crappie fishermen, just trying to get into some "good" jigs for night-time canal fishing. the idea is to take $50 and get a seriously better jig selection, rather than being nickle and dimed to death with whats available locally, which is, most of the time too big anyways.

quite interested in who as well as what. so far the best catch of the day, was a site called crappiepro.com... but plain up, crappiepro has almost TOO much selection. and if thats what all you experts use, if you could steer me in a good direction.

apologies is this is a repetitive topic...

i'd just also like to emphasis the word "assortment", a couple times I have puchased the seemingly Magic jig; only to be outfished by billy bob to the left, whom looking at my jigs says "oh yeah, those jigs work SOMETIMES..."

no, no... I want the assortment and the reliable. I can pick up the SOMETIMES at walmart from time to time (I don't mind being nickle and dimed on stuff that RARELY works).

[skeetbum]

Check the classified ads.

[deathb4disco]

... bass pro and cabelas selection looks poor ...

They do? I was at Bass Pro this weekend, and they had a ton of crappie jigs. Cabela's does, too: marabou jigs, tubes, twister tails, road runners, sliders, etc.

[CrappiePappy]

Jollie ... I'm no "expert", by any means ... but, I'll tell you this : there ain't any jig that will ALWAYS be a sure thing. They ALL work, "SOMETIMES". LOL !!

Now, with that said ... if you're fishing at night, you may want to consider some "glow" jigheads &/or bodies. You'd also want to consider some Roadrunners (if the canals are clear water, and not too many weeds or snags in them). A glowing bobber may not be out of the question, either. Alternately, you might want to consider having some black, or black/chartreuse jigs.

Take a look over on the jig tying & DIY plastics forums .... some of our members create some really good looking stuff.

... cp

[jolie]

thank you for the help with this very hard question. I realize it is hard to ask what kinds of jigs are best due to the diversity of jigs themselves. I have looked at the classified section and I do indeed see several members that sell.

let me try to ask a more forum friendly question. knowing that I'm a beginner and am seeking an ASSORTMENT, what are the characteristics of jigs that most important. my technique is to strictly fish at night in shallow canals below a lighted bobber. and just to clarify, its not really the heads that are bugging me so much. it seems easi(er) to find a large generic assortment of jig heads... but the BODY. like even, how do I decide whether to pick rather plain, maggot looking bits of plastic, marabou jigs, or tentacle looking tube and curly tail jigs??

Given, that I'm always fishing jigs at night, in the shallows and below light bobbers are there jigs that just Aren't that effective given my technique? what would be some characteristics that make a jig more of a daylight lure?

my walmart is full of 1/8oz marabou jigs and similar sized Mr twister looking ones, and yet they've not really produced. my thought is that they are TOO big. but thats the rub. Everything in the jig world seemed sized for the head. What indeed is "small enough" for the body. I see some of those crappie catching crafty and non-talkative guys throwing what appears to be about the size of your typical trout nymph... and CLEANING up, sometimes even against the small emeralds (which is ridiculously expensive, done night after night).

so... size, make, general qualities. and I'll look through some of the stuff you guys sell...
oh and, if you are in the "business". drop me a pm or modestly mention it in your post.

thanks for trying to answer such a hard question.

[deathb4disco]

thank you for the help with this very hard question. I realize it is hard to ask what kinds of jigs are best due to the diversity of jigs themselves. I have looked at the classified section and I do indeed see several members that sell.

let me try to ask a more forum friendly question. knowing that I'm a beginner and am seeking an ASSORTMENT, what are the characteristics of jigs that most important. my technique is to strictly fish at night in shallow canals below a lighted bobber. and just to clarify, its not really the heads that are bugging me so much. it seems easi(er) to find a large generic assortment of jig heads... but the BODY. like even, how do I decide whether to pick rather plain, maggot looking bits of plastic, marabou jigs, or tentacle looking tube and curly tail jigs??

Given, that I'm always fishing jigs at night, in the shallows and below light bobbers are there jigs that just Aren't that effective given my technique? what would be some characteristics that make a jig more of a daylight lure?

my walmart is full of 1/8oz marabou jigs and similar sized Mr twister looking ones, and yet they've not really produced. my thought is that they are TOO big. but thats the rub. Everything in the jig world seemed sized for the head. What indeed is "small enough" for the body. I see some of those crappie catching crafty and non-talkative guys throwing what appears to be about the size of your typical trout nymph... and CLEANING up, sometimes even against the small emeralds (which is ridiculously expensive, done night after night).

so... size, make, general qualities. and I'll look through some of the stuff you guys sell...
oh and, if you are in the "business". drop me a pm or modestly mention it in your post.

thanks for trying to answer such a hard question.

I have mostly used marabou jigs for the last 35 years. They work great, IMO. I prefer 1/32 oz but will occasionally drop to 1/16 oz for deeper water. I've never been much of a tube guy, but I will occasionally throw a small twister tail or slider grub. (The slider grubs can be rigged weedless by using the slider jig head.)

I think depth and speed is far more important than the type of jig.

[BIGG ANT]

but the BODY. like even, how do I decide whether to pick rather plain, maggot looking bits of plastic, marabou jigs, or tentacle looking tube and curly tail jigs??



What indeed is "small enough" for the body. I see some of those crappie catching crafty and non-talkative guys throwing what appears to be about the size of your typical trout nymph... and CLEANING up, sometimes even against the small emeralds (which is ridiculously expensive, done night after night).


.

That's pretty much the normal stuff when crappie fishing......welcome to their world!!! Everything you mentioned above about what type you should have is found in about 90% of tackle boxes across the U.S. The assortment of those items are a big factor because the crappie are gonna decide what they want. Even an assortment of jigs won't do much if the presentation is wrong. If you wanna start off simple then look at using some tube jigs in a assortment of colors until you find the hot colors in your area...everywhere is different. Look on southern pro's website or like you mentioned before about bass pro....they have more than enough of a selection if your just getting started. Also try jason's jigs on e-bay....I mainly fish 1 1/2-2in tubes but will switch to 1in or panfish stingers when they get a little finicky. Try a few colors like blk/chartreuse, red/chart, white, blue/white, chartreuse, red/white, smoke, clear and different pinks. Hope that helped a little......

[jolie]

I'm still finding more jigs everytime I look! this thread seems to squirm with names and persons at every post.
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/main-...ng-jigs-2.html

I'm bringing it back up so that if anyone has similar questions they can be blown away by the dizzying amount of jigs. I'm still not sure who here is selling jigs, seemingly a lot of you are. i think you notice they novice type information overload I got right now.

I will add one more little thing; in other years I have found indeed a pretty effective 1/64" oz jig. its a a molded fish like lure, but it simply doesn't last.

also I think this is one of those problematic questions that is Asked ALL the time.

[CrappiePappy]

... also I think this is one of those problematic questions that is Asked ALL the time.

LOL !!! You got that right !! There does seem to be quite a few "what's the best ...." questions being presented, every so often. Some will say "do a search", while others will chime in with their personal opinions & ideas, while many others may post that they have the same or similar questions. That's what the site is all about, and why many of us are here ... to help other Crappie anglers get better & more productive in the sport, so that they enjoy it more.

"Information overload" is alot safer, and less expensive than Bait Monkey Overload .... LOL !!

Now, in order to not go over budget ... I'd be looking for something along the lines of what you've had previous success with. If you've got a picture of one/some ... show it over on the DIY Plastics forum, and I'm pretty sure ONE of those guys can duplicate it, or create a similar one.

If you really think that a 1/64oz size lure is what they prefer .... and you've had success with feather/hair type jigs .... consider looking at Cabin Creek Pop-Eye jigs (for feathered jigs) or some of our jig tying member's hair jigs. If you want a plastic body on a tiny jighead, like a 1/64oz size, Cabin Creek makes a "stinger" that'll fit a jighead that small. It's basically a tapered, worm shaped plastic body, about 1.5" long, that comes in various colors. You can see these baits, for reference @ Cabin Creek Bait Company (about 3/4 the way down the page). There are also members that have similar products, or can produce them. You'll find them in the Businesses link, on the Classifieds forum, or in the tying or plastics forums.

SO, the question is not what jig or jig style WE think is best for you .... but, what jig/style YOUR Crappie have told you that is best for THEM !! Then, your options are wide open ... to explore what creations our members can come up with, to suit your/their needs -- or a commercial product that's available, that's the same or similar enough to fool them with.

I've got 4 tackle boxes full of baits that work somewhere, sometime ... but, not everywhere, all the time. Even minnows don't ALWAYS work. LOL !!!

... cp

[deathb4disco]

I'm bringing it back up so that if anyone has similar questions they can be blown away by the dizzying amount of jigs.

I'll say it again:

depth and speed are far more important than the type of jig.

You said you're a beginner, so don't complicate things. Pick one type of jig, and learn to fish it well.