Techniques

[D_U]

I was tightlining minnows on Cumberland yesterday and figured out that if I dropped my minnow to the depth that the crappie were holding at I couldn't get em to hit it. If I dropped it deeper then slow cranked it up to the right depth I would get a strike almost everytime.I was talking to a friend and he said he had to do the exact same technique on Barren the other day to get them to bite. I'm fairly new to serious crappie fishing, ive only ever fished for them in spring when they are spawning until now , and was just wondering if this is a common technique people use or did I just stumble onto something?

[kybusa]

you got the strike out of REACTION to sight , movement maybe even a little vibration ....three elements for a reaction strike - the crankbaits used to catch crappie in hot weather works so well - in my opinion is because of all the three i stated earlier.....but, what the heck do I know ? ha ha ha

[jimp]

just like most/alot strikes happen when the lure is falling, the fish sees an easy opportunity for a meal.

[CrappiePappy]

Read this : Vertical Casting | Older Articles and you'll see that it's a technique that's been around for awhile. Thumbs Up

Actually, I used to do that same thing ... back around 50yrs ~ ago. (when using minnows 99% of the time)
Fast forward a decade or so from that time ... and a friend of mine showed me that slowly reeling in a small marabou jig, from below the fish and up thru whatever depth they were suspended at, would cause them to "thump" that jig (when they'd ignore it if it was just dangling there in front of them)... and the fight was on !!
Fast forward a couple more decades past THAT timeframe ... and I'm learning how to shoot docks, and fish down the sides of bridge pillings. I remember doing the slow reel up, from the past experiences ... and apply it to dock posts, standing timber, bridge pillings. Well, it still worked ... and worked so well that I wrote that article, so that others could apply it to their situations .. and hopefully add a few more fish to their catch. I still use it, and it still works Thumbs Up

My thinking is ... the fish see the minnows (or jig) just hanging around there, and may be in a neutral mood, so they don't show much interest. BUT, let that minnow (or jig) "appear" to be leaving the scene .... and the fish react, so as to secure the "food" they know they'll have to go find, later. It kinda snaps them out of their neutral mood, even if only momentarily. And sometimes, it can even trigger a feeding frenzy ... since fish can sometimes act like greedy little kids Rofl .... that have the "he got one, where's MINE" attitude !!

... cp

[colayn]

Wish I had known this last Sunday at Nolin. Caught fish in as little as 4 fow, but when the wind turned to the east they quit. There were large numbers suspending at 15 feet. They would not touch a jig
I will have to remember this one.
Thanks,

[Bronson]

My thinking is ... the fish see the minnows (or jig) just hanging around there, and may be in a neutral mood, so they don't show much interest. BUT, let that minnow (or jig) "appear" to be leaving the scene .... and the fish react, so as to secure the "food" they know they'll have to go find, later. It kinda snaps them out of their neutral mood, even if only momentarily. And sometimes, it can even trigger a feeding frenzy ... since fish can sometimes act like greedy little kids Rofl .... that have the "he got one, where's MINE" attitude !!

... cp

As usual, Crappiepappy is DEAD ON!!!! How many times do we sit around the table and have someone pass some food and go ahead and take some even though we're already full.