light weight head under a small tooth pic type ice float.....or deadsticking it down in brush and horsing em out
I am new to using artificial lures for crappie and was wanting to know the best technique for fishing jigs. I fish from the bank, don't have a boat yet.
light weight head under a small tooth pic type ice float.....or deadsticking it down in brush and horsing em out
-ROMANS 10:9- PHILIPPIANS 4:13
From the bank I would have to say with a float. That maintains the depth and keeps it in their face more.
Creativity is just intelligence fooling around
I like to fish vertical around barge poles and docks. We have a lot of color in the water where I fish. As far as you fishing from bank you shoulds look around your area for rock shore lines and off of bridges our under them.
I like to attach it to the end of my line and put it in water where there are fish :D
But for real - I also fish for crappie from the bank. I use live bait and jigs (sometimes, even crankbaits). If I am using jigs, then I fish either with a bobber/float or without. I like to just cast them and kinda swim them slow if I am not using a bobber. Mostly I use a bobber though, because I like to get in close to anything in the water and stay there - and the bobber lets me control depth since I cant be right on top of it like in a boat.
Although, I tend to catch larger fish when I swim the jig instead of using a bobber...maybe it the action, maybe its the lack of the surface movement.
Always had my best luck finding crappie around down trees and anything else in the water. Fairly close, but you dont have to be 2 inches away from it either.
From the bank, a slip float and bobber stop to adjust your depth. I take my different weight jigs and tie a short piece oof line to them and use something to peg line in float, fill a tall glass with water and test with different size floats. I like to have my float to sit about half way into water without any leaning so if fish hits upward no doubt I got a bite. You might end up with 2 or 3 different setups. Just cast and slow retrieve just enough to keep it moving then try a stop and go. The fish will tell you what they want.
Proud Member of Team Geezer
Charlie Weaver USN/ENC 1965-1979
Cast out, let it sink, reel back slowly. If the water's very shallow, do the same thing, but put a float above the jig.
For those times I was forced to fish from the bank (in between owning boats), I would generally use two different baits & two "slightly" different methods. If the water was fairly clear of heavy cover, I would cast a 1/16oz marabou Roadrunner and retrieve it at a medium speed. If the water had wood cover of any sort, I would cast a 1/16oz weedless jighead w/plastic body and retrieve it at a very slow speed. Roadrunner fish would just all of a sudden "be there" ... I'd feel the weight & pull, and would set the hook with a sideways sweep of the rod (which I would keep pointed slightly down towards the water, during the retrieve). When casting a weedless jig, I held the rod at the 10 o'clock position and waited until I saw a slight jump in the line, before setting the hook with a quick snap of the wrist & lifting of the rod (from down in front of my stomach, up next to my jaw). I still use the same methods, in the same cover situations, and set the hook the same for each of the two different baits ... even though/when I am fishing from a boat !! It's worked for me, well enough in either case, that I haven't really had to change my methods very often.
... cp
A lot of it has to do with the water temps you are faced with. Around here (MA) we are still dealing with ice covered lakes. When the ice leaves, I'll be casting jigs over deeper water and slow retrieving them. If the water I'm targeting is shallow, then by all means, suspend your jig beneath a bobber. I like marabou during this ice out period and a very slow retrieve. Put some scent (I like MegaStrike) on the body of the jig, but never on the marabou tail.
During this cold water period, it's also beneficial to suspend two such jigs under a bobber; about a foot apart. This multiple jig presentation tends to attract more crappie (and yellow perch) and if they are selective as to depth, you can find that out as well with this technique. I usually stick with marabou with this technique, one white and one chartreuse. You'll quickly zero in on what they want. Don't be surprised if they want it only 1' below the bobber either!
"A voyage in search of knowledge need never abandon the spirit of adventure."
Down here in Florida I also fish from the bank. I make my own double jig rigs out of 10lb mono. Just make sure one jig is higher than the other. I use 1/16th oz jigheads and a 2" grub tail. Any brand will work as long as it has alot of tail action in the water. Grub tail colors will highly depend on weather and water clarity so research the water your fishing and find out what colors are working in that area. The 2 jig rig allows you to test 2 different colors so it shouldn't take too long to figure out whats working. When I cast out, I let it sink and then slowly retrieve with a few twitches.